Crypto Security in 2025: Protecting Digital Assets from UI Manipulation, Insider Threats, and Emerging Cyber Risks

The recent Bybit hack has reignited concerns about the security of digital assets, highlighting the vulnerabilities that extend beyond crypto graphic protections to user interaction and governance. As cyber threats targeting the crypto industry become more sophisticated, organizations must rethink their security strategies to stay ahead of evolving attack vectors.

In this exclusive interview, Oded Vanunu, Chief Technologist, WEB 3.0 & Head of Product Vulnerability at Check Point Software, shares his insights on the shifting threat landscape, the need for proactive security measures, and how executives can strengthen their risk management frameworks. From UI manipulation attacks to insider threats and regulatory compliance, Vanunu offers a comprehensive roadmap for safeguarding digital assets in an era of increasing cyber risk.

1. The Bybit hack has raised concerns about the security of even the most trusted crypto custody solutions. From a leadership perspective, how should organizations rethink their risk management frameworks to address evolving attack vectors like UI manipulation? 

Organizations must move beyond traditional risk management approaches and adopt a prevention-first approach to security. The Bybit hack demonstrated that security is no longer just about cryptography—it is about how users interact with platforms. To address evolving threats like UI manipulation, companies should implement real-time transaction risk scoring to flag unusual approval patterns, introduce multi-step transaction validation that extends beyond simple multisig confirmations, and deploy user behavior analytics to detect anomalies in signing patterns and platform interactions. Security must be embedded at every layer, from smart contract governance to user engagement, ensuring a holistic approach to risk mitigation. 

2. With crypto security breaches becoming more sophisticated, how can C-level executives ensure their organizations are prioritizing proactive threat detection and prevention rather than just reactive security measures? 

Proactive security requires anticipating attack vectors before they materialize rather than merely responding to breaches after they occur. C-level executives should prioritize investments in threat intelligence by actively monitoring attack patterns across Web3 and integrating with industry-wide threat-sharing initiatives. Shifting from reactive to predictive security is crucial, and this can be achieved through on-chain transaction analysis, which prevents malicious transactions before execution. Additionally, adopting zero-trust principles ensures that even internal transactions undergo multi-layered validation, preventing any single approval from triggering a large transfer. Moving from a “detect and respond” model to a “predict and prevent” strategy is essential in an era where cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated and unpredictable. 

3. This attack exposed vulnerabilities beyond cryptographic security, emphasizing the human factor. What governance strategies should CISOs and CTOs implement to mitigate risks associated with social engineering and insider threats? 

Technical security alone is insufficient in the face of social engineering and insider threats; governance and human-centric controls must evolve to address these risks effectively. CISOs and CTOs should enforce privilege separation by limiting administrative-level access and introducing role-based security approvals to prevent privilege escalation. Additionally, real-time approval alerts should be implemented to ensure that large transactions receive independent oversight, even when executed by trusted personnel. A combination of strict governance policies, continuous security awareness training, and insider threat monitoring is necessary to mitigate the growing risk of social engineering-based exploits that target human vulnerabilities rather than technological loopholes. 

4. Given the increasing regulatory scrutiny on crypto exchanges and digital asset platforms, what security investments should executives prioritize today to stay ahead of potential compliance requirements and protect user trust? 

Regulatory bodies are demanding higher security standards, and proactive investment in compliance-aligned security measures is becoming essential to maintaining trust. Executives should focus on strengthening identity verification and transaction monitoring to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations. Furthermore, the integration of on-chain auditing and real-time compliance monitoring can ensure that every transaction aligns with regulatory requirements, minimizing the risk of penalties and reputational damage. Staying ahead of compliance involves exceeding the minimum security standards and prioritizing platform integrity and consumer trust to remain competitive in an evolving regulatory landscape. 

5. As cyber threats become more advanced, do you see a shift toward decentralized security models or new authentication frameworks that go beyond traditional multisig and cold storage solutions? What should executive leaders be preparing for in the next 12-24 months? 

While there is a growing shift toward decentralization, the real transformation is centered on on-chain prevention. Off-chain security solutions are vulnerable to bypasses once an attacker gains system access before transaction execution. Therefore, the industry must focus on securing transactions at the protocol level rather than just at the user or custody level. Executives should prepare for on-chain transaction validation, where security checks occur before execution, blocking malicious or abnormal transactions at the protocol level.

Additionally, pre-execution threat detection is crucial, as it shifts security from post-transaction analysis to preventive controls that assess transaction intent before signing and broadcasting. Automated security policies will also play a key role, with smart contracts enforcing dynamic risk-based transaction approvals to prevent unauthorized escalations or irregular transfers. The key takeaway is that security must be built into the blockchain itself. As attackers continue to bypass off-chain security layers, on-chain enforcement will become the only reliable way to prevent large-scale financial exploits before they occur.