Web3 is an exciting space packed with innovative concepts that give users back control over decentralization and online identities and data. It is the driving force behind new technologies such as cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens and the Metaverse, which, if fully developed, promise to fundamentally change the way people interact and work online. increase.
But despite Web3’s promise, many dangers lurk. In 2022, hackers and scammers have successfully stolen: worth $3.9 billion Increase in crypto assets, according to Immunefi. Web3 malicious actors are numerous and highly creative, using sophisticated fraud techniques to catch people off guard and free their digital assets. Some of the most common dangers faced by Web3 users include smarthis contract vulnerabilities, phishing attacks, copymints, and poisoning attacks. To avoid them, Web3 users need to know how these methods work.
Common Web3 attacks
One of the easiest ways to fall victim to Web3 hackers is by visiting a malicious “phishing” website that looks legitimate. Criminals create a copy of her legitimate website with a slightly different URL, such as Opensea.io instead of Opensea.io, hoping to catch users without their knowledge. They use various ingenious methods, such as sending emails disguised as official or sending messages using the social media accounts of impersonating celebrities, to target users to these fakes. It will direct you to the website. As soon as someone enters their credentials on the fake site, the attackers can take control of their accounts on the official website and steal whatever assets they hold.
Another threat is malicious code that integrates dangerous logic, such as restricting transactions, writing tokens, delegating calls to other smart contracts, or even allowing contract creators to access users’ wallets. It’s a smart contract. Fraudsters can either create their own malicious dApps with dangerous smart contracts or exploit vulnerabilities in legitimate smart contracts to adapt their code.
Copymint refers to counterfeit or plagiarized NFTs that violate the author’s rights. For example, someone could try to counterfeit a popular NFT collection such as the Bored Ape Yacht club and sell it at a bargain price. Only later does the buyer realize that it is worth nothing.
Finally, poisoning attacks occur when fraudsters construct wallet addresses that have the same first and last characters as the user’s own wallet. The idea is that users could mistakenly believe they are sending funds to their own wallet addresses when in fact they are sending their funds directly to the scammers.
Web3 security innovation
The good news is that the Web3 space has developed many innovative tools aimed at combating this kind of crypto-fraud.
One of the best in the industry is Blockfence, which created a browser extension that acts as a layer of protection against suspicious transactions. Blockfence combines complex analytics and machine learning algorithms, as well as hacker and vulnerability data collected by the Web3 community, to secure user transactions. Many types of attacks can be prevented, including phishing attacks and malicious smart contracts.
Once users have Blockfence installed in their browser, they will receive automatic alerts whenever they try to authorize a transaction using a linked wallet such as MetaMask. Blockfence will alert you whenever an address to send funds to is listed as suspicious, so you can withdraw if you are unsure. Blockfence’s knowledge of vulnerabilities and suspicious addresses is bolstered by a strong network of security partners. Additionally, it provides a generative artificial intelligence-powered transaction interpreter similar to ChatGPT that helps users understand what happens in each transaction by explaining in plain English.
Similar services are offered trust checkIt aims to secure Web3 transactions by validating crypto wallet addresses, token collections, smart contracts and URLs before any user interaction. Potential issues such as risky transaction approvals, fake websites, and risky signature requests are highlighted.
Before each transaction is approved, TrustCheck renders token metadata such as name and address in human-readable data to give users a visualization of what happens.
immunity aims to secure Web3 in another way through its bug bounty platform. The platform offers bounties to well-meaning hackers who can find vulnerabilities in smart contracts and dApps and alert the community. This kind of audit is critical to the security of Web3, especially the DeFi ecosystem, which uses highly complex smart contracts to facilitate multi-swap transactions. Immunefi claims that Saved over $25 billion Substantial digital assets are protected from hacking.
Prevention is best
While the above tools are recommended and will certainly help prevent most Web3 attacks, users should always follow best practices to minimize the chances of falling victim to scammers.
The single worst mistake anyone can make is sharing a private key or seed phrase. There’s no reason to do this, and no reputable company would require it. The best way to store this information is to write it down on a piece of paper and hide it in a safe place. Saving to a computer or mobile device is not recommended. These too can be hacked.
Additionally, users should always store funds in a non-custodial wallet rather than a custodial wallet. A custodial wallet is easy to recover if you get locked out, but it also means you trust someone else to hold your funds. As FTX users have found horrifyingly, no matter how reputable the company may seem, it’s really not a good idea.
Additionally, users must remain focused when approving transactions or signing messages. Please be careful to double check the recipient’s address and the remittance amount. Never reply to messages you receive on social media. Always manually enter the URL of her crypto-related website to avoid spoofing.
security is an issue
Due to the decentralized nature of Web3, security is entirely your responsibility as there are no alternatives in case of fraud. Even the most sophisticated cryptocurrency users have been hacked or scammed before, so always stay vigilant and take advantage of Web3 security tools to double-check your cryptocurrency transactions. please.
