Web 3.0 Security has been a hot topic in the blockchain ecosystem, especially for the last 2 years. In 2022 alone, we witnessed a loss of $3.8 billion due to Web3 hacks. These stats raise a very important question, What are we doing to secure Web3?
This question has varying answers based on the person you ask it to, but we QuillAudits, who has been in the Web3 security game for quite some time, can say that we are taking steps to make Web3.0 a safer world. This blog is one such attempt. Today, we will discuss the major Web3 security risks our community is facing and how can our developer brothers tackle them. Let’s start with a question about what web3 security is. Then, we will move on to the risks.
What is Web 3.0 Security?
Web 3.0 security refers to the different practices and methods employed by the Web 3.0 community, which works for the protection of protocols and dapps against attackers. This is a very wide field as there is not a single source breach but a whole bunch of ways through which the security can be compromised thus, as the attacks on the Web3 advance, so should our protective measures. Smart Contract security, private key management, front-end security, consensus and network security are some aspects of Web 3.0 Security.
To ensure the safety and security of Web 3.0 applications, developers follow best practices and stay up to date with the latest attack vectors and methodologies used to hack different types of protocols. A major portion of ensuring security comes over the shoulders of the developers. Let’s now learn what security risks the Web3 ecosystem faces and how developers navigate them.
Web3 Security Risks
In this section of the blog, we will be looking at different risks involved with Web3 and what relationship developers have with them.
Smart Contract Vulnerabilities:-
One of the most horrific experiences a protocol can go through is getting hacked because of a smart contract vulnerability. Smart contracts are self-executing contracts that run on blockchain and are the backbone of today’s Web3 ecosystem because these are the things that bind the blockchain with the programming. Some common smart contract vulnerabilities are reentrancy attacks, integer overflow/underflow and unprotected function calls.
For Developers:– Developers should follow the best practices in the Web3 development process, like using well-audited libraries, avoiding deprecated functions and studying the smart contracts thoroughly for any security-related issues and following the best security-oriented development services.
Private Key management:-
In Web3, users have their own private keys that are used extensively for any Web3-related activity like calling a function, making a transaction etc.. .If this private key gets hacked or someone gets their hands on them. Complete access is with the attacker and can result in heavy losses.
For Developers:- This is an issue of inadequate information and can only be rectified by educating the users or by providing the options for hardware wallets, multi-signature wallets and other key management solutions.
Phishing Attacks:-
A phishing attack is also an attack involving the stealing of a private key. In these types of attacks, the victim is lured into exposing their private key or other important information through fake websites, emails or messages. Once the private key is with the hackers, the whole control of the user’s funds is taken from him.
For Developers:- This also involves educating the users about these types of attacks so that they do not fall victim to them also, providing clear instructions on how to interact with the platform will help, and also implementing measures such as a domain name system (DNS), SSL certificates, multi-factor authentication will help against phishing attacks.
Front-End Security:-
We are enjoying the power of the blockchain, but this power of blockchain is currently accessible only through the use of regular websites. Many applications have platforms which work on regular technology and communicate with the blockchain. This opens up the blockchain for the attacks we have been facing for quite sometimes like unauthorised access, data leakage and other security breaches.
For Developers:– Developers are tasked with validating and sanitizing the user input and implementing proper access controls and use security-oriented development practices such as input validation, output encoding and parameterised queries to prevent common vulnerabilities like cross-site scripting(XSS) and cross-site request forgery (CSRF).
Governance Risks:-
Many Web3 applications work on the model of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), which use a decentralised form of government. But these government mechanisms can introduce their fair share of security risks. These can also come under the category of social attacks. You can find out more about these attacks here.
For Developers:- This is a social type of attack which does not involve heavy technical knowledge to execute. The developer should carefully design and implement the governance policy and decision-making processes for these types of Web3 applications and put in appropriate checks to prevent such attacks.
Conclusion
Building on Web3 is not an easy task, and who better to understand this than our fellow developers? The right test for a web3 builder is the ability to create security protocols which are secure from the attack vectors present in the Web3.0 world and also should be able to adapt to new changes. To make secure protocols, it is crucial to go through a smart contract security audit in which very experienced and skilled developers audit the code to make it safe and secure.
Auditing services provide the best view and analysis of the protocol from a security point of view. Doing so can help protocols increase users’ popularity and trust and secure themselves from attacks. Thus, getting an audit before going live is always advised to avoid losses. QuillAudits has been in the game for a long time and has made a really good name for itself, Do check the website out and move through more informative blogs.
