cyphershieldtech

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What is a DAO and why was The DAO attacked?

The DAO and the case of the theft of 50 million dollars in Ethereum

Last July an anonymous user stole 50 million dollars in Ethereum , a cryptocurrency that has been talked about for months as an alternative to Bitcoin. The theft occurred after this person found a vulnerability in the code of a program , which was being used by thousands of investors to pool his money.

This robbery and the subsequent investigation are the stars of the first chapter of 'Insert Coin' , a new monthly section in which we will interview invited super technical specialists in matters that fascinate us in Xataka. It is a video program that you can see below.

In our first program we have the luxury of having Pablo Fernández Burgueño , a lawyer specializing in cybersecurity and entertainment law, and a passionate about cryptocurrencies. Pablo tells us in detail what exactly happened in the 'The DAO' case , how someone was able to take the money without anyone noticing and why it is still unknown who it was.

Few people can offer us such a complete account and from within what the investigation was and continues to be: the European Commission asked him for advice to find out what laws could be applied, so he is one of the people who knows the case best.

Insert Coin 1x01: 'The DAO' and the theft of 50 million dollars

Ethereum is a blockchain-based cryptocurrency like Bitcoin . When we asked Pablo about the differences between the two, he explained that "while Bitcoin tries to create a world economy, Ethereum writes computer code on the block chain and on the Internet."

These codes are called 'Smart Contracts' . As [we told you a few months ago], these "smart contracts" are a piece of code that is executed transparently to the user, and that usually includes a financial transaction . Ethereum includes the ability to create unrestricted distributed software that runs on the blockchain (i.e., on multiple computers) and that can lead to the execution of payments.

Put more simply, it is a software code that says "if this happens, do this" in a way that is distributed on the blockchain and therefore cannot be manipulated. That is why it is customary to speak of "contract" rather than "software" when referring to it.

And this type of program leads us precisely to the case of 'The DAO', an organization created by a group of developers led by Christoph Jentzsch, and which developed one of these 'Smart Contracts'. They then deployed it on the network so anyone could link Ethers to it, something up to 11,000 anonymous people from around the world did with the intention of using it for long-term savings or investment.

At this point Pablo explains that 'The DAO' was governed by his code. The code is the law, and the code of this program is the one that set the standards for everything that can be done or not done. The 11,000 people who put their money into 'The DAO' accepted the open source code of the program as the rules to be followed, without any of them realizing that there was a mistake in it.

However, there was someone who did realize that error, which allowed Ethers to be extracted without the permission of others. It was not a fine print that no one noticed, but a programming error that no one had noticed, not even its creators.

Exploiting it, this currency was withdrawing increasing amounts of cryptocurrencies until it got the equivalent of 50 million dollars. This anonymous person then posted an open note on the internet saying that everything he had done was in the code , and if they took his Ethers he would take them to court.

The code is not always the law

And this is where Pablo came into play, a blockchain specialist as well as a lawyer specializing in cybersecurity and entertainment law, as well as a regular speaker and advisor to institutions. It was he who the European Commission turned to for advice , both to explain what exactly was happening and to tell them if there was any applicable law in this case.

His response was that in this type of program, the code is not always the law , and that if 11,000 people have put money in a common fund, they have the right to recover what is theirs. Therefore, they could go to any court and be found to be right.

But the case still hasn't been solved, basically because it's not yet known who took the money . Therefore, "without knowing who to report, you cannot be successful in any judicial process," and hence the complexity of this entire case. You have no one to blame.

As the Ethereum system and its chain of blocks are set up, Burgueño tells us that today it is very unlikely that it will be possible to find out who took all that money , something that will make it very difficult for it to be carried everything to the courts and that those who invested in 'The DAO' get their money back. There have even been unsuccessful attempts to invalidate the coins that person took.

As vulnerabilities exist in the web3 spaces, Cypershield is one of the kinds of Security and Smart Contract audit company rendering exceptionally professional smart contract auditing services for varied Crypto projects. In the process of rendering your projects, full-on auditing services help you come over your smart contract vulnerabilities and reach a higher scale in the market.

[cyphershieldtech]

Top 5 of the biggest cryptocurrency thefts in history

Hundreds of millions of dollars missing: the five biggest heists in cryptocurrency history.

Cryptocurrency is the ideal target for cybercriminals: there are many ways to steal it, and it is very difficult for victims to get it back. And some hackers go on outright killing sprees: they make tens or sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars from a crypto exchange attack. In this post we analyze the 5 biggest thefts in the relatively short history of cryptocurrencies. And there is a final bonus: the incredible story of a cryptocurrency heist worthy of a Netflix series…

5. The master key

Victim: KuCoin Cryptocurrency Exchange

Date: September 26, 2020

Loss: about $285 million

On the night of September 25 to 26, 2020, security officers of the Singapore-based company KuCoin detected several abnormal transactions from different hot wallets . To stop suspicious transactions, they transferred all remaining assets from the compromised hot wallets to cold storage . The entire incident took approximately two hours from detection to completion. During this time, the attackers managed to withdraw approximately $285 million in various cryptocurrencies.

The investigation revealed that the cybercriminals had accessed the private keys of the hot wallets. One of the main suspects is the Lazarus group, a North Korean APT cyber gang . This is because the attackers used a multi-stage algorithm to launder the loot, similar to the schemes used in previous attacks by the Lazarus group. First, they ran equal amounts of cryptocurrency through a tumbler , or mixer, (a tool for mixing cryptocurrency funds with others to hide the trail), then they transferred the cryptocurrency through decentralized platforms .

Despite the scale, this attack was not the end of the cryptocurrency exchange. The next day, KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu, during a live broadcast, promised to repay the stolen funds. Lyu was true to his word, and in November 2020, he tweeted that 84% of the affected assets had been returned to their owners . The remaining 16% was covered by the KuCoin insurance fund.

4. Money out of thin air

Victim: Wormhole Cross-chain Bridge

Date: February 2, 2022

Loss: $334 million

The next number in our Top 5 is a heist that used a vulnerability in Wormhole, the cross-chain bridging protocol . Cybercriminals benefited from the fact that the developers of the platform made the code of their program public. But first things first...

Wormhole is a mediator tool for cryptocurrency transactions. Specifically, it allows users to move tokens between the Ethereum and Solana networks. Technically, the exchange works like this: tokens are frozen on one chain, while so-called “wrapped tokens” of the same value are issued on the other.

Wormhole is an open source project with its own repository on GitHub. Shortly before the theft, the developers put code around to fix a vulnerability in the protocol. But the attackers managed to exploit the vulnerability before the changes took effect.

This bug allowed them to bypass transaction verification on the Solana side and issue 120,000 “wrapped ETH” (worth around $334 million at the time of the attack) without freezing the equivalent collateral on the Ethereum blockchain. The cybercriminals transferred two-thirds of the total amount to an Ethereum wallet and used the rest to buy other tokens.

Wormhole publicly appealed for the attackers to return the stolen funds and detail their actions for a $10 million reward . Cybercriminals ignored this generous offer.

The day after the robbery, Wormhole tweeted that all funds had been restored and the bridge was working as before. The financial hole was closed by Jump Trading, the company that had bought Wormhole's developer six months before the incident. Judging by open source information, the culprits are still unknown.

3. Theft three years

Victim: Mt.Gox Crypto Exchanges

Date: February 2014

Loss: $480 million

Mt.Gox's story begins in 2007, when it was a trading platform for the game Magic: The Gathering . Three years later, amid the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, Jed McCaleb, an American programmer and owner of the site, decided to turn it into a cryptocurrency exchange , but later sold the service to French developer Mark Karpelès in 2011. Just two years later , Mt.Gox traded about 70% of the world's bitcoin.

This rapid climb was followed by a crippling crash. On February 7, 2014, the exchange suddenly blocked all bitcoin withdrawals. The company blamed it on technical problems. Outraged customers rallied outside Mt.Gox's Tokyo headquarters, demanding their money back. His protest fell on deaf ears.

What is notable about this story is that the Mt.Gox heist began in 2011. Back then, unknown hackers got hold of the private passwords of a hot wallet on the exchange and gradually began siphoning bitcoins. By 2013, cybercriminals had deposited 630,000 BTC into their accounts.

Mt.Gox was ultimately delisted on February 28, 2014, when Karpelès filed for bankruptcy and apologized for “weaknesses in the system” that had removed approximately 750,000 BTC of client funds, as well as 100,000 Own BTC. The amount of stolen funds is usually estimated to be around $480 million; this is the value of the total amount of tokens stolen at the exchange rate of one day before the exchange filed for bankruptcy on February 27.

However, keep in mind that in the time after Mt.Gox went out of business and before it filed for bankruptcy, the price of bitcoin fell considerably. If calculated at the February 6 exchange rate (the day before the stock market closes), the loss would be around $660 million. However, both figures are provisional: they do not take into account the three-year duration of the heist, during which time the exchange rate fluctuated wildly. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the exact amount of damage.

How was the attack possible? According to former employees , the company's management was quite negligent in several important matters. For example, Mt.Gox had serious problems with financial reporting. In addition, there was never a proper audit of code quality and security: for example, there was no version control system.

Prosecutors charged Karpelès, owner of Mt.Gox, with embezzlement of approximately $3 million worth of customer funds. But this could not be proven in court. In the end, Karpelès only received a suspended sentence of two years and six months for data manipulation and was cleared of other charges.

2. Almost half a billion

Victim: Coincheck Cryptocurrency Exchange

Date: January 26, 2018

Loss: $496 million

Coincheck is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan. In 2018, cybercriminals managed to steal more than 500 million NEM tokens worth about the same dollar amount.

The company claimed its security system was robust and did not disclose exactly how the intruders carried out the attack. That said, some experts believe that cybercriminals may have gained access to the private passwords of Coincheck hot wallets with the help of malware embedded in a computer at the company's office.

The attackers also created their own site where they sold NEM tokens for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies at a 15% discount. As a result, the NEM exchange rate fell sharply and Coincheck lost around $500 million, however this did not force the exchange to shut down. Furthermore, the criminals could not be traced. The exchange had to suspend operations for a while and promised to compensate clients with their own funds

1. Surprise job offer included

Victim: Ronin Network Blockchain Platform

Date: March 23, 2022

Loss: $540 million

Ronin Network was created by Sky Mavis for the game Axie Infinity , which allows players to purchase Smooth Love Potion (SLP) in-game currency . In late March 2022, unknown attackers stole a record $540 million worth of cryptocurrency from Ronin. They were aided by spyware and the magic of social engineering.

The targeted attack targeted Sky Mavis employees, one of whom took the bait (probably on LinkedIn). After going through a “selection process”, one of the senior engineers received a “job offer” in the form of a PDF file with spyware inside. This allowed the thieves to take control of four of the network's validation private keys .

To gain access to company assets, they needed to compromise at least five of the nine validators. As we mentioned, the spyware helped them get four keys. The fifth was achieved due to an oversight by the company itself, which had authorized the Axie DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) to sign transactions to help Ronin Network mitigate user volume, and then they forgot about it. revoke permission.

However, Sky Mavis quickly recovered from the incident. In June 2022, it relaunched the blockchain platform and started compensating affected players.

Bonuses. A hack with refund

Target: Poly Network cross-chain protocol

Date: August 10, 2021

Loss (later recovered): $610 million

As a side story, let's end with another major cryptocurrency heist, which ended with every penny of the loot being returned. This is what happened…

Poly Network is yet another protocol for implementing blockchain interoperability. In the summer of 2021, he witnessed one of the biggest heists in cryptocurrency history. An unknown hacker, exploiting a vulnerability in the Poly Network, stole over $600 million worth of various cryptocurrencies .

Poly Network appealed to the perpetrator on Twitter to return the stolen tokens. To everyone's astonishment, the hacker got in touch and agreed. They proceeded to transfer the stolen tokens bit by bit, dividing them into several unequal parts.

The online exchange between the hacker and the Poly Network went on for quite some time. During it, the attacker stated that he was not interested in the money and that he had only carried out the robbery for "ideological reasons." As a token of gratitude, the Poly Network dropped the claims against him, guaranteed his anonymity, offered a $500,000 reward, and even invited him to become his top security consultant. He also launched a $500,000 bug bounty program .

There is no moral as such, but...

We have listed the top 5 major cryptocurrency heists, where they all targeted major organizations. But, sure, many minor incidents affect common users all the time. Therefore, all investors must take steps to protect their assets. Here are some useful tips:

Choose your platforms for trading and other operations carefully: check comments and reviews and, if possible, consult with experienced users you trust.

Do not give your exchange account login details or wallet credentials to anyone. Remember to keep secret not only passwords and private keys, but also your seed phrase .

Keep your main cryptocurrency savings in cold wallets : unlike hot ones, they don't need to be permanently online and are therefore more secure in general.

