When hackers "more efficient" use Al, Web3 's spear and shield' arms race, how does it escalate

Looking back to the past 2025, it's not an illusion that if you feel the chain trick is getting more and more "understanded" about you。

With the depth of LLM, social engineering attacks by hackers have evolved from bloated mass e-mails to "precision feeding": AI can automatically generate extremely attractive customized fishing content by analysing your top/underlink preferences, and even perfect simulations of your friends' tone and logic on social channels like Telegram。

We can say that:In a context in which chain attacks are entering a truly industrialization phase, security itself will undoubtedly be the biggest bottleneck in the large-scale use of Web3 if our shields remain in our hands。

Web3 Security failure: when AI intervenes to attack

If, over the past decade, Web3 security issues have come more from code loopholes, a clear change after 2025 is that the attack is “industrialized” and everyone’s safety is not being upgraded simultaneously。

After all, fishing websites can be generated by the volume of scripts, and false airdrops can be automatically programmed, making social engineering attacks no longer dependent on hackers ' trickery talent but on model algorithms and data size。

In order to understand the gravity of this threat, we can dismantle a simple Swap deal, and then you'll find that fromRisks are almost pervasive throughout the life cycle from transaction to final confirmation:

• Before the interaction:You may have access to a fishing page disguised as an official net or to a front end of a Dapp with a malicious back door
• Interactive:You may be interacting with a token contract containing "backdoor logic" or the counterparty itself is a marked fishing address
• On authorization:Hackers often induce users to sign signatures that appear harmless and give them "infinite deductions"
• After submission:EVEN IF THE OPERATION IS ALL RIGHT, IN THE FINAL STEP OF SUBMITTING THE TRANSACTION, MEV SCIENTISTS MAY STILL HOLD THE PILLARS IN THE POOL AND ROB YOU OF YOUR POTENTIAL GAINS THROUGH SANDWICH ATTACKS

Even more than Swap, it further extends to all types of interaction, including transfers, Stark, Mint, etc. In this chain process of transaction creation, validation, broadcasting, chain-up and final confirmation, the risk is pervasive, and problems with any one path may result in a loss of cross-fertilization on a secure chain。

It can be said that, based on the current system of accounts, a secure private key protection will not stop a user from making a mistake; a more rigorous protocol design may also be bypassed by an authorized signature; a decentrized system will be the most vulnerable to a "human loophole"; this means that a fundamental problem will emerge -Security itself becomes a bottleneck if the attack is at the automation and intelligence stage while the defense is still in "man-made judgement"(extension reading33.50 billion dollars in "account taxes": What can an AA bring to Web3 when the EOA becomes a systemic cost)。

IN THE END, ORDINARY USERS HAVE SO FAR LACKED A ONE-STOP SOLUTION THAT WOULD PROVIDE SECURITY PROTECTION FOR THE ENTIRE TRANSACTION PROCESS, WHILE AI IS EXPECTED TO HELP US BUILD A SECURITY SOLUTION FOR C-END USERS THAT WOULD COVER THE ENTIRE TRANSACTION LIFE CYCLE AND PROVIDE A 7X24-HOUR LINE TO PROTECT USER ASSETS。

II. AI x Web3 What can we do

So let's look at the theoretically, in the face of this technology-asymmetrical game, where can the combination of AI x Web3 recreate a new paradigm of security on the chain

First, for ordinary users, the most intuitive threat is often not a breach of protocol, but a social engineering attack and malicious authorizationAND AT THIS LEVEL, AI PLAYS THE ROLE OF A 7X24-HOUR INSOMNIA SECURITY ASSISTANT。

FOR EXAMPLE, AI CAN IDENTIFY COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES THAT ARE HIGHLY SUSPECTED OF FRAUD IN SOCIAL MEDIA OR PRIVATE CHAT CHANNELS THROUGH NLP TECHNOLOGY:

WHEN YOU RECEIVE A "FREE AIR DROP" LINK, FOR EXAMPLE, AI SECURITY ASSISTANTS NOT ONLY CHECK THE BLACKLIST ON THE SITE, BUT ALSO ANALYZE THE SOCIAL MEDIA HEAT OF THE PROJECT, THE LENGTH OF THE DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION AND THE FINANCIAL FLOW OF SMART CONTRACTS. IF THE LINK IS BACKED BY A NEWLY CREATED, UNFUNDED, FALSE CONTRACT, AI WILL STRIKE A HUGE RED FORK ON YOUR SCREEN。

The most important reason for the ongoing looting of assets is the "bad-willing authorization" which is often induced by hackers to sign signatures that appear harmless and which, in fact, give them "infinite debarment rights":

SO WHEN YOU CLICK ON YOUR SIGNATURE, AI WILL START WITH A TRADE SIMULATION IN THE BACK, AND IT WILL TELL YOU IN PLAIN LANGUAGE: "IF YOU DO THIS, ALL ETH IN YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE ADDRESS A." THIS ABILITY TO CONVERT OBSCURE CODES INTO VISUAL CONSEQUENCES IS THE STRONGEST BARRIER AGAINST MALICIOUS AUTHORIZATION。

The second is the protocol and product side, which can move from static auditing to real-time defenseIn the past, Web3 security relied mainly on periodic manual audits, which were often static and delayed。

