Ironblock Sets Out to Tackle DeFi Hacks

2023-03-30, 04:22

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![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/blog/1679447253155655279redian.jpeg)
## [TL; DR]
Ironblocks is ready to provide end-to-end security to web3 protocols such as crosschain bridges, market makers and other DeFi platforms.

The increase in incidences of digital theft prompted Ironblocks to devise a strong security system for smart contract-based financial protocols.

Crosschain bridges and other composable protocols lost a large number of assets in 2022 alone.

## Introduction 
2022 witnessed many crypto thefts and crimes which include Rugpull, DNS spoofing, Frontend attack, Code bug, Protocol logic and Reentrancy, among others.The increase in these attacks led to new inventions aimed at preventing them from occurring. Today, we discuss how Ironblocks provides token security to blockchain projects thereby reducing incidences of crypto crimes.

## Problem of decentralized finance protocols
As mentioned above, the decentralized finance sector is facing a big risk of security breaches which include hackings.  Last year over $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen through hacking, about 50% more than the amount stolen in 2021. Unfortunately, many decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols have no water tight security systems to prevent some of these malicious attacks.

Although code auditing is important it cannot stop bad actors from stealing digital assets which various DeFi protocols hold. The following graph shows the increase in incidences of security breaches between 2016 and 2022.

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1680149975431680149569_.pic.jpg)
The value of stolen digital assets between 2016 and 2022 - Medium

As you observe from <a href="/es/price/the-graph-grt" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">The Graph</a>, there has been an increase in cases of hacking between 2016 and 2022. The value of stolen cryptocurrencies in 2021 and 2022, which is more than $3 billion per year, is frightening. In all, what this statistics show is that DeFi is prone to digital theft.

The other sad reality is that crypto thefts are not limited to one area such as lending platforms. It is prevalent in several areas like wallets, DeFi protocols and centralized service as the next graph shows.

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1680150005441680149580_.pic.jpg)
Incidences of hacking between 2016 and 2022 - Medium

This diagram indicates that hacking has been taking place on various platforms or protocols. For example, between 2016 and 2020 the hackers targeted centralized service. However, in 2021 and 2022 their key target was DeFi protocols. The underlying issue, however, is that hackers can attack any digital protocol.

##  Ironblock tackles DeFi hacks 
We have seen the DeFi security breach trend which implied the need for urgent attention. Already, there are firms that provide top-notch security products suitable for the crypto sector. Ironblocks is one such blockchain security company.

Basically, Ironblocks has security products that help smart contract based financial programmes to detect threats before they cause much damage to the system. As such, they help DeFi protocols to flag suspicious withdrawal of digital assets. Notably, Ironblocks provides “customizable, easy to implement, real time transaction monitoring system”, as it states on its blog.

In fact, Ironblocks’ security system detects suspicious activities in real time and reports them within milliseconds, allowing the smart contracts to take appropriate action in a timely manner.

So far, in order to offer a strong security system, Ironblocks has partnered Hats.Finance, a bounty programme, to strengthen its security system. The aim of Ironblocks, when forging partnerships, is to offer a suite of products that protect the data and digital assets of any smart contract based programme.

## A case of Euler
Recently, malicious actors exploited Euler, a lending and borrowing protocol, through spoofing how it conducts collateral and the debts. The hackers had all the time to carry out multiple transactions to steal over $200 million dollars.

This is a good example of a theft case which Ironblocks could have prevented as it can flag any suspicious activity within seconds. Unfortunately, such cases of cyber thefts send a bad message to the entire sector, which deters more institutions and individuals from investing their funds in the decentralized economy.

Notably, these days hackers mainly target composable protocols like Euler that handle large quantities of digital assets. In the case of Euler, more than 10 DeFi protocols that were all interconnected lost their digital assets. There are many compasable DeFi protocols such as <a href="/es/price/compound-comp" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Compound</a> and <a href="/es/price/aave-aave" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Aave</a> which can fall prey to hacking and lose large sums of digital assets.

This is not the first kind of such an attack as more than $100 million worth of assets were lost when bad actors exploited Mango Markets, a crypto trading platform that offers flash loans, in October 2022.

## Other services requiring security monitoring software
As noted above, malicious actors target various sectors of the blockchain economy which include decentralized services and token protocols. Therefore, all these various smart contract based programmes require security systems that monitor activities on their platforms.

Cross-chain bridges also require this security system monitoring services which Ironblocks offers. A report by Token Terminal, a crypto data aggregator, says that in 2022 fifty percent (50%) of cyber exploit victims were cross chain bridges.

![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1680150138451680149593_.pic.jpg)
50% of DeFi exploits related to cross chain bridges - Twitter

Nomad and Harmon Bridge are examples of crosschain bridges that were exploited in 2022 losing $200 million and $100 million, respectively. In the same year Wormhole and Ronin Network lost $300 million and $600 million as well. These few examples show how crosschain bridges are vulnerable to cyber attacks and require strong threat detection systems, the one Ironblocks provides.

It is important, however, to note that there are other security monitoring service providers such as Hypernative, a programme that uncovers cyber threats before they occur. Basically, Hypernative monitors off-chain and on-chain activities of a decentralized project. More interestingly, it uses artificial intelligence models and heuristics to generate threat alerts for potential cyber exploits before they occur.

## What is Ironblock? 
Ironblocks is an Israeli cyber security firm that provides smart contract based end-to-end security solutions for web3 projects. Its security system detects threats instantaneously and communicates with the affected DeFi protocols, market makers, crosschain bridges and other web3 platforms in real time to avert any loss of digital assets or essential data.

In a press release, Yorai Fainmesser, a general partner at Disruptive AI, said, “Ironblocks is harnessing artificial intelligence and years of deep native blockchain experience to disrupt the way on-chain products are done."

## Conclusion
Ironblocks, a web3 security provider, offers automated threat detection security systems for various web3 based projects such as cross chain bridges and DeFi protocols. Its main focus is to prevent DeFi hacks thereby reducing financial losses which Defi finance may incur.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:** Mashell C.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>

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