If you're using a hot wallet, make sure you enable two-factor authentication.

Beware of phishing. 

Use a trusted solution  that protects your financial transactions, prevents malware from stealing your wallet password or private key, and warns you about fraudulent sites.

Conclusion

As vulnerabilities exist in the web3 spaces, Cypershield is one of the kinds of Security and Smart Contract audit company rendering exceptionally professional smart contract auditing services for varied Crypto projects. In the process of rendering your projects, full-on auditing services help you come over your smart contract vulnerabilities and reach a higher scale in the market.

[cyphershieldtech]

How to stay safe from NFT scams

The NFT market went through the roof in 2021, when it grew to around $22 billion and attracted around 280,000 buyers and sellers, along with around 185,000 unique wallets. But as the market has grown, so has the scope of cybercrime, with eye-catching reports of NFT scams, NFT art scams, and NFT gaming. Read on to learn more about NFTs and how to avoid NFT scams.

What is an NFT?

NFT is an acronym for "non-fungible token". In essence, fungible means exchangeable, for example, bitcoins are fungible, since you can exchange one bitcoin for another and, after the operation, you still have something with the same value. An NFT is non-fungible because it is unique and cannot be directly replaced by another NFT. NFTs can be any digital item: photos, videos, audio files, and more. They have generated a lot of excitement because of their potential to use technology in the sale and collection of digital art.

At their core, NFTs are a type of digital asset, and this is where the "token" part comes into play. When you buy an NFT attached to a digital asset, you do not acquire ownership of the asset itself. You may not reproduce or use it commercially. Instead, you take ownership of a record of purchase on the blockchain, which you can keep or sell again to someone else.

How do NFTs work?

NFTs are layered on top of a blockchain (a record of transactions stored on multiple computer systems) and point to a web link, such as an image file. In general, NFTs use the Ethereum blockchain, although other blockchains support them as well.

NFTs are created from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible items. For example:

Art

gifs and memes

Videos

collectibles

virtual avatars

Music

This is not a complete list. NFTs can be almost anything: In a notorious transaction, Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, sold his first tweet as an NFT for more than $2,900,000 .

NFTs are the digital equivalent of collectibles. Instead of getting a piece of art to display, the buyer receives a digital file. This gives them sole ownership rights, because NFTs can only have one owner at a time. The unique data associated with each NFT allows verification of ownership. It is also possible that the owners or creators store specific information within them, for example, articles may include their signature within the NFT metadata.

To collect NFTs, you need a virtual wallet that can store both cryptocurrency and NFTs. You also need cryptocurrency to make your NFT purchases. There are NFT marketplaces where you can search for NFTs for sale: some of the best known are OpenSea, Rarible, and Foundation. Many people say that NFTs are a way to support digital artists, while others argue that there is a resource cost involved in any transaction on a blockchain. If you are interested in NFTs it is essential to be aware of the risks involved, including NFT scams and fraud.

Types of NFT scams

Both cryptocurrencies and NFTs are relatively unregulated spaces. This means that there is a chance for criminals to exploit legal loopholes and carry out scams. That is why we have seen extensive media coverage on NFT Ponzi Scams, OpenSea Scams, NFT Art Financial Scams and others. The following are some of the more popular NFT scams:

Identity fraud

Third-party marketplaces like OpenSea exist to facilitate NFT transactions and provide security behind every sale. But criminals can set up imitation marketplaces with similar URLs to trick users. The visible component is a virtual component, which can be easily copied, along with information in a text file, which means that these websites can be very similar to legitimate marketplaces.

Rug pulls

A rug pull is a scam in which organizers deliberately promote an asset via social media to drive the price up. Once they have investor money, they stop backing it, resulting in loss of asset value and investor funds. A variation on this scheme occurs when NFT developers remove the ability to sell the token by adding code that prevents this, leaving buyers with an asset that cannot be sold.

Inflate and sell strategies

Pump and dump schemes occur when a group deliberately buys an NFT to artificially increase demand. Believing that the NFT has value, unsuspecting buyers join the auction and bid. Once the supply increases, the scammers make a profit by selling the NFTs, while the buyers are left with worthless assets.

Phishing scams

Before buying an NFT, you need to sign up for a virtual wallet. NFT phishing scams often use fake advertisements to trick victims (for example, on Discord, Telegram, and other public forums) asking them to share their private wallet key, along with their passphrase. 12 words. Or, scammers can impersonate MetaMask and send fake alert emails, advising that your wallet is suspended due to security issues, and asking victims to click a link in the email. to verify your account. NFT phishing scams are designed to get your personal information and empty your digital wallet.

Customer support scams

Similar to phishing scams , hackers pose as blockchain marketplace customer support staff and contact victims via Telegram or Discord. Under the pretense of wanting to solve a problem, scammers send links to fake but official-looking websites to try to obtain personal information and access to cryptocurrency wallets. They may also ask you to share your screen to solve the problem, when in reality they want to see and take a screenshot of your cryptocurrency wallet credentials.

Offer scams

Deal scams occur when investors seek to resell NFTs they purchased on a secondary market. Bidders can exchange your preferred currency for lower value cryptocurrencies without notifying you, once the sale of your NFT is complete. This can result in potential losses for the seller if they don't double check the coin before agreeing to a sale.

Counterfeit NFTs

Scammers can plagiarize an artist's work and post the fake version on an NFT marketplace. Buyers who do not know this can buy a counterfeit NFT that is worthless.

NFT Giveaway Scams or NFT Giveaways

Scammers can pose as genuine NFT trading platforms on social media to promote NFT giveaways. They usually offer a free NFT if you spread the word and sign up on the website. Once you register, you are asked to associate your wallet credentials in order to receive the "reward". Once they have the credentials, they can access your account and steal from you.

investor scams

Due to the anonymity associated with cryptocurrency trading, investor scams are common with NFTs. Scammers take advantage of anonymity by creating projects that appear to be viable investments, then disappearing with the funds they have collected from investors, without a trace.

Examples of NFT Scams

2021: Evolved Apes

An example of NFT rug pull happened in October 2021. A collection of 10,000 "Evolved Apes'' were released on the market. Buyers were supposed to receive a unique copy of each "Ape," made up of items that could take on each other in a vaporwave fighting game, with the prizes being cryptocurrency rewards. NFT's initial offer was to get funding for the game. However, once the developer, known as "Evil Ape", raised 798 Ether (equivalent to around $2,700,000, at the time) he disappeared, leaving investors with nothing more than a worthless .jpeg file.

2021: Fractal 

Fractal is a marketplace for NFT game items. In 2021, a group of scammers created and spread a fraudulent NFT giveaway that resulted in users losing over $150,000 worth of cryptocurrency . Buyers expected to receive a limited edition NFT. Instead, they received an unpleasant surprise, discovering that the link sent through the project's official Discord channel was a scam aimed at stealing cryptocurrency. Users who followed the link and associated their cryptocurrency wallets in the hope of receiving an NFT found that their funds had been transferred to the scammer's account.

2022: Frosties

The Frosties NFT scam was an example of a rug pull scam, which led to the theft of at least $1,200,000. The creators of a collection of NFTs, under the Frosties name, absconded with the investor funds. They shut down all channels of communication with members, stunning a community that had grown to nearly 40,000 members and was expecting various awards.

How to avoid NFT scams

investigate

Check the details of all transactions before accepting the conditions. Is the market you are going to use trustworthy and recognized? Can you see the transaction history of the buyer or seller? Read reviews and look at the creators' engagement level to see if they've had transaction-related complaints in the past. If you invest in a project, check that the developers are genuine.

Don't open files from sellers you don't know well

Hackers have created viruses that specifically target cryptocurrency wallets. Avoid clicking on links in unsolicited emails, as they can also lead to fraudulent exchange sites. Never click on links or attachments from unknown sources.

Be careful with giveaways

Although common in the world of NFTs, sweepstakes or "giveaways" can carry security risks. Each NFT is bound by a contract that determines what can be done with it; This means that hackers can attach authorizations to access your wallet, sell your shares, and more. Never accept an NFT from someone you don't know or trust.

Never share the private key or passphrase (seed phrase) of your cryptocurrency wallet with anyone

Keep your private key and seed phrase secure. If someone has that data, they will be able to access your wallet and delete any NFT or cryptocurrency without leaving any traces. Use strong passwords for the cryptocurrency wallet and other NFT accounts. Use two-factor authentication for all NFT accounts, whenever possible.

Check the project creator

Before transferring money, find and verify the contact information of the creator of the NFT you wish to purchase. Check that the project creators are honest and transparent about who they are. If you can't find clear information about the entities behind a project, this is a red flag.

Only trade with official sites

Always go directly to verified cryptocurrency trading websites and avoid using links or pop-ups to enter key wallet information. Resist the lure of so-called bargains, which could lead to questionable blockchain networks.

Avoid visiting untrustworthy sites

It's easy to make spelling mistakes, but sometimes misspelling a URL can end up in the wrong place. In the world of NFTs, scam sites can be very dangerous. Always check the URL to make sure you're on the right site, and avoid doing anything you're not comfortable with. Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Check the price of the NFT project

Before making any NFT purchase, check the price on an official trading platform, such as OpenSea or others. If the price is lower than on the legitimate trading site, be careful, it could be a scam.

Use burner wallets (disposable wallets)

A burner wallet allows you to limit the number of funds you want to allocate to a given purchase, including cryptocurrencies for transaction fees. This reduces your risk exposure in the event of a scam.

check check marks

Most legitimate NFT sellers have a blue tick next to their usernames on OpenSea or other NFT marketplaces, and the collection properties are clearly listed. Check that the artist you are purchasing from has a verified account and is the legitimate artist. Find the artist on social media channels or through their website. You may want to ask them directly if the art piece you wish to purchase is theirs, and if you have the correct user profile.

Conclusion

Our NFT audit services include a structured audit process where our industry-leading security experts scrutinize your smart contracts. We provide thorough analysis of your NFTs and certify them for the public through a report.

[cyphershieldtech]

Security and cryptocurrencies: what you should take into account to protect your digital assets

Everyone is talking about cryptocurrencies. Like it or not, we are going to have to  live with them in the coming years . We are not required to use them, at this time. But knowing about cryptosecurity, cryptocurrencies and/or crypto assets will help us  understand the world of cryptocurrencies . Not only that, it will also help us to know a little more about cybersecurity.

And it is that cryptocurrencies  are based on cryptography , encryption, to make secure transactions, create more virtual currencies and verify those transfers. Based in turn on  blockchain technology , translated as chain of blocks, an encrypted and decentralized database records  who owns such a quantity  of cryptocurrencies. While that user is anonymous. We will have access to these cryptocurrencies with a code or key that we will keep in a  cryptocurrency portfolio  or  crypto wallet .

But even if everything is very safe, in cybersecurity there is always the  possibility of human error , carelessness or a vulnerability that someone will take advantage of to get hold of such a precious commodity such as cryptocurrencies. It is not something that happens often, but for our part we can take several  precautions to protect  our crypto assets or digital assets.

The importance of a good password

Cryptocurrencies are based on encryption technology that, to date, is unbreakable. Crypto security advocates say that Bitcoin has not been hacked so far since it was created in 2008. So, in principle, cryptocurrencies are safe. Where is the weak part of the chain? In the user and in the platform that guards the digital assets.

So the first tip that is usually given in cybersecurity is  to have a good password . That is, one that is difficult to guess. It is usually recommended  to mix letters, numbers, uppercase and lowercase . There are no foolproof passwords, but the more complex it is, the more it will cost to figure it out. We can help ourselves with password generators. Password managers often   come with one. The most popular password managers are  1Password, LastPass, Dashlane  , and  Bitwarden .

In relation to the password, try to always activate the  verification in two steps . Many current Internet services require turning it on by default. This is a  second layer of security  for when you log into a web page or mobile application. It is not enough to enter the password. You will have to confirm it in a second step. More security, more difficult for cybercriminals.

And of course. No sharing passwords or credentials . They are private, so it is convenient to keep them safe and use them only us. If we want to share them, it is better to exchange the cryptocurrencies instead of sharing the virtual wallet at the risk of losing its content if it falls into the wrong hands.

Cryptocurrencies and phishing scams

Many of us call it  social engineering . What some media attribute to the cybercriminal's computer expertise is actually something as old as deception. There has always been someone who has made a living deceiving others. And with the Internet, telephones and emails, this is still the case.

Fraudulent emails, WhatsApp or Bizum messages, phone calls... There are many methods. Today they are known as  phishing  or  identity theft . Someone pretends to be someone who is not for you to provide information. They can ask you for your ID, your bank account, your credit card or your password.

Focusing on the world of cryptocurrencies and cryptosecurity, messages are often sent to potential victims with links to  fake web pages . It looks like a legal cryptocurrency platform, so if you fall for it, just enter your details like you always do. The downside is that this data ends up with someone who  wants to steal your  cryptocurrency wallet .

