Episode 334 – Breaking Web 3 – Exploitation Techniques for Cryptocurrency Hacking

Jane Lo, Singapore Correspondent speaks with David Pethes, Co-Founder, Qrucial, Head Ambassador for Eastern Europe of Polkadot.

David is a Web3 researcher and security expert that founded the largest crypto hacking competition in the world called CCTF (Crypto Capture the Flag). He is also the co-founder of QRUCIAL and has more than 10 years experience in IT penetration testing and got several global certifications. Since 2021 he is the Head Ambassador for Eastern Europe of Polkadot – a sharded protocol that enables blockchain networks to operate together seamlessly.

In this on-site interview at “Hack-in-the-Box” held at the Singapore Intercontinental Hotel, David shares some of the highlights of his presentation on “Breaking Web3: Exploitation Techniques for Cryptocurrency Hacking.”

Introducing his perspectives of what Web3 encompasses, and the history of smart contracts, David shares that Web3 world is more than just technological changes (and bitcoin). Enabled by smart contracts, he observes how Web3 presents opportunities for societal and monetary innovations.

David points to how the emerging Web3 architecture is built on both blockchain concepts as well as components from centralised computer infrastructure (such as SQL databases) in traditional architecture. Security vulnerabilities in Web3 therefore, he notes, comprise of new emerging threats, as well as the ones commonly observed in today.

David wraps up the interview with an introduction to his Crypto Capture the Flag (CCTF) contest, which provides a legitimate platform to challenge white-hat hackers to find vulnerabilities in the rapidly evolving Web3 infrastructure.

Recorded on-site at the Singapore Intercontinental Hotel in Bugis, 25^th August 2022, 7pm Singapore Time.