Page 65 - Cyber Defense eMagazine September 2023

We submit or create personal data sometimes without even knowing it. Storing passwords online and
enabling website cookies are just two examples of things we do every day to make our lives easier.
Increasing efficiency is often our primary concern without contemplating the security implications of such
actions.

There has been a clear up-tick in cybercrime around the world since the turn of the century as more and
more devices are connected to the internet. In the US alone, an estimated 53.35 million citizens were in
some way impacted by cybercrime in the first half of 2022. In 2021, US nationals lost $6.9bn to cyber-
related crimes.

As we saw during the pandemic, many flocked to the world of decentralized finance (DeFi), seeking
opportunity as cryptocurrencies took off in value, but also for security.

Blockchain technology promises enhanced levels of security and personal data protection and while in
many cases this remains true, clear risks still remain especially as the tech becomes more mainstream.

It does not take much research to understand the growing magnitude of crypto-related cybercrime. Last
year, cybercriminals stole over $2.8bn from innocent crypto holders through various hacks and exploits.

During such exploits, user funds are usually compromised but, due to the ways in which online crypto
wallets and accounts are usually set up, consumers may not realize that their personal data is also being
stolen via sophisticated phishing attacks.

Major governments continue to be incredibly concerned by the uptick in such criminal behavior. Earlier
this year, the Biden Administration published a new National Cybersecurity Strategy promising, amongst
other things, significant new long-term investment into cybersecurity capabilities.

While measures like this will undoubtedly help consumers, the reality is that criminals will always find
novel ways around defense measures.

We know that nothing is ever truly unhackable. Fortunately, technology enables us to design products
that prioritize users’ personal data. Crucially, the tech should cover both traditional and decentralized
finance.

The world’s largest and most successful company of all time, Apple, issued a public statement late last
year acknowledging ‘increasingly sophisticated and complex’ threats to user data and personal security.
Following this, they announced numerous security updates to products used by hundreds of millions
every day.

In the DeFi sphere, popular Web3 company SafeMoon released a new product called Orbital Shield at
the beginning of 2023 which utilizes advanced 256-bit encryption to anonymize user data. This software
is actively being rolled out throughout the company’s product ecosystem meaning that their one million
plus wallet users are safe in the knowledge that even in the event of a hack, their data remains secure.

In March, when discussing the need to protect user data, SafeMoon’s CEO, John Karony explained how
companies are incentivized to collect and store user data. He went on to say that ‘securing user data
should keep developers up at night’ and that ‘the very concept of data storage needs to be reimagined
altogether’.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – September 2023 Edition 65
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