Defi white hats SEAL 911 unveil info-sharing tool 

Over 30 defi security veterans announced phase two of their web3 protection initiative, SEAL-ISAC.

Paradigm researcher Samczsun shared details on an expansion of SEAL 911, a first responder Telegram bot that allows users to report defi hacks and crypto exploits in real-time. The white-hat actor said SEAL 911 has collected piles of information, such as attacker wallet addresses and hack vectors, since its launch last year. 

“There are large swaths of threat intel hidden away in private messages and group chats, intel that might help in recovering funds, tracking down a threat actor, or identifying future victims.”

Samczsun, Paradigm researcher and SEAL 911 member

Samczsun, also known as Sam, explained that while this trove of data exists, a means to organize, correlate, and distribute the info was previously unavailable. SEAL-ISAC solves this problem, the researcher wrote in an X thread on April 17. 

The ISAC idea is not exclusive to blockchains and cryptocurrencies. Any organization that fosters threat intel sharing may qualify under this category. Most Web2 financial firms leverage the FS-ISAC, and Samczsun believes SEAL-ISAC could serve all of Web3 in the same manner.

AMLBot CEO Slava Demchuk previously told crypto.news that collaboration between defi communities and crypto participants is paramount to improving on-chain security.

SEAL-ISAC builds on its rhetoric and liaises with multiple blockchain stakeholders, such as the Ethereum (ETH) Foundation, Chainlysis, and MetaMask. The defi help desk also confirmed monetary support provided by Vitalik Buterin and venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz.

SEAL 911 assembled after defi hack onslaught

SEAL 911 comprises dozens of auditors, crypto whitehats, and security experts to stem defi hacks. The idea was launched in August last year after bad actors stole over $70 million from Ethereum-based stablecoin exchange Curve. 

Curve Finance was only one of several attacks at the time, as criminals like North Korea’s Lazarus group stole hundreds of millions in crypto from blockchain users. Peckshiled analysts estimated that hackers stole over $2 billion from 600 incidents last year.