If you access your virtual wallet or exchange or exchange platforms from the browser, access from the official page. It is usually  encrypted by default , that is, you will see a padlock in the browser bar. Save those links in your browser to always enter from there and not from a link you receive in a message.

Another important detail of cryptosecurity is that of the  addresses to send cryptocurrencies . Try not to be wrong. Copy and paste the address instead of doing it by hand or you will send money to the wrong address at the risk of not getting it back. Addresses can typically be copied to the clipboard or even embed a  QR code  for easy sharing.

Attacks on cryptocurrency platforms

The above tips are directed at users and holders of cryptocurrencies. But it is not always within our reach to defend ourselves against cybercriminals. Cybersecurity also affects those who custodian our cryptocurrencies. That is, the exchange or exchange platforms.

It is not often, but from time to time we read that someone has  lost their cryptocurrencies  because a platform has been  attacked by cybercriminals . Sometimes they can be recovered, but this is not always the case. And that the owner took security measures.

One of the advantages of owning cryptocurrencies is that you can guard them yourself. In other words, by default we can have a  cryptocurrency portfolio  whose content is monitored and stored by a platform such as  Binance, Coinbase , Crypto  and many more. But we can also choose to  have that portfolio at our disposal . The risk is that if we lose the keys we will not have access to the cryptocurrencies. The good thing is that if the exchange platform is attacked we will avoid losing our cryptos.

More cybersecurity tips for day to day

We have seen the three most important cryptosecurity tips to protect our digital assets. But in cybersecurity there are  many dangers and many precautions  to take. For example, we must avoid connecting to  public WiFi networks  if we are going to make purchases online or manage our cryptocurrencies. It is not frequent, but that WiFi network may not be secure. Better to do these efforts from home.

Conclusion:

Crypto projects have great value for the rapidly growing blockchain world. However, your focus should be on the safety and security of your project. Find out all the pitfalls before launching in the market. To that end, a crypto project audit can identify flaws in your project. Our service thoroughly investigates the crypto project smart contract audit, including bugs, inefficiency, and vulnerabilities.

[cyphershieldtech]

Are cryptocurrency exchanges safe? How to choose an exchange you can trust

Points to mark:

In this article, you will learn the most important factors to consider before creating an account on a cryptocurrency exchange. 

Security is the top priority when choosing an exchange to trade your crypto assets. 

In addition to security, be sure to consider other important aspects such as the products and services they offer, commissions, profitability, reputation, user experience, and more.

The search for an exchange you can trust

This year, Bitcoin went mainstream, with individuals, institutions, and even countries getting involved. The bitcoin price climbed from $30,000 to an all-time high of around $65,000. As a consequence, there is an incredible demand for high-quality and reliable cryptocurrency exchanges where you can buy and sell Bitcoin and other altcoins. Among the aspects to consider when choosing a suitable exchange, safety and security are perhaps the most important for cryptocurrency traders.

The need for security on cryptocurrency exchanges increases with time. As more people participate in the crypto ecosystem and learn the basics about it, protecting users is the most important objective of the main platforms available in the market. Compared to a few years ago, major cryptocurrency exchanges have implemented increasingly sophisticated security systems, such as rigorous identity verification and authentication measures, AI-based analytics, and various collaborations with top-tier cybersecurity companies. Although security has improved significantly over the years, not all exchanges are the same.

In addition to security, cryptocurrency users are looking for the right mix of available products and services, a convenient user experience, and an abundance of opportunities for profit and profitability, among other factors. 

How can you find an exchange you can trust when there are hundreds vying for your attention? What are the criteria that define a trustworthy exchange? Although there are hundreds of cryptocurrency exchanges, only a few meet the criteria that we describe below. 

1. Top priority, safety

When we have to select a cryptocurrency exchange to trust, security should always be the main factor to consider. From the moment you deposit your fiat currency in the exchange wallet to the moment you start your trading activity, every step of the process must be secure. 

At first glance, it may not be easy to detect the level of security of a cryptocurrency platform, but there are some aspects that you can take into account. Whether your cryptocurrencies are protected will directly depend on the security of the method you use to store them. Therefore, it is vital to choose a partner you can trust, one that protects your personal information and funds with the latest security standards, a professional security team, and ideally, the icing on the cake: a recovery fund. 

1.1 Safety standards

Hacking a specific cryptocurrency is difficult and requires the daunting task of taking over most of the computers running the token's blockchain network. For this reason, it is much easier for hackers to exploit weak points in exchanges in an attempt to steal user funds or information. 

When looking at the security standards of a cryptocurrency exchange, you should consider both Internet security standards and encryption standards. For an exchange to pass Internet security standards, it must have sufficient protection regarding access to the Internet, including accounts, funds, point of contact, and more. The exchange must also have sufficient cryptographic protection, including custody of users' cryptocurrency wallets, keys, and more.

The best exchanges in the world have the latest security standards for both the Internet and encryption. Employees must receive ongoing training to prevent and counter breach or trespass incidents. They undergo regular penetration tests and in turn educate their users on cyber hygiene, be it safe use of the internet or the proper ways to access tokens, blockchains and cryptocurrency projects. Read about the general safety principles and cryptocurrency security to better understand cryptographic security.

1.2 Security of funds 

The cryptocurrency markets are full of bad actors and hackers looking for an opportunity to exploit exchanges and steal your funds. Exchanges are a popular target for hackers and their underworld due to the large volume of money stored on them. Although they are rarely successful, it is good to use an exchange with a back-end recovery plan or insurance plan. 

1.3 Safety equipment 

The most important team in any cryptocurrency exchange is security. For this reason, many exchanges take great care in protecting the identity of their cybersecurity specialists, in order to lessen the possibility of hackers contacting them to explore potential vulnerabilities. Ideally, your best bet is to sign up with an exchange with an active security team that publish research reports and analysis newspapers and to collaborate with other projects to improve the security of the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

The best security teams proactively communicate with the highest level experts and companies through initiatives and alliances, inform the public about the security issues resolved and encourage the crypto community to discover and combat the vulnerabilities of the platform in exchange for significant rewards.

1.4 User Protection Security Program 

When it comes to incentives and rewards, a proactive security team should come up with contingency plans to address all potential pain points regarding the use of a crypto platform, from education to insurance. This way, no matter what happens, users' funds will be protected and cared for.

Popular and viable protection programs include regular releases of security updates, as well as funding and insurance programs such as the SAFUan the Pioneer BNB burn program, which cover potential loss of funds from users who have suffered account breaches or human error while transmitting cryptocurrency.

1.5 Transparency

For a cryptocurrency exchange, the threats are not only external, but also internal. The ideal exchange is transparent to its users from every point of view and offers: clear and easy to understand terms and conditions, a commission program available to everyone, transparent trading and a comprehensive roadmap. The exchange must be easy to operate so that users and interested parties can respect the operations of the exchange or review how funds are stored and protected. Transparency is extremely important for all exchanges, but doubly important for those that also issue stablecoins. You can read more about the transparency in stablecoins at Binance Academy.

1.6 Protection of user information and improvement of KYC 

The first process you will need to undergo is registration, during which you will go through the verification process of KYC, know your customer. At the very least, a trusted exchange should be able to protect the information you provide, but the best exchanges take the KYC verification process very seriously and leverage it to proactively protect users and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

2. Products and services

The ideal exchange should offer a wide variety of trading pairs, that are constantly audited and reviewed, as well as easy access to the main payment methods (both inbound and outbound). Although it is important to have many options for trading pairs, it is even more important to have strict standards for the trading pairs, products and services that are incorporated. An exchange with fewer trading pairs that are high volume and secure will definitely be better than an exchange that has more trading pairs that are below average performers.

2.1 Deposit and withdrawal methods

Before you start your trading activity and the use of different products, you should get some cryptocurrencies. Some exchanges may only offer one or two payment methods, but it is always better to choose an exchange that has multiple options likecredit or debit card payments, wire transfer, P2Por third-party payment providers. Each method has its pros and cons; consider individual methods according to your circumstances and region.

The ideal exchange provides a variety of deposit and withdrawal options such as:

Fiat currency deposits and withdrawals

Deposits and withdrawals of cryptocurrencies using stablecoins (USDT, BUSD, etc.) and conventional cryptocurrency tokens (BTC, ETH and other popular tokens) 

Deposits and withdrawals that are made through the main payment channels and services, each with a good reputation, high performance, etc.

It is also important that each payment gateway is secure. Pay attention to how security is implemented on each of those channels.

Likewise, the available payment methods must provide users with sufficient flexibility and practicality. Ideally, they should operate 24/7 on both mobile and desktop, and if possible have  mode to provide even easier access.

2.2 Cryptocurrencies and trading pairs

Many exchanges provide a variety of cryptocurrencies to choose from. Undoubtedly, buying Bitcoin is the first option for many new cryptocurrency users, but later on, you may want to buy other popular tokens, such as ethereum,BNB,BUSDor more. In that case, you will need an exchange that provides you with diverse options, both cryptocurrencies and trading pairs. A wide variety of trading pairs will allow you to choose from a large selection of trading opportunities.

Aside from variety, users should also look for quality in the tokens published on the platform. Exchanges must maintain a high standard when it comes to the tokens they list and ensure that whatever token the user chooses, they have a good reputation and an active team. 

The ideal exchange also lists new cryptocurrencies that are becoming popular quickly, showing that it listens to its users. Of course, the exchange has to do it without sacrificing standards.

2.3 Products 

What do you expect when you buy Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies? Is your plan to buy and make HODLOr do you want more for your money? Global exchanges often surround themselves with an ecosystem of supplementary products and services, such as crypto debit cards, asset custody and protection, trading services, and other financial services designed to enhance your cryptocurrency experience and provide additional potential profit. .

Furthermore, the ideal exchange should have a top-notch trading infrastructure, as well as a set of reliable investment and earning products. To the extent possible, the exchange should provide adequate educational support, including FAQs, blogs, and other materials to help users in their cryptocurrency experience.

Whatever your plan, make sure you choose an exchange that offers the solutions you need. What differentiates a great exchange from a lesser one is the ecosystem it provides. If the exchange is only focused on being purely an exchange, rather than providing a holistic cryptocurrency experience, then you may be better off choosing another one that offers a more comprehensive ecosystem. 

2.4 System performance

You need an exchange that is reliable, resistant to volatile market movements, supports increased user activity, and provides liquid markets for faster trade execution. 

Not all exchanges make this possible, but try to learn the performance of their matching engine, which can tell you how many trades it executes per second. Then, visit the exchange's social media or blog to see the maintenance frequency and past outages. 

3. Commissions and profitability

Every user has a different experience when it comes to using the exchange, but the goal is generally the same: invest and profit. To maximize your investment potential, it is important to look for an exchange with a fair and transparent fee schedule, profitable products, and a generous return scheme.

3.1 Charging commissions and earning commissions for referrals 

Commissions are the main source of profit for cryptocurrency exchanges. Every time you make a trade or transaction, you may be required to pay a fee depending on the exchange's fee schedule. A generally acceptable commission for maker or taker(or buy or sell order) will be between 0.1% and 0.2%.

Exchanges generally do not charge fees on deposits and only charge a small fee on withdrawals, but this can vary between different platforms. Some return a portion of the commissions to the user in the form of referral commissions for referring friends to sign up. Consider your trading volume and calculate your average commissions before signing up. If you trade high volumes, consider VIP programs that provide reduced commissions as well as unique benefits on the platform, and other individual and referral trading opportunities that will help you increase your funds as the exchange expands its network.

3.2 Profitability

As the cryptocurrency market grows and services develop, investing in cryptocurrency is not limited to trading and holding. Different services allow you to leverage your holdings and increase profits with a variety of products that provide different risk-reward ratios. The exchange you choose should offer you profitable products with enticing earnings potential, such as savings, staking,loans, futures and margin trading. The most developed global exchanges also offer a new form of financial services, called DeFi, or decentralized finance. Competitions and giveaways are extra.

Here are some signs that show when an exchange is good from a profit standpoint:

The APYs, or Annual Percentage Yield, of its cryptocurrency financial products are higher than the rates of comparable products on other platforms.

The exchange delivered on most, if not all, of the promises set out in its roadmap.

The platform goes the extra mile to provide earnings on tokens that are held or staked in the exchange's wallets, with no fees.

4. Reputation and track record

Once you have verified that the chosen exchange is safe, meets your needs and offers fair conditions, it is time to review the brand and the system. Signing up to an exchange and depositing your hard-earned money requires trust. Before sending your money to an exchange, always check its reputation, past incidents or scandals, legal or regulatory issues, and system performance. 

