Web3 security issues persist despite plans to be more resilient than web2

Web3 was primed to provide better security and remain stronger to outside threats than its predecessor web2. However, it has turned out that it is not more secure than web2 as over-arching issues remain.

Web3's potential to alter what the internet can do and possibly provide to blockchain-based technologies does have some relevance and game-changing qualities. However, the internet as a whole does not change because of this in the way it functions.

Cybercriminal activity within the current technological landscape has been rising as of late and this is despite web3-enabled tech promising to enable greater security. Recently, these cyber-attacks have occurred more frequently, with $1.7 million worth of NFTs being compromised from OpenSea.

The type of attack was an elaborate phishing one as hackers exploited the Wyvern Protocol being put in place by OpenSea. The Wyvern Protocol is a decentralised exchange protocol used by many within the NFT landscape.

Co-founder of Weaver Labs and speaker at this year's MWC event in Barcelona, Maria Lema, has given her take on why web3 is still facing security issues that web2 faced stating, "Web3 runs on a network that is essentially "web2" - not decentralised and largely controlled by trusted domains of service providers."

Lema stressed the importance of supply chain cybersecurity within telecommunications, with web3's applications running "on servers that use software, which have endpoints and potential vulnerabilities". This is due to the fact that specific risk assessments are needed to measure the security standards taken, given that these applications often run on third-party infrastructure that is also part of the supply chain.

Lema said that web3 is also still exposed because their applications "communicate through a network, a combination of hardware and software elements, which are often quite vulnerable to attack."

According to Lema, this is likely to result in these issues for web3 persisting, stating, "Web3 applications will be exposed to exactly the same web2 risks because it runs over the same infrastructure and is part of the same supply chain."

In addition to existing web2 security issues, Lema reports that web3 is also exposed because "distributed systems present a higher vulnerability to network attacks because of the cross-domain communication/integration these require. In general, perimeter models are not fit for purpose and security threats rise when there are multiple domains communicating."

In order for companies to combat these issues that web3 brings, Lema mentions that they should "be aware of security in the supply chain, do risk assessment in procurement and be mindful of where the services are running".

She also advises companies to carry out "wide risk assessments" and to create a culture of requiring the same level of scrutiny towards whoever they work with within the supply chain.

As of late cybersecurity attacks have been occurring in other areas outside the tech space with the healthcare industry more vulnerable to these attacks than it ever has been. Also, the retail industry has been a victim of multiple cyber-attacks, with WH Smith being struck by two separate attacks within a year.