We’ve seen many instances in recent years where blockchain solutions have been targeted with data theft and cyberattacks, making this technology vulnerable to cyberattacks even with its default strong security factor.
When a trend experiences significant growth in terms of users and capital flows, it attracts more bad actors, as new attack vectors emerge and cybersecurity practices in new areas are frequently not fully understood or implemented. Furthermore, some of these trends and technologies are gaining traction quickly, emphasizing the importance of implementing good security practices to protect data and crypto assets.
Troubling statistics
Let’s take a quick look at some troubling statistics. An individual or company is estimated to be the victim of a ransomware attack every 14 seconds. Cyber-attacks primarily target small businesses: Despite accounting for 13% of cybercrime, most small businesses continue to be the smallest investors in cybersecurity.
With the growing popularity of the metaverse and NFT’s (Non-fungible tokens) come multiple security challenges as well. Because gameplay and interaction require a unique identity, which is your wallet’s public address, many current metaverse projects require users to connect their cryptocurrency wallets in order to interact with them.
Critical areas of concern
And, just like in real life, your wallet is used to purchase items such as land, clothing, art, and other items. However, having an attached crypto wallet like MetaMask is where the metaverse’s security concerns begin to take shape, so we’ll need to investigate that as well as other cybersecurity issues within the metaverse.
There have recently been numerous reports of compromised wallets in the metaverse, resulting in stolen funds and NFTs. Everything from phishing airdrops to compromised keys, the metaverse adds another layer of complexity.
NFTs are collectible cryptographic tokens that represent something unique and cannot be replicated. Over the last few years, the market for NFT sales has quadrupled to $250 million, with well-known artists such as Beeple selling their crypto art for millions of dollars via NFTs. These large sums of money and new technology have drawn an entirely new wave of consumers into the crypto space, and whenever a new technology sector experiences massive growth, cyber criminals are naturally given more opportunities to exploit users.
Security Patches
Recently, OpenSea, the primary marketplace for NFTs, needed to patch a flaw in their platform that allowed hackers to drain users’ wallets by sending them a maliciously crafted NFT. For example, you could open your wallet one day and notice a seemingly free NFT, try to send that NFT to another wallet, or otherwise interact with it, and the hacker could then drain funds from the wallet. This hack would work because the user would be exposing their wallet information.
A clear overview of the various blockchain security issues demonstrates the current state of blockchain security. It is critical to be aware of blockchain security flaws in order to build better networks and systems. Furthermore, technological advances such as AI-based solutions for infrastructure, transaction, and code analysis can spell out new trends in blockchain security.