4.1 Reputation

Reputation is one of the most decisive factors for a successful cryptocurrency exchange. Exchanges know this well: a well-known company will do everything in its power to protect its users and its name. One of the easiest ways to evaluate an exchange is to see what the community and social media followers are saying. You can also search for the exchange name in Google News Feed to see media reports. Who is the CEO and what kind of team is behind the exchange? The team should always demonstrate openness and a willingness to listen to community feedback. 

4.2 Leadership 

Actions say more than words. Check Google and social media such as Twitter, Facebook or Reddit to find information on recent statements made by the leaders of the exchange and compare them with what is happening on the exchange. Make good use of the Bitcoin note: "Don't trust, verify", and always check the accuracy of information with multiple sources. Remember: always be alert to FUDwho want to plant fear, uncertainty and doubt.

4.3 Social responsibility 

One of the hallmarks of a socially responsible exchange is that it focuses on educating everyone about cryptocurrency, from the basics of buying and trading tokens to in-depth analysis and summaries of cryptocurrency fundamentals. Some exchanges even go further and create a platform for unbiased and up-to-date education on the world of cryptocurrencies. The ideal exchange should give you a lot educational materialwith which you can learn more about security, trading, finance, cryptocurrencies and everything related.

5. User experience and satisfaction

The exchange you choose should be reliable, easy to use, and intuitive. Can you handle high volume trading during volatile markets? Does the interface provide a smooth experience? No one wants to waste time looking for features and buttons in menus. 

5.1 User experience

5.2 Customer service and satisfaction

Conclusion

It is not an easy task to find an exchange that meets all the criteria and only a few can check all the boxes. However, it is worth the time to do your own research before trusting him with your money. With the explosive growth of the cryptocurrency sector, exchanges are becoming popular. The criteria for evaluating them become more complex and technical, which is surely more challenging than before. 

We help you launch your Decentralized Exchange without the headache of bugs and code issues in your smart contracts. Certify your DEX with a Cyphershield Audit.

[cyphershieldtech]

How to protect your NFTs?

As NFTs gain more exposure and value, this has unfortunately attracted the attention of unscrupulous individuals who would like to seize your assets, by any means possible.

Fortunately, digital assets are incredibly secure at the blockchain level. This means that it is highly unlikely that anyone will lose their assets due to an attack or hack at the blockchain level.

Instead, the vast majority of NFT thefts and losses occur due to asset holders falling victim to one of the growing scam attempts or failing to adequately protect their assets.

Whether you're into digital collectibles or exposed to NFTs , it's important to take the time to understand how to properly protect this rapidly emerging asset class.

This is what you need to know.

Use a hardware wallet

If you are currently storing your NFTs in a custodial wallet solution — don't . Centralized platforms can be hacked, and this has happened multiple times.

Instead, consider purchasing one of the many hardware wallets now available. These are (usually) small physical devices that are used to isolate your cryptocurrency and other digital assets from the Internet and other potentially dangerous situations. These usually require you to manually sign each transaction, preventing someone from remotely stealing your assets. Furthermore, they require the user to take full control of their security, which usually involves backing up and storing their seed phrases /private keys in a secure location.

There are a huge variety of hardware wallets on the market now, including options to suit virtually any budget, and are generally considered an essential accessory for the savvy crypto investor.

Hardware wallets can vary dramatically in their form and function, as well as their overall security, but even the most basic options typically provide much better security than most centralized wallet providers.

With that being said, you should make sure that the wallet you choose supports the blockchains you want to store your NFTs on and also supports the specific NFT token standards, as not all of them will.

Use a different market

If OpenSea's recent blunder has taught us anything, it's that you don't need to be explicitly robbed to lose your NFTs — instead, you could inadvertently end up selling at too low a price.

Depending on the NFT marketplace you choose, you may or may not have access to the controls necessary to adequately protect your NFTs against attacks or errors.

In most cases, NFT markets are non-custodial platforms , which means that you always control your assets, even while they are listed on the market or simply present in your wallet. However, they require users to authorize their smart contracts to interact with their assets, for example, to transfer them to the correct buyer at the time of sale.

If these smart contracts are buggy, this can leave your NFTs vulnerable.

Because of this, it's important to make sure that the marketplace you use is highly secure and reputable. One of the easiest ways to verify this is to look at their public audits, which essentially audit the smart contracts that do not contain bugs or vulnerabilities, and that they are generally safe for the public to use. An NFT audit is a comprehensive code review for verifying the technical and safety of a token, smart contract, and NFT trading platform to mitigate potential cyber threats.

This could be a challenge with newer platforms like LooksRare, which has yet to do a public audit. That said, it's important to balance opportunity against risk, which can make new platforms worth trying if there are significant incentives or opportunities.

Remember, not all NFT markets are the same. Do your research before choosing a platform, especially if it's new or hasn't been tested by large audiences.

Protect yourself against viruses

Computer viruses, while relatively rare, can be devastating to the NFT collector, as they can allow an attacker to exfiltrate data (including your private keys) from your computer in various ways, or even take over your system remotely.

Protecting yourself against viruses is usually a relatively simple task, starting with knowing how to avoid places that might be looking to install virus-laden code on your machine. Some of the usual suspects include copycat websites, sites offering questionable/illegal content, torrents and other P2P file-sharing services, and chat rooms.

In any case, never install a program or open an attachment sent to you from a suspicious source; the vast majority of viruses require you to manually open a file before they can install it.

Beyond this, consider equipping your computer with strong antivirus software and make sure your firewall is turned on. This will help prevent per-vehicle exploits and can alert you to suspicious files that might be on your computer.

MacBooks are generally considered to be less vulnerable to viruses due to their built-in runtime protection, but it's not a foolproof defense: you'll still need to be careful, as macOS viruses remain a potential threat.

Avoid scammers

Unfortunately, the cryptocurrency industry is full of scammers who want nothing more than to part you from your NFTs and other digital assets.

Avoiding these scams can be challenging, especially if you are less experienced, as they almost invariably target less experienced users, because they are often the perfect victims.

But in general, it's possible to avoid the vast majority of scams by adhering to a handful of simple rules.

Always Double Check – When buying an NFT, transferring it, using an NFT marketplace, or doing any other task that requires you to log into a website or service that can access your NFTs, always check that you have the correct URL. Check this information with their social networks to be sure and bookmark the link to avoid falling for a fake link.

Beware of Impersonators – One of the most common ways NFT holders are scammed is by falling victim to an impersonator, i.e. someone who poses as a reputable person, entity or organization, or even a phishing site . Please only use official lines of communication when dealing with transfers or NFT transactions, and always make sure that the person you are talking to is who they say they are.

Unsolicited Messages and Emails – Telegram, Discord, Twitter, and even your email inbox can be prone to spam, scams, and various types of fraud, especially if you were caught in a database leak. If you're receiving unsolicited messages from anyone on any of these (or other) platforms, it's likely a scam. Never give your private keys or recovery phrase to anyone, regardless of their reasons or status, and never authorize smart contracts you are not familiar with.

By following these three key rules, you will be able to avoid the vast majority of risks to your NFTs.

[cyphershieldtech]

Hidden risks in Smart Contracts: How to ensure a secure implementation

Smart contracts are a powerful tool in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. They are autonomous, irrevocable, and run automatically when certain conditions are met, making them an ideal solution for a wide variety of applications, from automating business processes to creating new forms of crowdfunding. However, as the popularity of smart contracts increases, so do the risks associated with their implementation. From typos to security flaws, the hidden risks in smart contracts can be devastating. It is essential that developers understand and address these risks to ensure the security of their deployments and protect users from potential attacks or bugs.

What is a Smart Contract?

A Smart Contract is a type of code that allows the verification and automatic execution of an agreement . This concept represents a significant change in the business world, since Smart Contracts work on blockchain technology and do not require human intervention to verify and enforce the agreed conditions.

In the case of loan contracts, for example, Smart Contracts allow the lender to automatically close access to money if the borrower does not comply with the agreed payments or interest. In addition, Smart Contracts are also useful in data verification and for the implementation of clauses in insurance contracts, thus reducing the chances of disputes.

It is true, the creation of an efficient Smart Contract is a major challenge. The ability to express value, transparency and immutability are three of the most important attributes of a Smart Contract, but they also make them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Despite the fact that there is not always a malicious intent behind these attacks, errors in the programming of Smart Contracts have led to capital collapses and significant losses for companies. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of the most common vulnerabilities that can arise in Smart Contracts.

But now we are going to get into the matter with the five most common problems in the security of Smart Contracts and how to avoid their possible risks and consequences.

1. The Arithmetic Error of Whole Numbers

Using integers to represent values ​​in smart contracts is common practice due to the lack of support for floating point numbers. Often, reducing the value to a smaller unit is required to achieve adequate precision. Most tokens support up to 18 decimal places, further improving accuracy.

However, developers should be aware of the potential for integer overflow. Just like car mileage, integers in a computer also have a maximum value, and once that value is reached, they return to their minimum value. Similarly, subtracting 4 from 3 in an unsigned integer will result in an overflow and a very large value. To avoid this problem, developers can use safe math libraries.

Also, developers should be aware of the inaccuracy that can occur when integer arithmetic is executed incorrectly. The order of operations is crucial, especially when calculating percentages. For example, to find 25% of 80, it is common to divide by 100 and then multiply by 25. However, wrong division can result in rounding error. For example, calculating 80/100 * 25 using only whole numbers will result in 0.

This error, although it seems simple, is common among developers. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to detail and be aware of possible errors in integer arithmetic in smart contracts.

2. Vulnerabilities in the Block Gas Limit

Ethereum keeps block sizes in check through the block gas limit. This implies that the amount of gas that transactions within a block can consume is limited. If a transaction consumes too much gas, it will not be included in the block and therefore will not execute.

This can lead to a common vulnerability: when data is stored in variable-size arrays and accessed through a loop, the transaction can time out quickly and roll back if there are too many items in the array. This issue usually occurs in production, but not during testing, because the test dataset is typically smaller than the production dataset.

This vulnerability is dangerous because contracts related to it usually pass unit tests and work well with a small number of users. But as the project grows and the data set gets larger, these contracts can fail. In this case, there may be an irrecoverable loss of funds, especially in the case of recurring payments.

3. Front Running

Before continuing, I prefer to make a short introduction for those who are not familiar with the term.

To understand what front running is, it is essential to know how to make profits ahead of the execution of a trade. Traditionally, front running is accomplished by acquiring inside information about events that may affect the price of shares, commodities, or other financial instruments. However, in the cryptocurrency markets, order flow is the key element.

Now yes, we continue with regard to security...

Analysis of the order flow and the size of the blocks can provide an idea of ​​the direction in which the price is moving. Therefore, front running in the cryptocurrency realm involves anticipating the correct order in the order flow.

Unconfirmed transactions are visible in the memory pool before miners add them to a block, allowing interested merchants to monitor their content and advance the transaction by paying higher fees. This process can be easily automated and is common in decentralized finance applications.

Frontrunning refers to taking positions on unconfirmed transactions, and is a result of transparency in the blockchain.

Fixing this issue often requires a major refactoring or redesign.

4. The lack of control in the parameters and preconditional controls

In programming, a common mistake is forgetting to check the parameters of a function or not performing the necessary checks to ensure the validity of a particular operation. This can include address parameters not being checked against address zero, or an unauthenticated user not having enough tokens to perform a specific transaction. The access check is also important, as only certain types of users should be allowed to call a given function, but sometimes this check is skipped.

These errors are often the result of an oversight in the design process. Therefore, it is useful to have a written record of the functions, including the parameters, the preconditions, and the operations to be performed. Following stable design patterns, such as Check-Effect-Interaction, can also help prevent these types of vulnerabilities.

5. Logical bugs (or not so much…)

The most common problem in smart contracts is an error in their own logic. These errors can be caused by small typos or misinterpretations of specifications, which can have a large security impact. Although programming errors specific to smart contracts are important, logic errors are inherent in the programming itself. It is essential to pay attention to the logic and make sure that the specifications are understood before you start writing the code.

In conclusion…

In short, the security of smart contracts is essential to guarantee the integrity and efficiency of decentralized applications. Common bugs include lack of privacy, reentrancy vulnerabilities, front running, and missing parameters or precondition checks. Also, logic errors can be caused by simple typos or spec misunderstandings. To ensure security, it is necessary to follow good programming and design practices, have a solid understanding of blockchain technology and smart contracts, and perform extensive testing and peer review before implementation. The security of smart contracts is a critical aspect in the development of decentralized applications and must be properly addressed.

[cyphershieldtech]

5 threats to Ethereum smart contracts

Smart contracts can have flaws that seriously affect their effectiveness.

Main threats facing Ethereum smart contracts and other blockchains. In addition, he provided a brief summary on how to prevent and deal with them, during his presentation at the Ethereum Rio 2022 conference, yesterday, March 15.

The proliferation of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols has led to these platforms being targeted by numerous hackers in the past two years. As Tarditi explained in his speech, more than USD 1.3 billion was lost as a result of these computer thefts in 2021 .

