Few trends in the tech world have ever garnered as much feverish devotion as Web3 and its partially realized stack of components, including the “Metaverse,†cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These are heralded as a panacea for problems endemic to the modern Web, promising to usher in a more decentralized (and – by implication – “saferâ€) online experience. Chris Olson, chief executive officer and co-founder of The Media Trust, shares insights on the implications of NFTs today and in the years to come.
While the culture and buzz surrounding Web3 can be overwrought, it’s more than hype: after all, the concept has won enthusiastic support from Silicon Valley giants and venture firms alike. Unfortunately, there is a darker side to the technology, that has been overlooked, especially when it comes to Web3’s novel file-exchange format: NFTs.
Despite lofty claims, Web3 will not be invulnerable to cyberattacks and malicious or fraudulent activity. And – unless cybersecurity is built into the technology before it becomes mainstream – it will not be able to deliver on its promises of a safer Internet. NFTs are a ticking time bomb waiting to explode, and the time to fix that is now.
The Failures of Web 2.0
In the current year, it isn’t hard to see why governments, businesses, and consumers are chasing a better Internet: since the time of its inception, Web 2.0 – the collection of technologies, platforms and norms which comprise the Internet today – has been burdened by digital safety issues that are notoriously hard to solve from the position of the present.
The impact is hard to ignore: in 2021, more than 5 billion recordsOpens a new window were compromised in data breaches which increased by 11% over the previous year. Alongside rampant data privacy violations leading to compromised bank accounts and stolen financial details, misinformation has negatively impactedOpens a new window trust in media, while cyberattacks threaten national security daily.
Ultimately, much of this mess can be laid at the feet of a tragic oversight: Web 2.0 was never built to prioritize safety or trust, leaving mobile apps and websites overrun by unregulated digital vendors who often prey on users. Today, 80% of all websitesOpens a new window contain vulnerabilities related to third-party code, and apps are similarly compromised.
The Web 2.0 Remix
Now for the million-bitcoin question: can Web3 change the status quo? Can it give users and publishers more control over their online experience while keeping out bad actors? The short answer is: “not in its current form.†The longer answer requires us to define what “Web3†even means, which isn’t as hard as it seems.
Because it is an aspirational concept that hasn’t been implemented at any appreciable scale, the scope of “Web3†is still somewhat ambiguous. Nevertheless, its contours are becoming clearer with every passing day. It refers to a decentralized WebOpens a new window driven by peer-to-peer connections through the help of blockchain and blockchain-driven services.
This model has key advantages over the Web as it currently exists: it wrests control from servers, ISPs and Internet giants, bypassing censorship laws and mass data collection. In theory, users will have a greater say over who and what they connect with. Unfortunately, this does not address the core problem of Web 2.0: media.
Ultimately, Web3 is nothing more or less than an infrastructure for exchanging media between users. But while it has advantages, the media is what creates the danger – not the delivery mechanism. And when it comes to media, Web3 is already repeating the failures of Web 2.0 early in its inception.
NFTs as Attack Vector
Non-fungible tokens (or NFTs for short) are non-interchangeable units of data stored on a blockchain which enable users to “own,†sell or trade digital assets. As a foundational media element of the Web3 ecosystem, NFTs offer a practically infinite number of use cases such as art, tickets, software licenses, virtual land claims, and more.
At bottom, NFTs are just a piece of media (technically, a link pointing to a piece of mediaOpens a new window ) which can come in any format: this means NFTs can be packaged with malicious source code – something that recently occurred on OpeanSea, a popular NFT marketplace, in an attackOpens a new window that hijacked dozens of cryptowallets.
Web3-Based Malvertising
It is easy to imagine how this functionality could be abused in a Metaverse setting: imagine an NFT-powered billboard in a virtual city, loading a malicious executable onto everyone nearby. This possibility is frightening when user tracking and programmatic advertising come into the picture.
To make Web3 destinations viable from a monetary perspective, organizations will inevitably partner with third parties who track users and sell their attention to potentially malicious bidders – just as they do now. NFT-based ads could take any form, exploiting users in deceptive and highly complex ways.
As a decentralized technology that could theoretically comprise billions of users and devices, Web3 represents a maximum-complexity approach to the Internet that will produce an incalculably high number of channels for malicious activity. The risks of Web 2.0 will seem tame by comparison.
How to Save Web3
When Web3 becomes a reality, it will be a new wild west no matter the form it takes. Like the early days before Web 2.0 was even conceived, it will team with misleading links and harmful destinations. And – without rules that are widely agreed on – it will thrive on contracts that protect companies from liability rather than protecting users from harm.
To avoid this outcome, the architects and early adopters of Web3 should agree to minimal digital safety standards before it’s too late. If nothing else, they should adopt the following policies for themselves:
- Continually monitor Web3 media for the presence of malicious code
- Build and maintain databases for every link, object and vendor to understand who and what is targeting users
- Block and report bad actors in a public way so they can be ejected from the Web3 ecosystem
With the gradual arrival of Web3, NFTs and the Metaverse, our lives are becoming more intertwined with online destinations than ever before. A safer Web is no longer optional: digital trust and consumer safety must be priorities for the Internet of the future, or the Internet has none.Â
Do you think NFTs and related crypto technology are an impediment to building a safer digital world or are they steps in the right direction? Share with us on LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We’d love to know!