The initially weird idea of decentralization has turned into reality in no time with the advent of Web 3.0. Web 3.0 was first coined in 2014 by Polkadot’s founder and Ethereum’s co-founder Gavin Wood. It is a technological revolution that has the potential to re-establish individual control over data.

Although Web 3.0 presents a gloomy picture for users, one important aspect still seems to be in shambles is “Web 3.0 security.” As blockchains, the distributed computer networks that lie at the core of web3, gain value, so do the supporting technologies and apps, making them more and more attractive targets for attackers.

Web 3.0 security concerns

Web 3.0 is a relatively new domain on which hackers place their bets. As technology usage gains momentum, Web 3.0 security issues rise proportionally. Some of the vulnerabilities are indeed exclusive to the Web 3.0 domain; commonalities with the previous internet iteration are also usual sites.

Since security is always a continuous process, and nothing is ever completely hack-proof, security professionals and developers can reduce cyberattacks’ costs by stripping many easier targets for attackers. For a detailed understanding of Web 3.0 security, you can visit ImmuneBytes website and blog posts.

Here are some of the common cybersecurity concerns observed in the Web 3.0 space.

Social Engineering

As we have discussed earlier, Web 3.0 security is mostly based on blockchain, which forms the underlying technology for its implementation. Although an immutable ledger of transactions— this temper-proof data is susceptible to cyberattacks.

Phishing attacks— a common implementation of social engineering— where malicious threat actors pose as responsible third parties in an effort to collect private information about people or enterprises.

Phishing attacks at Web 3.0 have mostly been used to get hold of the private keys, allowing hackers to access almost all the cryptos and information your crypto wallets and addresses are carrying.

Some of the conventional phishing targets in the Web 3.0 space are:

Use of compromised discord bots for releasing phishing links on official discord servers.
Direct message sending phishing links.
Messaging through pseudo discord bots.
Using trading platforms for promoting fake projects.

Prevention:

• Before clicking on a bot link, always check multiple sources and channels for information. Do not trust a bot link easily.
• Be vigilant for direct messages, as official bots do not send direct messages for verification.
• Verify the address or domain name carefully.

Identity risks

Blockchain tends to put individuals solely in-charge of their identity. The proposed use of self-sovereign identity to provide a globally portable set of credentials, claims, and permissions for people interacting with websites, other users, and web apps is a significant development with Web 3.0. With this blockchain-based identity, people may choose which pieces of their identity are shared with different parties depending on how they want to interact with them.

With security, control, and privacy being the chief advantages of the decentralized identity, lack of regulation and interoperability are its major concerns.

Even the possibility of identity theft could arise from unreliable authentication methods. Hackers can gather private information about a person if a user uses the same identification across all interactions with a certain website or app. Also, wallet cloning has become a prominent Web 3.0 security issue.

Prevention:

• Do not use the same password across all apps, wallets, and other sources.
• Keep your private keys safer than your gold. Do not store them in any of your devices linked to the internet.
• Beware of the phishing links.

Supply chain vulnerabilities

Third-party software libraries expand the attack surface. This has long been a security issue in systems, even before Web3. Attackers will search the internet for known vulnerabilities in order to find unpatched vulnerabilities that they can exploit.
Keeping the correctness of the imported codes is equally imperative for overall program safety. Teams must monitor the parts of their software for vulnerabilities, ensure updates are deployed, and stay current on the pace and project’s health on which they rely.

Prevention:

• Do not import an unknown code into your project
• Include imported codes into the audit process.

As software systems become more interdependent and complicated, supply chain vulnerabilities are anticipated to emerge. Until effective, standardized techniques of vulnerability disclosure are created for web3 security, opportunistic hacking will probably also rise.

Governance attacks

The concerns we discussed earlier have evolved through the previous web iteration, but this one is specific to Web 3.0.
Web 30 projects include a consensus mechanism where token holders can vote over the proposals submitted.
51% attack, Sybil attack, etc., are some of the manifestations of governance attacks. In such cases, hackers are able to manipulate the project by gaining excess voting rights to reshape the rules and create a negative influence on other voters. These attacks have become common bait for attackers, trying to drain the project’s liquidity.

Prevention:

If the token value of your project is low, it is easier for an attacker to access a number of them to raise a proposal. Ensure to increase the deposit amount for proposal submission.

Make your community aware of the bad influence and importance of governance proposals.
Make sure your projects undergo blockchain security services and take the steps necessary to prevent governance attacks. If you want to know more about it, check out ImmuneBytes website and blog posts for more information.

Oracle price manipulation and flash loan attacks

Oracle takes the off-chain data, including the token prices, and publishes it on the blockchain used by the smart contracts.
Oracles are of two kinds- off-chain and on-chain— while off-chain responds slowly to price fluctuations, on-chains are updated promptly. However, it comes with a disadvantage that on-chain oracles are easily manipulated by attackers.

Although there could be other ways to manipulate the oracles, using flash loans to drive the price of AMM is a common technique used widely for various attacks.
DeFi gives the ability to flash loan millions worth of assets which causes instant price fluctuations.

Prevention:

Use on-chain decentralized oracles only when they have been validated.
Before choosing which complex pricing oracles to use, examine whether the token’s liquidity is enough to support your platform.
Institute artificial delay in decentralized oracles.

Wrap Up:

With the growing diffusion of Web 3.0 into different spheres of life, its security has become an imperative area to be looked upon. New methods and attacking techniques are originating with time.

If Web 3.0 is to succeed without bringing about a plethora of new cybersecurity threats for users and businesses alike, security must be built into the design and functionality from the beginning.

Author Bio

My name is Emma Perez, and I have a keen interest in the field of writing. I have written a couple of articles on various gemstones, fashion and would love to express my opinion on more such stones. Hope it has maximized your knowledge of gemstone jewelry and satisfied your quest to buy moldavite jewelry from an authentic place. We believe in quality and offer the same in our information and products.