Among the most important cases of DeFi hacks last year, the specialist cited what happened with Uranium , with losses of USD 50 million; Compound, with a negative balance of USD 90 million in misdistributed rewards in the month of October; and bZx, which lost $55 million in November to an email phishing attack and also suffered repeated attacks in 2020 .

Also in 2022 these events continue to happen, as happened to the Qubit, Wormhole and meter.io protocols. CriptoNoticias has reported on these cases quite frequently since mid-2020.

Regarding this topic, the speaker explained that his company has carried out more than 1,400 audits of smart contracts in the last six months, which produced a total of 16,400 problems, 5,300 of them of a critical nature for the security of the protocol .

The main risks for smart contracts on Ethereum

To dig deeper into this question, David Tarditi listed five vulnerabilities that decentralized finance protocols can face. He also told how to enhance security to reduce the risk of suffering from them.

1. Centralization

By far, it is the main problem found by Tarditi and his team in audited smart contracts. They found no less than 3,000 cases of centralization in 1,400 audits . That is, more than 2 errors or failures by contract.

Centralization in smart contracts in Ethereum occurs when there is an "owner" or centralized entity that can alter balances, distribute tokens, make fund withdrawals, update the contract or modify its parameters at will, among other sensitive functions, explained the speaker. .

Precisely, the essence of these contracts and DeFi , as its name indicates, is to eliminate the middleman . In other words, the operation of the protocol must be automated and governed by the code itself, with no possibility for the developer company or any other person to modify it according to their convenience and criteria. This centralization can be even more dangerous when a hacker takes control.

Some ways to prevent this from happening, according to Tardini, include removing that privileged role from code, securing private keys through a multi-signature wallet or time lock, and turning to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for community decision- making .

2. Logic problems and correction

Logic and correctness failures in smart contracts have to do with those errors that prevent their expected operation . An example of this would be a bad calculation in the rewards for staking a cryptocurrency or the lack of updating of some variable. Programming errors in the code are also included here.

Of the cases analyzed, 1,209 problems of this style arose. This could fit the episodes of Uranium and Compound mentioned above. According to Tarditi, these occurred due to the "omission of a single character in the code" that led to a protocol malfunction that hackers were able to exploit.

What can be done to prevent these failures? The main thing is to be very accurate and meticulous with your design documents and whitepaper, conduct a code review, and develop tests to catch these potential issues.

3. Complications with withdrawals

The third threat to Ethereum smart contracts according to David Tarditi is failures or complications with withdrawals. This is a type of vulnerability that occurred much less in the cases studied; it was only detected in 142 contracts, that is, almost 10% of logic and correction failures.

An example in this third category would be the blocking of funds in a smart contract, without the possibility of removing them by the user. It is something that can be corrected by following the advice in the previous point when creating, testing and correcting the protocol code.

4. Access control

Access problems are the fourth threat listed by this expert. They detected it in 120 smart contracts during their audits.Similar to the first item on this list, the vulnerability occurs when anyone can perform a sensitive operation of the contract even though they should not be able to. In this case, it would not occur due to the fact that this user has a privileged role, but rather it occurs from a flaw in the code that allows him to gain that power.

Again, this is a problem that can be detected from the good practices already mentioned above. In this regard, Tarditi stressed that these processes must be repeated exhaustively each time a change is made to the code of a smart contract.

5. Lack of limits

Finally, the problem of lack of limits could occur in a smart contract. A potential case would be the establishment of tariffs; if these are not capped and go too high, a large portion of the value locked in the contract could be lost when executing a liquidation or other function.

As this medium reported, in 2021 Ethereum rates had very high prices due to the congestion experienced by the network.

The problem of the lack of limits in smart contracts occurred to a lesser extent according to Tarditi's research, since 96 failures of this style were detected.

Ethereum smart contracts, in search of optimization

If there is something that stands out about the Ethereum network, it is the security and scalability it offers to operate with tools such as smart contracts. It is what differentiates Bitcoin the most and what separates it from its main competitors , which never came to overshadow it.

However, it is clear that there are still things to improve, and that is what experts like David Tarditi are working on. From the knowledge of the dangers and the application of the previous recommendations, a more secure environment can be generated that mitigates the attacks and contributes to the growth of the adoption of this network. Ethereum Contracts are Reliable, Human Beings Are Not. Get an expert Ethereum Smart Contract Audit from us and Certify your project.

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How to safely store and protect your cryptocurrency assets

Investing in cryptocurrencies has gained popularity in recent years. The need to safeguard these assets has grown in importance along with the value of cryptocurrencies. To avoid losing your crypto holdings to scammers or hackers, it is crucial to take the necessary precautions. We will go through some crucial procedures in this post to ensure the safety of your crypto assets.

Choose a reliable cryptocurrency wallet

It is crucial that you do your homework and select the best crypto wallet for your requirements. Hardware wallets, software wallets, and web wallets are just a few of the options. Hardware wallets are tangible objects that you can store your cryptos in and keep them offline, increasing your security. Software wallets, usually referred to as desktop wallets, can be accessed online and downloaded to your computer. Online wallets can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection and are hosted by independent companies.

Look for a wallet with cutting-edge security features like password protection, two-factor authentication, and biometric identification. Check the history of the wallet for hacks and security breaches as well. It is necessary to take extra measures and adhere to the best security standards to protect your valuables because even the most secure wallets can be subject to hacking or phishing attempts.

Once you've selected a wallet, take care to store a backup of your private keys and keywords in a safe place. Since private keys are what allow access to your crypto funds, losing them could result in an irreversible loss of access to your assets. It is recommended to keep your private keys offline and distributed in various places, such as a hardware wallet and a paper backup. Also, stay away from keeping sizable amounts of crypto online in a hot wallet. Most of your funds should be kept in a cold wallet that is offline and in a secure location. Only add money to your hot wallet when you really need it for trading or other needs.

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

When connecting to your account, you must provide two forms of authentication in addition to your username and password. This is known as two-factor authentication. This could be a physical key, a fingerprint scan, or a code sent to your phone.

The security of your crypto holdings can be significantly increased by using two-factor authentication . Without the second form of authentication, even someone who knows your password will not be able to access your account.

Choose a strong and distinct password

old Do not use passwords that are easy to guess, such as your date of birth or common terms. Create a password that is at least 12 characters long using a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Use a different password for each account to prevent hackers from accessing all your assets in the event of a breach.

Protect your private keys

The most important piece of information you need to safeguard to secure your crypto holdings is your private keys . In the blockchain network, private keys are required to access your wallets and make transactions. There is no way to undo a transaction if someone else has your private keys and can move your money into your account.

Your private keys can be kept secure in a number of ways. Using a hardware wallet to store them offline is a common technique. Your private keys are physically stored and kept safe in a hardware wallet. In a piece of paper, commonly known as a paper wallet, you can also store your private keys. However, this approach is less secure.

Keep your software up to date

Keeping your software up to date is vital to protecting the security of your crypto investments. Developers often release software updates to address security flaws and flaws that could be used by hackers.

You can take advantage of these changes and prevent hackers from accessing your crypto holdings by keeping your software up to date. Constantly check for updates and as soon as you find one, install it.

Learn about scams and phishing attempts

Learning about typical scams and phishing attempts that occur in the cryptocurrency arena is one of the best ways to safeguard your crypto investments. Fraudsters can often trick you into sending money to a fake wallet address or divulging your private keys.

You can avoid falling victim to these scams by staying informed and being aware of how to recognize them. Before transferring any money, always double check wallet addresses and be aware of spam text messages and emails.

Diversify your portfolio

Increasing the diversity of your crypto holdings could help you reduce risk. Consider investing in several different cryptocurrencies instead of putting all your money in one. In the event that a cryptocurrency loses value or is hacked, this can help spread your risk and prevent you from losing all your holdings.

Use a VPN

Your crypto transactions can be made even more secure by using a VPN or virtual private network. Your Internet connection is encrypted using a VPN, making it more difficult for hackers to intercept your data.

Get a VPN service from a trusted company and a server location that is not connected to your actual location when you use one. This can help improve your anonymity protection and prevent hackers from monitoring your online activity.

Conclusion

Finally, in today's digital environment, it is essential to protect your crypto holdings. These methods can help you protect your assets and keep you safe from hackers and scammers. Choose a trusted wallet, turn on two-factor authentication, employ strong passwords that only you know, protect your private keys, keep your software up-to-date, watch out for phishing schemes, and diversify your holdings. Always be vigilant and take security measures to safeguard your crypto investments. 

In view of the web3 spaces' risks, Cypershield is one of the security and smart contract audit companies offering incredibly skilled services for various crypto projects. Full-service auditing services assist you in overcoming your smart contract weaknesses and climbing the market ladder as you are completing your projects.

[cyphershieldtech]

Types of pentesting and how to use it to prevent cyberattacks

Learn about pentesting, its types and how it is used at the enterprise level to prevent cyberattacks and improve cybersecurity

Introduction

In recent years, cybersecurity has become a priority for companies and organizations, since cyberattacks have been on the rise, which represents a significant IT risk. To avoid falling victim to these attacks, companies need to invest in trained staff to test for weaknesses in their systems and harden them properly. 

Later we will show you what is the most common test that is carried out to improve the cybersecurity of companies. Keep reading!

What is pentesting or penetration testing?

Pentesting , also known as pentest or penetration test, is a type of test that companies use to perform an analysis of vulnerabilities and weaknesses in their computer security . In other words, it is a test that consists of attacking different environments or systems to detect and prevent possible failures or attacks. The word comes from the abbreviation that is formed by joining the words “ penetration ” and “ test ”, which in Spanish means “penetration” and “test”.

Penetration testing or  penetration testing " pentesting " is a systematic process to check the vulnerabilities of computer applications and networks . It is a controlled way in which a group of people, known as pentesters or ethical hackers , carry out a real programmed attack on the system in order to find technological weaknesses before cybercriminals.

Other functions of pentesting

These tests are also used to guarantee compliance with a certain security policy , or so that the company can be aligned with Certification standards such as ISO 27001 or PCI-DSS. This is achieved by knowing the awareness of employees about said policy and identifying the organization's capacity to respond to these incidents.

It should be noted that during Security Assessments, detected vulnerabilities are reported to system administrators, so that they can apply the necessary corrections to mitigate security breaches . This helps reduce the number of attack vectors that a cyber attacker could exploit in a live environment to gain valuable information and use it for malicious purposes.

Once the fixes have been implemented, retesting is executed, in which the tests are run again to validate that the fixes have been successfully executed . However, later we will talk in more depth about all the stages that comprise a penetration test.

When to pentest

It is recommended to carry out at least 2 penetration tests per year on the most critical systems of the companies, or when they have undergone significant changes in architecture or logic. In this way, the security of the applications is ensured, guaranteeing that no new security breaches have been developed that could be exploited by cyber attackers or hackers to gain access to the systems without any authorization.

Types of pentesting

There are three types of penetration tests, which are differentiated by the scope they cover : black box, gray box and white box. These tests, despite being different from each other, have a common goal: to find security vulnerabilities.

Next, we will detail each test so that you learn what the specific objective of each one is and how they differ from each other.

Black box or black box

It is the attempt to compromise the computer system without prior knowledge . This test shows errors or security flaws in the application that could be exploited by a cybercriminal who carries out external attacks, without access to the system. Only the URL or IP of the application is provided. The test cases are limited, since the internal functionality of the application is not exploited.

Gray box or gray box

This test provides some sensitive information about the application, such as access passwords and an overview of the architecture. This helps to expand the test cases that are going to be executed, which is why more critical and important security breaches are usually found.

Specific parts of the application are attacked in a highly targeted manner. It has all the benefits of a black box test; however, it takes more time as external and internal attacks are performed by simulating the role of an authenticated user.

White box or white box

During white box pentesting, the complete confidential information of the application and the system is provided, including its architecture design, access credentials and most importantly: the source code is shared to review it in its entirety and to be able to find even more vulnerabilities. 

This is the most complete test since it gives us a complete smart contract security audit of the system ; however, it is the one that takes the longest to develop, due to its high complexity.

Phases of pentesting

All penetration tests have different phases or stages that are developed progressively . Cybersecurity specialists must comply with a protocol to plan and execute each test in the best possible way. In this way, they will be able to verify and guarantee the security of the information found in the system.

Here we will explain in detail what each of the phases consists of and what its usefulness is in the organization's systems:

Recognition

It is the phase where the attacker seeks to collect all the necessary information about the system or network to be analyzed , in order to carry out the intrusion successfully. It should be noted that in this phase the pentesting staff will not seek to infiltrate the system as such, but will try to gather information from outside.

The information that you want to obtain in this phase corresponds to IP addresses (to obtain firewall specifications ), personal data about company personnel (name, surname) and, of course, email addresses.

