The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a new warning regarding attacks on decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, claiming that hackers were taking advantage of flaws in the smart contracts that govern these platforms. The United States’ domestic intelligence and security services organization, citing an April 2022 report by blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, revealed that cybercriminals stole $1.3 billion (about Rs 10,400 crore) of crypto between January and March 2022. A staggering 97 percent of the thefts were from the crypto DeFi platform.
same report by Chainalysis also indicated an increase from 30 percent in 2020 to 72 percent in 2021. The agency reported that it has seen criminals taking advantage of signature verification, manipulating cryptocurrency value pairs, obtaining slippage checks, and using flash loans as a payment method. In relation to the latter, the FBI provided an example and made a note.
Even though the FBI acknowledged that “all investments carry some risk,” the agency advises that investors should conduct a thorough investigation before using the DeFi platform and, if in doubt, consult a qualified financial advisor. Take it The agency said it was important that the platform’s protocols were robust and that they had conducted one or more independent code audits. A code audit often requires a review of the underlying code of the platform to find any holes or flaws that may have the potential to be exploited.
The FBI advises caution when dealing with any DeFi investment pool with a “minimum period to join” or “rapid deployment of smart contracts,” primarily if they have not conducted a code audit.
According to the FBI, DeFi platforms can contribute to security by regularly testing their code to detect vulnerabilities and using real-time analytics and monitoring. The guidelines also include developing an incident response strategy and warning users of potential platform flaws, hackers, exploits or other suspicious behavior.
