Analysis and Protective Measures of Web3.0 Data Leak Incidents

As the internet penetrates every aspect of life, data security and privacy protection have become particularly important. Every year, numerous cases of sensitive data loss due to vulnerabilities emerge. The Web3.0 space has also experienced several significant security incidents, ranging from the loss of private keys in exchanges to the theft of users' personal data. These leaked data may exist for years in hacker forums and dark web markets, posing long-term risks to the affected users.

A security company analyzed 74 security incidents involving Web3.0 entities. Among them, 23 resulted in a high risk of long-term data loss, and 10 data packets were found to still be available for purchase on dark web forums. Although law enforcement has taken a series of crackdowns on hacker forums, this is merely a temporary solution and does not address the root of the problem.

Web3.0 security incidents are mainly divided into two categories:

1. Exploitation of protocol vulnerabilities: incidents of obtaining economic benefits by exploiting smart contract code.
2. System Vulnerability: An incident where an attacker infiltrates the target organization's internal network to steal company data or funds.

Exploiting protocol vulnerabilities usually occurs within a specific time frame, with clear starting and ending points. In contrast, system vulnerabilities are ongoing events, and attackers may remain dormant in the network for a long time. Data leaked through system vulnerabilities is often used for subsequent attacks or sold on the dark web, posing long-term risks.

Among the 74 incidents, 31% were data retrievable incidents, while the remaining 69% were financial loss or anomaly incidents. Since 2019, data retrievable incidents have significantly increased, which is related to the increase in hacking attacks across various industries during the pandemic.

Leaked data often eventually appears on dark web (.onion sites ) or on the public internet. Personally identifiable information ( (PII) with economic value frequently appears in dark web markets or Telegram channels. If the attacker’s ransom demands are not met, the data may be discarded on paste sites or hacker forums.

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In recent years, forums such as Raid, Breach, and Dread have been the main places for dumping and selling illegal data. However, these forums have been gradually shut down by law enforcement, leading to a relatively chaotic hacker community. Although dark web markets are also facing crackdowns, data leak advertisements are still frequent.

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Among the 23 retrievable data events, 10 instances of )43%( were found with active data sales advertisements on the dark web market. These are primarily data from after 2019, indicating a higher long-term risk. Earlier data may have disappeared from the market, making it difficult to assess its current availability.

Overall, events that only cause direct financial losses have relatively low risk, as the losses are immediate and quantifiable. However, the leakage of sensitive data ), especially customer data (, poses a greater long-term risk, as this data may circulate on the dark web for a long time and is difficult to change. Data leaked after 2019, especially those still being sold on the dark web, constitute the highest ongoing long-term risk.

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To reduce risk, users can:

1. Reduce the number of centralized Web3 services used.
2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication
3. Try to change the leaked information such as email, phone number ).
4. Diversify assets by storing them in self-custody wallets and hardware wallets.
5. Avoid using duplicate passwords across platforms
6. Regularly monitor data breach reporting websites
7. Use credit monitoring services to prevent identity theft and bank fraud