Scanning

This phase seeks to actively check whether what has been found in the recognition phase shows vulnerabilities that are related to the services found. This will help us define the degree of difficulty of the possible intrusion.

In fact, this phase of pentesting is very important in terms of cybersecurity analysis, since it allows us to verify the security level of the system . After you have an overview of the access points, you will proceed to enter the system through them in the next stage of pentesting.

Exploitation

After having found the vulnerabilities or security gaps that had been revealed since the previous phase, now the objective is to test them. That is, the personnel in charge of pentesting  must try to enter the system through the previously detected entry points.

Additionally, when they have managed to access the system, exploiting the weaknesses, the programmers will continue looking for possible access to privileged levels of the system. The goal is to get as much information as possible and demonstrate the damage a cybercriminal could do.

The idea is to be clear about the most vulnerable points in the system and what actions can be carried out within it, in order to strengthen these weak points and understand their importance in relation to the security of the system's information. 

Trace erasure

After carrying out all the intrusion tests, it is possible to leave some traces or traces that can serve as a guide for possible attacks in the future.

That is why at this stage you should completely remove any 'tracks' that may have been left behind. If it is not done correctly, it would be considered a high-risk vulnerability for the system, completely compromising its cybersecurity.

‍

In this sense, the fact of periodically carrying out penetration tests will allow us to have the system updated and to know the new weaknesses before others can exploit them for malicious purposes.

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[cyphershieldtech]

The Ultimate Guide to Auditing a Smart Contract + Most Dangerous Attacks in Solidity

Ever wondered how to audit a smart contract to find security breaches?

You can learn it yourself, or you can use this helpful step-by-step guide to learn exactly what to do, when and when to audit these contracts.

I've been researching various Smart Contract audits and learned the most common steps they take to extract all essential information from any contract.

You will learn the following:

Steps to take to fully audit a Smart Contract to generate a pdf with all conclusions.

The most important types of attacks you need to know about as an Ethereum Smart Contract Auditor.

What to look for in a contract and helpful tips you won't find anywhere else but here.

Let's cut to the chase and start auditing contracts:

How to audit a Smart Contract

To teach you exactly how to do this, I'm going to audit one of my own contracts. This way you will see a real world audit that you can apply for yourself.

Now you might ask, what exactly is a Smart Contract audit?

A Smart Contract audit is the process of carefully investigating a piece of code, in this case a Solidity contract for bugs, vulnerabilities and risks, before the code is deployed and used on the Ethereum mainnet where it will not be modifiable. It's just for discussion purposes.

Note that an audit is not a legal document that verifies that code is secure. Nobody can guarantee 100% that the code will not have future bugs or vulnerabilities. It's a guarantee that your code has been reviewed by an expert and is secure.

To discuss possible improvements and mainly to find bugs and vulnerabilities that might risk people's Ether .

Once that's clear, let's take a look at the structure of a Smart Contract Audit:

Disclaimer : Here you will say that the audit is not a legally binding document and that it does not guarantee anything. That this is just a discussion paper.

Audit overview and legal features : A quick overview of the Smart Contract that will be audited and best practices found.

Attacks made on the contract : In this section you will talk about the attacks made on the contract and the results. Just to verify that it is, in fact, safe.

Critical vulnerabilities found in the contract : Critical issues that could seriously undermine the integrity of the contract. Some mistakes that would allow attackers to steal Ether is a critical issue.

Medium vulnerabilities found in the contract : those vulnerabilities that could damage the contract, but with some kind of limitation. Like a bug that allows people to modify a random variable.

Low severity vulnerabilities found : These are the issues that really don't break the contract and that could exist in the deployed version of the contract.

Line-by-line comments : In this section, you'll review the most important lines where you see potential improvements.

Audit Summary : Your view of the contract and final audit findings.

Keep this structure somewhere safe because it's all you need to actually securely audit a Smart Contract. It will really help you find those hard to find vulnerabilities.

I recommend that you start with point 7 "Line-by-line comments" because by analyzing the contract line-by-line you will find the most important issues and see what is missing. What could be changed or improved.

I'll show you a Disclaimer that you can use like this for the first step of the audit. You can go to point 1 and down from there until the audit is complete.

Then I'll show you my personal audit that I did for one of my contracts using that framework with these steps. You will also see a description of the most important attacks that can be made on a Smart Contract in step 3.

Introduction

In this Smart Contract audit, we cover the following topics:

Disclaimer

Audit overview and nice features

Attack made on the contract

Critical vulnerabilities found in the contract

Average vulnerabilities found in the contract

Low severity vulnerabilities found

Line-by-line comments

audit summary

1. Disclaimer

The audit makes no representations or warranties about the usefulness of the code, security of the code, suitability of the business model, regulatory regime of the business model, or any other representations about the contracts' fitness for purpose, or their error-free status. Audit documentation is for discussion purposes only.

2. Overview

The project has only one file, the file Casino.sol, which contains 142 lines of Solidity code. All functions and state variables are well commented using the natspec documentation for the functions, which is good for quickly understanding how everything should work.

The project implements the Oraclize API to generate truly random numbers on the blockchain using a centralized service.

Generating random numbers on the blockchain is a rather difficult topic because one of the core values ​​of Ethereum is predictability, the aim of which is not to have undefined values.

Therefore, using Oraclize 's reliable number generation is considered good practice, as they generate random numbers off the blockchain . It implements modifiers and a callback function that verifies that the information comes from a trusted entity.

The purpose of this Smart Contract is to participate in a random lottery where people bet on a number between 1 and 9. When 10 people place their bets, the prize is automatically distributed among the winners. There is also a minimum bet amount for each user.

Each player can only bet once during each game and the winning number is only generated when the betting limit is reached.

nice features

The contract offers a good set of functionalities that will be useful for the whole contract:

Secure random number generation with Oraclize and proof checking in the callback .

Modifiers to verify the end game, blocking critical functions until rewards are distributed.

A fair amount of checking to verify that the wager function is used correctly.

Secure generation of the winning number only when the maximum bets have been reached.

3. Attacks made on the contract

In order to verify the security of the contract, we test various attacks to ensure that the contract is secure and follows best practices.

Re-entrance Attack

This attack consists of recursively calling the method call.value()on an ERC20 token to extract the ether stored in the contract if the user is not updating the balancesender's before sending the ether.

When you call a function to send the ether to a contract, you can use the fallback function to rerun that function until the ether from the contract is extracted.

As this contract uses transfer()instead of call.value(), there is no risk of reentrancy attacks since the transfer function only allows you to use 23,000 gas which you can only use for one event to log data and cast on failure.

That way you won't be able to call the sender function again, thus avoiding the reentrancy attack.

The transfer function is called only when distributing rewards to winners, which happens once per game, when the game ends. So there shouldn't be any problem with reentrance attacks.

Note that the condition for calling this function is that the number of bets is greater than or equal to the 10 bet limit, but this condition is not updated until the end of the function distributePrizes()which is risky because someone could theoretically be able to call this function and execute all the logic before updating the state.

So my recommendation is to update the condition when the function starts and set the number of bets to 0 to avoid calling the function distributePrizes()more times than anticipated.

over and underflows

An overflow happens when the limit of the type variable uint256, 2**256, is exceeded. What happens is that the value is returned to zero instead of increasing further.

For example, if I want to assign a value to a uint greater than 2**256, it will simply go to 0 - this is dangerous.

On the other hand, an underflow happens when you try to subtract a number greater than 0 from 0.

For example, if you subtract 0 -1, the result will be = 2**256 instead of -1.

This is quite dangerous when it comes to ether . However, in this contract there is no subtraction anywhere, so there is no risk of underflow .

The only time an overflow can happen is when bet()(betting) a number and the amount of the variable TotalBetis increased:

totalBet += msg.value;

Someone could send a huge amount of ether that would exceed the 2**256 limit and therefore make the total bet 0. This is unlikely, but the risk is there.

Therefore, I recommend using a library such as OpenZeppelin's SafeMath.sol.

It will help you make safe calculations without the risk of under or overflow .

The way you use it is by importing the library, activating it for uint256 and then using the .mul(), .add(), sub() and .div() functions. For example, the .mul(), .add(), sub() and .div() function:

import './SafeMath.sol';

contract Casino {

using SafeMath for uint256;

function example(uint256 _value) {

uint number = msg.value.add(_value);

}

}

Repeat Attack

The replay attack consists of making a transaction on a blockchain like the original Ethereum blockchain and then replaying it on another blockchain like the classic Ethereum blockchain .

Ether is transferred as a normal transaction from one blockchain to another.

Though it's not a problem anymore because since version 1.5.3 of Geth and 1.4.4 of Parity both implement Vitalik Buterin's EIP 155 attack protection

Therefore, the people who will use the contract are dependent on their own ability to stay current with these programs to stay safe.

Reorder Attack

This attack is where a miner or other party tries to "compete" with a participant in a Smart Contract by entering their own information into a list or mapping so that the attacker can get lucky in getting their own information stored in the contract.

When a user enters his bet()and the data is saved on the blockchain , anyone will be able to see which number has been wagered, simply by calling the mapping playerplayerBetsNumber .

This mapping shows which number was selected by each person. So in the transaction data you can easily see the amount of ether that was staked.

This can happen in the function distributePrizes()because it is called when the callbackrandom number generation is invoked.

Since the condition of this function is not updated until the end, there is a risk of a reordering attack.

Consequently, my recommendation is as I said before: update the number of bets condition at the start of the function distributePrizes()to avoid this kind of unforeseen behavior.

short address attack

This attack affects ERC20 tokens , it was discovered by the Golem team and consists of the following:

A user creates an ethereum wallet with a traling 0 , which is not difficult because it is just a single digit. For example: 0xiofa8d97756as7df5sd8f75g8675ds8gsdg0

Then he buys tokens , removing the last zero:

Buy 1000 tokens from 0xiofa8d97756as7df5sd8f75g8675ds8gsdg account

If the token contract has enough amount of tokens and the purchase function does not check the sender address length, the Ethereum virtual machine will just add zeros to the transaction until the address is complete.

The virtual machine will return 256000 for every 1000 tokens purchased. This is a virtual machine bug that hasn't been fixed yet, so whenever you want to buy tokens , make sure you check the address length.

The contract is not vulnerable to this attack as it is not an ERC20 token.

4. Critical vulnerabilities found in the contract

There are no critical issues in the audited smart contract.

5. Average vulnerabilities found in the contract

The function checkPlayerExists()is not constant when it should be.

Therefore, this increases gas costs each time the function is called, which is a big problem when dealing with many calls.

Make this constant and avoid expensive gas runs .

6. Low severity vulnerabilities found

You are using assert()instead of require()in all cases and at the beginning of the functions ` call back()` and pay().

Assert and require behave almost identically, but the assert function is used to validate the state of the contract after making changes, while require is usually used on top of functions to verify function input.

You are defining the variable players at the beginning of the contract, but not using it anywhere. Remove it if you are not going to use it.

7. Line-by-line comments

Line 1 : You are specifying a pragma version with the caret symbol (^) in front, which tells the compiler to use any version of solidity greater than 0,4,11.

This is not a good practice as there could be big changes between versions that would make your code unstable. That's why I recommend setting a fixed version without the accent to 0.4.11.

Line 14 : You are defining the uintvariable totalBetin the singular, which is not correct as it stores the sum of all bets. My recommendation is to change it to plural, totalBets instead of totalBet .

Line 24 : You are defining the constant variable in caps which is good practice to know that it is a fixed, unmodified variable.

Line 30 : As I said before, you are defining an unused array . playerTake it out if you are not going to use it.

Line 60 : The function checkPlayerExists()should be constant, but it's not. Because it doesn't modify the state of the contract, it makes it constant and saves some gas every time it runs.

It's also good practice to specify the type of visibility the role has even if it's the default audience value to avoid confusion. To do this, explicitly add the public visibility parameter to the function.

Line 61 : You are not checking that the player parameter is sent and well formatted. Be sure to use a require(player != endereço(0));at the top of this function to check whether an invalid address exists or not. Also check the address length to protect the code against short address attacks, just in case.

Line 69 : Again, specify the function's visibility bet()to avoid confusion and know exactly what it should be called.

Line 72 : Use require()instead of assert()to check that the function input is well-formed.

Likewise, at the beginning of functions, require() is most often used. Change all assert() at the beginning to require() .

Line 90 : You are using a simple sum on the variable msg.value. This could lead to overflows , as the value could get quite large. That's why I recommend checking for overflows and underflows whenever you're doing a calculation.

Line 98 : The function generateNumberWinner()must be built-in, as you don't want anyone running it outside of the contract.

Line 103 : You are saving the result of oraclize_newRandomDSQuery()into a bytes32 variable . It is not necessary to execute the callback function . Also, you are not using this variable anywhere. Therefore, I recommend not assigning this value and just calling the function.