NOW AI IS EMBEDDED IN A REAL-TIME SECURITY CHAIN, LIKE AN ALREADY WELL-KNOWN AUTOMATED AUDIT THAT REQUIRES SEVERAL WEEKS OF ACCESS TO CODES BY HUMAN EXPERTS, AND AN AI-DRIVEN AUTOMATED AUDIT TOOL (SUCH AS AN INTELLIGENT CONTRACT SCANNER COMBINED WITH IN-DEPTH LEARNING) CAN MODEL THE LOGIC OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LINES IN SECONDS。

BASED ON THIS LOGIC, NOW AI IS ABLE TO SIMULATE THOUSANDS OF EXTREME TRADING SCENARIOS AND IDENTIFY A MINOR "LOGICAL TRAP" OR "RE-ENTRY LOOPHOLE" PRIOR TO THE CODE. THIS MEANS THAT EVEN IF THE DEVELOPERS INADVERTENTLY LEFT THE BACK DOOR, AI AUDITORS WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GIVE AN EARLY WARNING BEFORE AN ASSET WAS ATTACKED。

In addition to this, security tools such as GoPlus cut off transactions prior to hacking, such as GoPlus SecNet, which allows the user to configure firewalls on the chain for real-time inspection of transaction security, the RPC network service, which can actively intercept transactions at risk to avoid asset losses, including transfer protection, authorized protection, anti-money purchases, MEV protections, etc., and can check whether there is a risk to the address of the transaction and the assets of the transaction prior to the interaction of transfers, transactions, etc., and, if so, the transaction is actively intercepted。

Even the authors are in favour of GPT-type AI services, such as providing a 7x24-hour chain security assistant to most white users to guide the various Web3 security problems encountered by users and to provide quick solutions to security emergencies。

The core value of such systems naturally lies not in "hundreds of right" but in bringing risk detection time forward from "after" to "in" and even "in"。

III. THE BORDER OF AI x Web3 - WHERE IS IT

Of course, it remains the usual cautious optimism, and we need to exercise restraint in discussing the new potential that AI × Web3 can bring in areas such as security。

BECAUSE, IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, AI IS A TOOL, NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE USER, NOT AN ASSET FOR THE USER, NOT AN AUTOMATIC "INTERCEPTION OF ALL ATTACKS", AND ITS RATIONAL POSITION IS MORE BIASEDThe cost of human error in judgement is minimized without changing the decentrization。

THIS MEANS THAT AI, THOUGH POWERFUL, IS NOT A PANACEA, BUT A TRULY EFFECTIVE SECURITY SYSTEM THAT MUST BE THE RESULT OF AI ' S TECHNICAL ADVANTAGE + USER-AWARE SECURITY AWARENESS + SYNERGY IN DESIGN BETWEEN TOOLS, RATHER THAN FULLY PLACING SECURITY ON A MODEL OR SYSTEM。

AS WITH THE DECENTRIZED VALUES THAT THE ETA HAS ALWAYS ADHERED TO, AI SHOULD EXIST AS A SUPPORTING TOOL, NOT TO MAKE DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF OTHERS, BUT TO HELP PEOPLE MAKE FEWER MISTAKES。

Looking back at the security evolution of Web3, there is a clear trend that early security is simply a "suspension" and medium term is "other strange links, invalid authorizations are cancelled in a timely manner," and today security is becoming a continuous, dynamic, intelligent process。

IN THIS PROCESS, THE INTRODUCTION OF AI DID NOT DIMINISH THE IMPORTANCE OF DECENTRIZATION, BUT RATHER MADE IT MORE APPROPRIATE FOR ORDINARY USERS TO USE IT PERMANENTLY. IT HIDES COMPLEX RISK ANALYSIS IN THE BACK AND TRANSLATES KEY JUDGEMENTS INTO VISUAL TIPS FOR USERS, ALLOWING SECURITY TO EVOLVE FROM AN ADDITIONAL BURDEN TO A “DEFAULT CAPABILITY”。

It also echoes the judgement repeatedly mentioned earlier: AI and Web3/Crypto are essentially mirrors of the "productivity" and "production relationships" of the new eraWhen Web3 crashes into d/acc: What can Cripto do:

If AI is seen as an evolving spear, which greatly enhances efficiency and can be used for corruption, then the decentrization system that Crypto has built is precisely one of the `fences' that have to evolve simultaneously, and in the view of d/acc, the goal of this shield is not to create absolute security, but, at the worst, to keep the system in trust and keep users in the space of exit and self-help。

At the end

The ultimate goal of Web3 has never been to make users more aware of technology, but to allow technology to protect users without detection。

SO WHEN THE ATTACKERS STARTED USING AI, THE DEFENSE SYSTEM, IF IT REFUSES TO BE INTELLIGENT, IS IN ITSELF A RISK, AND THAT'S WHY THE PRESERVATION OF ASSETS IS AN ENDLESS GAME WITHOUT AN ENDIN THIS AGE, KNOWING HOW TO USE AI TO ARM ITS OWN USERS WILL BE THE MOST DIFFICULT FORT IN THIS GAME。

The meaning of AI x Web3 may be here — not to create absolute security, but to make security a capability that can be replicated on a scale。