Web3’s complexity a challenge for security as adoption of ‘the new internet’ grows

guest · Aug 4, 2022

August 3, 2022

Web3 — or the new internet — is growing more mainstream recently.

Despite the crypto crash, internet giants have continually invested in Web3 over the past few months. Meta started testing NFTs on Facebook with selected creators; eBay acquired leading NFT marketplace KnownOrigin; Mastercard opened its payment network to Web3.

While the new internet revolutionizes industries and incentivizes innovation, cybersecurity experts point out its associated security threats and urge companies to better understand them while moving forward.
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Defining Web3 from a security perspective
The World Wide Web has evolved from a static web to a dynamic web.

In Web1, most pages were static with basically text contents.
Web2 generated a more dynamic experience where users can interact with each other through user-generated content and third party programs.
Web3 is a decentralized form of the internet.

“It is open, trust-less and permission-less,” said Kevin Curran, a cybersecurity professor at Ulster University.
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Security threats under Web3 development
Web3’s priority on anonymity and privacy makes it hard for companies to track and investigate hackers’ identity.
Once an attack occurs in Web3, the system cannot be easily fixed.
Early security measures become stronger over time
More companies are starting to pay attention to Web3 security, which many cybersecurity experts consider as a good sign.
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guest · Jan 16, 2023

Phishing Campaigns Abusing Web3 Platforms Increased by 482% in 2022
By Brad Haas - January 16, 2023

Web3 platforms have surged in popularity over the years and continue to catch headlines with billion-dollar investments as well as significant downturns. According to McKinsey, despite early funding issues, adoption of Web3 applications has occurred at an exponential pace, which has led to many industry professionals questioning how safe and stable these platforms are.
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Upon analyzing credential phishing campaigns that reached inboxes during the first three quarters of 2022, Cofense discovered a significant rise in the abuse of Web3 platforms for phishing. As a result, phishing campaigns that abuse Web3 platforms have increased by 482 percent in 2022 with credential phishing making up the majority of the abuse.
Why Web3 is an Attractive Target
Web3 platforms have no organized moderators to manage hosted content. While some measures are put in place to limit malicious content, it is impossible to prevent it from being hosted within the platforms or to remove it once it has been hosted.

Since content published on Web3 platforms is considered permanent, this removes the need for threat actors to create or steal accounts, compromise websites, or register new domains to host a credential phishing page. Threat actors can continuously publish new phishing pages to stay ahead of countermeasures.
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Cofense: Phishing Campaigns Abusing Web3 Platforms Increases 482% in 2022

November 8, 2023
Malicious Use of Web3 Exploded in Q2, Still Increasing Steadily
Web3 platforms are an increasingly common method of hosting malicious content for phishing campaigns, as Figure 1 shows. Although a few malware campaigns have recently started to use Web3 platforms to host their payloads, credential phishing constitutes nearly all of the abuse so far.
Outlook
Web3 technology offers little downside to threat actors at present. In the near future, there is no reason to doubt that Web3 abuse will continue to increase in both credential phishing and malware.
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Web3’s complexity a challenge for security as adoption of ‘the new internet’ grows

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