Line 110 : The function ____callback()_must be external because you only want it to be called from outside.

Line 117 : This claim must be required for the reasons I explained above.

Line 119 : You are using shae()which is not good practice as the algorithm used is not exactly shae3 , but keccak256 . My recommendation is to change it to keccak256() instead, for clarity.

Line 125 : The function distributePrizes()must be built-in because only the contract should be able to call it.

Line 129 : Even though you're using a variable-sized array for a loop , it's not too bad because the amount of winners should be limited to less than 100.

8. Audit summary

In general, the code is well commented and clear about what it should do for each function.

The mechanism for betting and distributing rewards is quite simple, so it shouldn't pose any major problems.

My final recommendation would be to pay more attention to the visibility of functions, as it is very important to define who should execute the functions and to follow best practices regarding the use of assert , require and keccak .

This is a secure contract that will safely store funds while it is working.

Conclusion

That was all the auditing I did myself using the framework explained at the beginning. I hope you've learned something and are now able to securely audit other Smart Contracts.

Keep learning and improving your knowledge of contract security, best practices, and new functionality.

[cyphershieldtech]

Coincheck Hack – One of the Biggest Crypto Hacks in History

One of the largest crypto hacks, the Coincheck hack, ended up incurring a $523 million loss. Read more to find out how the exchange failed to secure its users' funds.

The common notion around cryptocurrency that sets it apart from the traditional banking system is its transparency, security, and decentralized nature. Users who engage in crypto are assured that their assets will remain safe in their wallets.

However, there have been some attacks in the past that have made people skeptical about trusting cryptocurrency exchanges and storage. For example, Coincheck Hack in 2018. Coincheck hack is considered to be one of the biggest crypto hacks ever. Inspectors sent $523 million worth of NEM (XEM) coins to another address.

When did it happen and who was involved?

Unknown hackers in Japan hacked into the Coincheck cryptocurrency exchange on January 26, 2018. The identities of the hackers who breached the security system are still unknown. The authorities carried out a detailed investigation, but were unable to retract the lost assets or the identities of those hackers.

Post mortem del hack

Approximately $500 million in assets were lost. Coincheck claimed at the time that they were making the best efforts to recover the lost assets. However, after the investigation was carried out, Coincheck admitted that hackers were able to break into its system due to the shortage of employees at the time. Due to inadequate security measures in place, the hackers were able to successfully execute their mission.

Coincheck did not realize that its system was hacked until after a few hours. The exchange later used its capital to reimburse the losses of its 260,000 clients. And because of that, Coincheck is on the rise again by improving its security practices. The refund took some time, but everyone was refunded the exact amount they had lost during the hack.

The consequences of hacking

Although this hack shook Coincheck to its core, it also made many crypto exchanges realize that they need to fill their security gaps to ensure that their clients' assets remain safe even if there is a security breach involved in the future. .

Similarly, Coincheck set a great example by being able to offset their clients' losses. It was seen as a power move by his customers and potential customers.

This is why Coincheck is now considered one of the most active platforms on the internet today.

Impact on the cryptographic community

The crypto community was rocked by the Coincheck hack as it was considered one of the biggest crypto hacks up to 2018. The breach made users and companies insecure about their unwavering trust in the security protocols of crypto projects and the block chains. Similarly, it also alerted other crypto exchanges to work on their security protocols to protect their assets from similar attacks.

However, people did not stop investing in cryptocurrencies after this attack. There has been a steady increase in crypto-related investment around the world. Many companies now accept it as a payment gateway.

These security breaches have also made people think of more ways to make sure hackers don't attack these platforms. These security measures include facial ID verification, biometric passcodes, and two-way authentication methods.

However, it can be assumed that the benefits of cryptocurrencies outweigh these few tricks. Especially when clients don't have the short end of the stick: In most cases, crypto exchanges refunded client funds.

Other crypto hacks worth mentioning

In addition to Coincheck, the cryptocurrency industry has been through a series of attacks. The last one is the Poly Network hack where around 160 million in assets were lost. Poly Network uses lockboxes to protect assets, and they are only released after receiving permission from an authorized network.

However, the hackers were able to release the assets without having to provide authorized permission from another blockchain. On the plus side, they couldn't steal the full amount. After an agreement, they kept around 2 million dollars and the rest (600 million dollars) was returned to the Polynetwork.

After some time, the Poly Network administration reimbursed users for their losses. Since most of the loss was retracted, people are still involved in the project. Some other popular hacks include the BitGrail Hack, Mt. Gox Hack, KuCoin Hack, CryptoCore/Lazarus Hack, Afcrypt Hack, and Bitfinex Hack.

How to protect exchanges from hackers in the future?

These hacks can be avoided by putting certain security controls in place by companies or cryptocurrency users. Regarding how hackers try to learn new techniques, companies can formulate new methods to ensure that no one can hack into your system. Even if, due to technical flaws, hackers manage to infiltrate the system, the assets (coins) should not be released despite their various attempts.

Similarly, users can take security measures to keep their assets safe by using cold wallets instead of active wallets. A cold wallet is an offline storage system for crypto currencies that cannot be hacked.

Users must not share their private keys with anyone and store them in a safe place. In addition to this, it is vital to use a trustworthy and trustworthy crypto exchange. Also, you can use a VPN service while accessing your wallet to keep your transactions untraceable.

To sum it all up

Cryptocurrency is considered to be more secure than the traditional banking system. This is the reason why so many people are drawn to it early on. However, there have been many crypto hacks and scams that have raised concerns about the security offered by cryptocurrency exchanges.

For example, the Coincheck hack in 2018 and the recent Poly Network hack in 2019. However, the advantages of investing in cryptocurrency outweigh the disadvantages.

Crypto projects have great value for the rapidly growing blockchain world. However, your focus should be on the safety and security of your project. Find out all the pitfalls before launching in the market. To that end, a crypto project audit can identify flaws in your project. Our company Cyphershield, thoroughly investigates the crypto project smart contract, including bugs, inefficiency, and vulnerabilities.

[cyphershieldtech]

What is a Penetration Test?

If you are a beginner, this article will help you to know what a Penetration Test is, also known by other names as Intrusion Test or Pentest. This is used to assess the security of a network. This is a comprehensive analysis of the network infrastructure to detect weaknesses where external attackers could exploit to gain unauthorized access to stored information. These tests are not limited to network security, but can also be applied to applications, operating systems, smartphones, and other devices.

Penetration testing is important to ensure that network security is properly configured and that users can be sure that their information is protected. These tests are useful for detecting vulnerabilities before outside attackers can take advantage of them.

Who performs penetration testing?

External contractors are normally used to carry out the tests. These contractors are often referred to as “ethical hackers” as they are hired to hack into a system with permission and to increase security.

Many ethical hackers are experienced developers with college degrees and certification for penetration testing. On the other hand, some of the best ethical hackers are self-taught. In fact, some are reformed cybercriminals, now using their expertise to help fix security flaws rather than attack. The best candidate to perform a penetration test can vary greatly depending on the target company and the type of penetration test they want to start. 

Next, we show you the 5 different penetration tests that there are: 

Open box penetration test.

Closed box penetration test.

Covert penetration test. 

External penetration test.

Internal penetration test. 

How do Penetration Tests work?

Penetration Testing consists of several phases. The first phase consists of an analysis of the network infrastructure. This means that the team responsible for conducting the test will verify all devices, applications and operating systems connected to the network. This phase also includes an analysis of the configuration of the devices to ensure that they are properly configured to ensure the security of the network.

Once the responsible team has made an analysis of the network infrastructure, they will proceed to carry out penetration tests. These tests usually consist of several steps, such as performing a vulnerability scan and port scanning. These tests allow the team to determine which devices, applications, and operating systems have weak points that are susceptible to unauthorized attacks.

Once the penetration tests have been completed, the responsible team can recommend improvement actions for the security of the network. These recommendations may include updating devices, implementing security best practices, or implementing additional security tools. These recommendations can help improve network security and prevent future unauthorized attacks.

In short, a Penetration Test is an important tool to ensure network security. These tests involve a thorough analysis of the network infrastructure, followed by vulnerability tests and port scans, to determine any weak points that could be exploited by an attacker. At the end of the test, the responsible team can recommend additional security measures to improve the security of the network.

What happens after a penetration test?

After completing the pentest, the ethical hacker will share his findings via a report with the company's security team. The information provided can be used to deploy security updates and mitigate any vulnerabilities discovered during testing. These enhancements may include rate limiting, new WAF rules and DDoS typing, as well as stricter form validations and sanitizations. Do not forget that the penetration test must be carried out at least once a year.

At cyphershield, we are specialists in Penetration Testing. We work with the best Hackers in the region to test your systems and find existing vulnerabilities. Do you need a penetration test or pentest? Contact us now for a smart contract audit.

[cyphershieldtech]

Vulnerabilities: What is Broken Access Control and how to fix it

What is Access Control?

Before understanding the vulnerability, let's see what an access control is (Access Control).

Access control ( Access Control ) is a mechanism that specifies what information, functions or systems will be accessible to a particular user, group or role. That is, it is a way to control who can access certain resources , typically by using policies to specify access privileges.

In web applications, access control involves using protection mechanisms such as:

Authentication (verify user identity)

Authorization (check if the user has permission to access a resource).

What is a Broken Access Control?

The Broken Access Control vulnerability occurs when a failure or absence of access control mechanisms allows a user to access a resource that is outside of their intended permissions.

This vulnerability is one of the most common in websites and ranks No. 5 in the OWASP TOP 10 (Open Web Application Security Project).

Due to the number of errors related to access control, there are several vulnerabilities under the Broken Access Control category , some of them are:

IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference)

CSRF (Client-Side Request Forgery)

CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) misconfiguration

It has been classified by the CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) as CWE-284: Improper Access Control. You can visit its technical sheet to know more specifications.

Broken Access Control Risks

The risks of this vulnerability depend on the interaction that the attacker manages to have with a company's server.

However, in the case of companies, it is common for occasions from information leaks to the alteration of sensitive or confidential data.

common case

Broken Access Control in administrative functions

There could be two possible Broken Access Control scenarios here:

In the event that an unauthenticated user can access and obtain the list of e-mails.

In the event that an authenticated user who is not an administrator manages to access and obtain the list of mails.

In both cases, the application would be vulnerable.

Tips to prevent it

Preventing this vulnerability can be complex since there are many scenarios that can lead to it, however, there are good practices that you can implement to mitigate it, such as:

Check the implementation of correct access control, establishing roles and permissions to access resources.

Verify that access to resources by ID has an additional verification step that ensures the entry of authorized users

Deny access to your resources by default, unless you want them to be public.

What a Broken Access Control looks like in code

Suppose a website allows its users to register and post blog articles.

During this registration, the user must provide data such as their email and name, and site administrators can see this information from a menu (only accessible to administrators) that has the option "See all emails."

And accessing here executes the following code:

The server effectively asks the user to log in to access the email list, however, it does not check their role or permissions.

Therefore, the application is vulnerable since an authenticated user but without permissions can access a functionality intended only for administrators .

Solution

The server should also check what roles or permissions the user has when accessing the resource. To do this, it would be necessary to modify the code so that it contains the following:

if (isset( $_SESSION [ 'loggedin' ]) && $_SESSION [ 'isadmin' ] == true )) {

load_emails();

}

else {

return_to_login();

}

In this way, any user who is not authenticated or who is not authorized (other than administrator), will be redirected to the Login page .

A pentest never hurts

Broken Access Control vulnerabilities are very common not only due to a lack of effective functional testing by developers, but also due to a lack of automated detection (static and dynamic review tools).

For this reason, carrying out an ethical hacking exercise (of the penetration testing type , manual intrusion tests or pentest ) is the most convenient and viable option to detect them in time and mitigate them at the root.

Conclusion

The Broken Access Control vulnerability usually appears when there are errors in the implementation of access controls.

Although it may seem like a simple and harmless vulnerability, its impact can be critical and the difficulty of finding it using automated tools can make it go unnoticed.

Consider following the good practices outlined above and periodically performing penetration tests to find this and any other types of vulnerabilities. 

As vulnerabilities exist in the web3 spaces, Cypershield is one of the kinds of Security and Smart Contract audit company rendering exceptionally professional smart contract auditing services for varied Crypto projects. In the process of rendering your projects, full-on auditing services help you come over your smart contract vulnerabilities and reach a higher scale in the market.

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How to protect your cryptocurrency wallet?

Together with its volatility, one of the concerns against cryptocurrencies is the possibility of fraud or hacking. Those who are unfamiliar with the world of crypto assets may find it difficult to figure out how to preserve their bitcoin wallet. Yet, it is important to note that security risks to digital currencies are not particularly connected to blockchain technology. They are connected to interfaces used by outside parties to access your network. Namely, hardware used to hold wallets and private keys, as well as online marketplaces for cryptocurrency.

It should be noted that neither governments nor central banks have any control over cryptographic assets. Hence, it is up to us to take the appropriate precautions to protect our money. Also, there is a very slim chance that lost money can be recovered.

It's not a good idea to base your decision on whims, paranoid pictures, or anything else similar while deciding how to protect your cryptocurrency wallet. Instead, it stands for an activity in line with the necessity to look after and defend our assets from dangerous hackers. This post will show you how to safeguard your wallet against hackers. Here's how to keep your cryptocurrency, though, before that.

How to store cryptocurrencies?

The device that enables our access to bitcoins is a virtual wallet. Our crypto assets do not physically dwell in a wallet, unlike the conventional wallet we keep in our pants pockets; instead, they are stored on the blockchain.

How is the method progressing? The private key, public key, public address, transaction history, and balance of our coins are all stored in the digital wallet. The private key, on the other hand, serves as the foundation of the entire crypto asset custody system. This key generates the public key which, in turn, produces a public address.

The opening remarks: It can be shared with any user, as the name would imply. Hence, we share our wallet's public address, which functions like a bank code, if a friend wishes to give us bitcoins.

The private key: It needs to be guarded with care. And it is because of it that we can only offer cryptographic confirmation of the source of a person's bitcoins and allow transactions from our wallet to theirs.

How therefore can you safeguard yourself?

Given the foregoing, we may suggest certain actions you can take to increase your security when using this currency, keeping in mind the need to safeguard both your identity and your wallets from potential online theft.

safeguard your identity

You should use caution while disclosing your transaction data in open areas like the internet. This enables you to keep your identity and cryptocurrency address private.

Make use of a "escrow service"

You can utilise a "escrow service" when you need to buy or sell something but are unsure of who is on the other side. In such circumstances, the party that must make the payment submits their bitcoins to the escrow service in the hopes of receiving the sought item.

The seller dispatches the agreed-upon item at this stage knowing that his money is secure with the custodian. The buyer notifies the custodian of the circumstance after receiving the product so that he can complete the transaction.

encrypt your wallet

Encryption of wallets is essential, especially when stored online. It goes without saying that using a strong password is always required. To do this, we can encrypt files that contain sensitive information using technologies like DESlock +.

Much better if the entire system disc or user space, where these files are stored, can be encrypted.

Don't forget double authentication

In order to identify the online storage services that are actually reliable, a thorough screening method must be used. And even then, it's important to remember that any vendor's systems could be shown to contain flaws.

Thus it is advised to use two-factor authentication and, if at all feasible, online services that permit the use of hardware wallets.

Avoid using wallets on mobile devices

You should steer clear of using mobile devices since they could be stolen or compromised, especially when working with significant amounts of money. Additionally, it is preferable to keep the wallet on PCs without an Internet connection in these circumstances.

Consider the use of multi-signature addresses

Use numerous signature addresses for commercial transactions or transactions requiring a high level of security. This requires the usage of numerous keys, which are typically kept on distant computers that are in the custody of authorised persons.

By doing this, a hacker would have to gain access to every computer hosting the keys. His duty will become harder as a result.

Update systems, always

Updates are required for the operating system, other products that operate on it, as well as the Bitcoin clients because, of course, no application is fault-free.

Every sort of virus that is hosted on the computer has the potential to disrupt software wallets, thus it is advisable to have an up-to-date security solution that can produce frequent mass scans.

Delete a virtual wallet when you no longer use it

When a virtual wallet is no longer needed, it must be deleted carefully to ensure that it has been totally destroyed. To replace the wallet file with random data before removing it, run the shred command on a Linux system.

The same procedure must be followed after making the effort to find any duplicates that may have been made, either by a user or a system.

Conclusion

Cyphershield is a blockchain security and smart contract auditing company with experienced professionals and we solve problems through our audit services. We identify vulnerabilities in smart contract code, ensuring the safety of both you and your users. Cyphershield is the first line of digital defense, protecting your smart contract from hacks and exploits. We also provide detailed audit reports so that you can establish trust with your users.

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A Guide to Smart Contract Verification

Introduction:

Smart contracts are self-executing contracts with terms and conditions written directly into code. They are designed to execute automatically once certain predetermined conditions are met. Smart contracts are typically deployed on blockchain networks, enabling secure and transparent execution of transactions without the need for intermediaries.

Smart contract audit refers to the process of thoroughly reviewing the smart contract's code and testing its functionality to ensure that it performs as intended in all scenarios. Verification is a crucial step in ensuring the security and functionality of smart contracts, as errors or vulnerabilities in the code can result in significant financial losses or other negative consequences. Verification methodologies may include directed testing, regression testing, code coverage closure, and functional coverage closure, as well as advanced techniques such as fuzzing, metamorphic testing, constrained random testing, and formal verification.

Verification Methodologies:

There are several methodologies for verifying smart contracts. Some of the most common ones include directed testing, regression testing, code coverage closure, functional coverage closure. In addition to these methodologies, there are advanced verification techniques that can be employed to further increase the confidence in the behavior of the smart contract, including Fuzzing, Constrained Random, Metamorphic Testing, and Formal Verification. In Figure 1, x-axis shows five colored bars to represent the methodologies of smart contract verification flow from start to deployment, and y-axis represents the corresponding verification quality achieved by each set of methodologies. The high-level idea is to start with directed testing and move to the next methodology step-by-step. In the following, we discuss each methodology briefly.

Directed Testing:

Directed testing is a method of software testing where the tests are designed and executed to verify specific aspects of the system's behavior or functionality. In the context of smart contracts, directed testing involves manually testing the contract by providing specific inputs and examining its corresponding outputs. The main objective of directed testing is to ensure that the smart contract behaves according to its intended design requirements and expectations. This type of testing is typically carried out by the development team or quality assurance personnel, who create test cases, execute the contract code manually, and compare the results with the expected outcomes. Directed testing is an important part of smart contract development as it helps to identify any potential bugs or vulnerabilities in the contract prior to its deployment on a public blockchain network.

Regression Testing:

Regression testing is a type of software testing that is performed to ensure that changes made to a software application, such as modifications to its code or configuration, have not introduced new errors or adversely impacted its existing functionality. In the context of smart contracts, regression testing involves running tests on the contract after making modifications to verify that its existing functionalities are operating as expected. This includes testing previously tested scenarios, edge cases, and crucial functionalities to ensure that the changes have not introduced any issues or violated the contract. Regression testing helps to catch any unintended consequences of modifications to the contract code, preventing problems from occurring in the production environment.

Code-Coverage Closure:

Code coverage is a measure of the degree to which a software application's source code has been tested by its associated test suite. It is expressed as a percentage and reflects the amount of code that has been executed by the test suite, e.g., statement coverage, branch coverage etc.

Code coverage closure is the process of determining the completeness and thoroughness of the testing performed on the code of a software application. It involves evaluating the code coverage achieved by the associated test suite and identifying any segments of code that have not been executed or tested by the test suite. In the context of smart contracts, code coverage and code coverage closure are essential for ensuring that the contract behaves as intended and is free from errors or vulnerabilities. Code coverage metrics help developers to assess the quality of their smart contract code and identify areas where additional testing may be necessary to achieve the desired level of code coverage. By achieving code coverage closure, developers can have greater confidence in the reliability and security of their smart contracts, reducing the risk of costly errors or exploits on the blockchain.

Functional Coverage Closure:

In the context of smart contracts, functional coverage is a type of testing that ensures that a smart contract's code meets its intended functional requirements. It is concerned with verifying that the contract behaves as expected under various conditions and scenarios, and that all of its planned functionalities have been adequately tested. There are various approaches for measuring functional coverage, including:

Requirements Tracing: This technique traces the functional requirements of the code to ensure that all conditions have been tested.

Model-based testing: This method generates test cases based on a model of the contract and validates its functional coverage.

Scenario-based testing: This method creates test cases to cover different use cases and scenarios of the contract.

Functional coverage closure in the context of smart contracts involves verifying that a smart contract's functional requirements have been completely and effectively tested. It aims to ensure that all planned functionalities and scenarios have been tested and that the contract behaves as expected under various conditions. This process involves analyzing the results of the tests, identifying any gaps in functional coverage, and adding additional tests or modifying existing tests to ensure that all functional requirements have been adequately covered. The ultimate goal of functional coverage closure is to achieve a high level of confidence in the smart contract's functional correctness before it is deployed to a public blockchain network.

Advanced Verification Techniques:

To ensure the dependability and security of smart contracts, advanced verification techniques are utilized that exceed basic testing and validation methodologies to enhance confidence in the contract's behavior.

One of these advanced verification techniques is Fuzzing, which involves generating random or semi-random input data and feeding it into a smart contract to observe its response and detect any bugs or vulnerabilities that may bypass traditional testing methods.

Constrained random testing is another advanced verification technique, which creates inputs randomly within the parameters of the predicted behavior of the contract and observes its response.

Metamorphic testing is yet another advanced verification technique that creates test cases based on the code's characteristics rather than specific inputs and outputs, to check the behavior of the contract under multiple situations and identify possible patterns or connections between inputs and outputs.

Formal verification, another advanced verification technique, utilizes automated tools and mathematical methods to verify that a smart contract performs as intended. For smart contracts that carry out critical tasks such as financial transactions, formal verification is particularly useful in reducing the possibility of unintended harm.

Conclusion:

To ensure the functionality and security of self-executing smart contracts, the verification process is crucial. Various verification methodologies are utilized, such as Directed Testing, Regression Testing, Code-Coverage Closure, and Functional Coverage Closure. In addition, advanced verification techniques, including Fuzzing, Constrained Random, Metamorphic Testing, and Formal Verification, further increase confidence in the smart contract's behavior and help identify any bugs or vulnerabilities. A comprehensive verification of smart contracts is crucial for their successful deployment across various industries.

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Cybersecurity in the metaverse: the new technological challenge

We still don't know what the metaverse will look like, but we do already know some of the risks it will entail in terms of cybersecurity. As progress is made in the creation of this new universe, technology companies are already working to respond to the new challenges that it will pose in terms of security.

According to a study by Mediabrands Discovery, 90% of potential users of the metaverse believe that it will bring significant social benefits. The fields of virtual medicine, learning processes, as well as culture and entertainment will be some of those that will experience a great impact as this new universe takes shape.

Undoubtedly, there are great expectations placed on him before the great opportunities that he is expected to bring in the coming years. However, the metaverse will also have to face a series of challenges, and cybersecurity will be one of the main ones.

This is leading to the fact that technological and specialized companies are already working to implement strategies that guarantee greater security in the metaverse.

New (and not so new) threat vectors

What the metaverse will actually be like is still unknown. According to Mark Zuckerberg, the metaverse could take a decade to develop to its full potential . However, the first challenges that you will need to address in terms of security have already emerged.

At the moment, we know that a wide variety of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) , natural language processing, 3D graphics, high-end sensors, etc. are likely to coexist. And all this complexity will open the doors to many vulnerabilities.

Identity theft and ransomware attacks will be one of them. Identity theft and biometric hacking can increase in these new environments.

Money laundering may be another security issue that will need to be addressed in this new scenario. Since the metaverse is likely to rely on cryptocurrencies , criminals can use these environments to hide their activities, leading to problems with ransomware.

Along with this, misinformation will be another of the great challenges that must be addressed. Governments and terrorist groups can take advantage of the metaverse to spread propaganda if proper mechanisms are not put in place.

Furthermore, the potential impact of all these activities in the real world can be very concerning. Dangers ranging from physical damage to virtual users through haptic sensors, to fraud and threats to minors in the metaverse must be addressed as soon as possible to avoid them.

To this must be added the implications of avatars that look, sound and act like humans thanks to the use of technologies such as generative AI . The difficulties that often exist in differentiating between real and virtual faces can carry enormous risks and affect trust.

Securing the metaverse

One silver lining when it comes to tackling cybersecurity in the metaverse is that tech companies have a lot of experience building systems. Existing approaches will prove useful so you don't have to start from scratch. Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) will be key, although adjustments will need to be made for the particularities of immersive environments.

For some experts, the different metaverses should implement stronger methods for authentication and access control in all interactions between users, applications and platforms, based on zero trust principles.

But security must go beyond the implementation of technologies. Due to the promised interaction of the real and digital worlds, rules will need to be in place to help manage the experience.

This will be a huge growth area, but it will also pose new challenges for organizations building the platforms to regulate user behavior, activities and interaction.

Keeping all of these aspects in mind will be key to providing a reasonable level of trust and security to businesses and consumers as they move deeper into the metaverse.

We are the fastest-growing Smart Contract Audit company that primarily focuses on blockchain security.

Our comprehensive smart contract audit services have helped startups and enterprises launch & maintain their applications before they turn into expensive exploits.In addition to it, we offer a full suite of Blockchain security services including penetration testing, code review, and security consulting.