I, Degen

I, Degen

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I, Degen episodes

  • E17 - OPSEC at DEVCON 6 - 10/6/2022

    ---> Full show notes on HackMD  <---

    I, Degen - E17: OPSEC at DEVCON 6 - 10/06/2022

    Listen at: idegen.fm

    Contact us: @idegenfm


    Intro

    Welcome to I, Degen - A podcast about crypto technology, security, and culture. With a healthy balance of enthusiasm and skepticism, we dig into a weekly look at crypto, cutting through the misinformation and hype in search of signal in the noise.


    Episode Summary

    This week we’ll do our usual weekly review of crypto security-related topics. We’re going to dig into the issue of conference OPSEC, or operational security, as we’re less than a week out from Ethereum’s flagship developer conference, and rumors swirl about security concerns in Bogota.


    I,Degen - Weekly Review

    1. Sunday, October 2nd - Transit Swap Users Rocked for 21M
    2. Transit Swap has lost $21M to a vulnerability which allowed an unknown attacker to drain the wallets of users who had approved the protocol’s swap contracts.
    3. Leading up to Ethereum’s flagship developer conference being held in Bogota, Columbia next week, a wave of Tweets and some articles surfaced questioning the safety of conference goers. FUD or legit concern? Well dig more into this on deep dive in a few minutes.
    4. Office of the National Cyber Director Requests Your Insight and Expertise on Cyber Workforce, Training, and Education
    5. Our Nation continues to face a significant shortfall in cyber talent, with estimates of approximately 700,000 open positions.
    6. October 1st, 2022 - No Digital Dollar Act Introduced - From Bitcoin.com
    7. U.S. Senator James Lankford (R-OK) announced Thursday that he has introduced a bill titled “No Digital Dollar Act to prohibit the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve from interfering with Americans using paper currency if a digital currency is adopted and makes certain individuals can maintain privacy over their transactions using cash and coins.”
    8. October 4th, 2022 From Axios- Why Kim Kardashian got fined and Matt Damon didn’t
    9. Kim Kardashian was fined $1.26 million Monday for touting crypto schemes — even as much more high-profile pitches from the likes of Matt Damon and Larry David have gone unpunished. The seeming double standard is a function of a subtle yet crucial distinction in securities law.
    10. Where Kardashian crossed the line was when she endorsed a crypto asset security.
    11. How it works: If you’re endorsing a company, the only rules that apply are the relatively lax ones from the FTC.
    12. If you’re shilling a security, then disclosing that you were paid — as Kardashian did with an #AD hashtag — is not enough; you also need to disclose how much you were paid.
    13. The bottom line: If you’re going to tout crypto, tout a crypto company, not a coin.

    Moving on… Usually, we focus on looking back at crypto security-related events of the previous week. I thought maybe we could also highlight any relevant upcoming events each week.


    I, Degen - Looking Forward

    1. Devcon next week - There will be a keynote talk on the Nomad Bridge Hack. I think there will be a live stream if you are not attending.
    2. November 15th, PyChain - The First Virtual Event for Python and Blockchain Developers
      • Call for speakers is open
      • Free Tickets


    I, Degen - Deep Dive

    A wave of Tweets and some articles surfaced questioning the safety of conferencegoers leading up to Ethereum’s flagship developer conference in Bogota, Columbia, next week.

    Veteran Devcon attendees will remember a similar panic from previous events, including Devcon III in Cancun, Mexico, where

    Is this FUD or a legit concern? Let’s dig in.

    Question: Is this a credible threat, in which there is a concentrated effort to target Devcon attendees, or is this FUD?

    If we follow the Tweets, the picture is unclear.

    This year Devcon security panic seems to have started with news outlets picking up a tweet from crypto_mackenna.

    However, it’s worth note the article in question doesn’t mention Crypto_McKenna follow-up Tweet reply on that same day which balances the original Tweet.

    Also, some sensational crypto influencer tweets that we’ll ignore. Mainly because they are purely opinion based, don’t provide any credible evidence of a threat, and are likely just ego-feeding clout farmers. I mention them because it is essential to understand and acknowledge that they play into the overall perception and conversation, even if they hold little substance and merit.


    Staying safe at Devcon in Bogota Twitter threads:

    - @lililashka

    -@camiinthisthang


    Good OPSEC at conferences in general

    While those are important and contain good information relevant to staying safe in Bogota, I thought it might be helpful to dig deeper and tap into the wealth of existing information on conference OPSEC.

    OPSEC for Defcon #1 from Darkangle.net

    Before we continue, you should understand that everyone’s security needs are not the same.

    ZW: What is the personal threat model? Most crypto people don’t need to defend against nation states.

    1. Maintaining custody of your devices is a sound defense from parties that would seek to make modifications to your equipment or outright steal your hardware. This means of security only requires you to make sure you know where your stuff is, and whose handl...
    55 min
  • E15 - Wintermute's 160 Million Dollar Key Generation Lesson - 9/20/2022

    Listen at: idegen.fm

    Contact us: @idegenfm


    Intro

    Welcome to I, Degen - A podcast about crypto technology, security, and culture. With a healthy balance of enthusiasm and skepticism, we dig into a weekly look at crypto, cutting through the misinformation and hype in search of signal in the noise.


    Episode Summary

    In this episode, we hunt for Do Kwon and look at the White House’s comprehensive framework for the responsible development of digital assets. Then we look into Wintermute’s 160M key generation issue. We discuss emerging post-merge Ethereum narratives and the Omni bridge replay attack. We also get into an IRL customs scam for our hack attempt of the week.


    I,Degen - Weekly

    1. 9/14/22 - South Korean Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Terra Luna founder Do Kwon [2]
    The wanted crypto developer Do Kwon, who is accused of fraud by investors following the $45 billion (€45 billion) collapse of his cryptocurrencies Luna and TerraUSD, is reportedly trying to evade South Korean authorities.Prosecutors have accused Kwon of financial fraud, arguing that his terraUSD stablecoin was a kind of investment security under South Korea’s capital markets act [2]Kwon moved from South Korea to Singapore, where the now defunct stablecoin issuer Terraform Labs, which he co-founded, has a base. However, Singapore Police Force said on Saturday he is currently not in the city-state.South Korean prosecutors told Bloomberg in a text message on Monday that there has been “circumstantial evidence of escape” since he left Singapore. The media outlet said prosecutors declined to comment on whether the office knows of Kwon’s whereabouts or if it will contact the international police agency Interpol.Last week, Kwon was charged with violating the Capital Markets Act, and an arrest warrant was issued for him and five allegedly connected to the case who were believed to be in Singapore.
    –EuroNews
    1. White House Releases Comprehensive Framework for Responsible Development of Digital Assets
    Over the past six months, agencies across the government have worked together to develop frameworks and policy recommendations that advance the six key priorities identified in the EO: consumer and investor protection; promoting financial stability; countering illicit finance; U.S. leadership in the global financial system and economic competitiveness; financial inclusion; and responsible innovation.The nine reports submitted to the President to date, consistent with the EO’s deadlines, reflect the input and expertise of diverse stakeholders across government, industry, academia, and civil society. Together, they articulate a clear framework for responsible digital asset development and pave the way for further action at home and abroad.

    Protecting Consumers

    Still sellers commonly mislead consumers about digital assets’ features and expected returns, and non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations remains widespread. One study found that almost a quarter of digital coin offerings had disclosure or transparency problems—like plagiarized documents or false promises of guaranteed returns.The reports encourage regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), consistent with their mandates, to aggressively pursue investigations and enforcement actions against unlawful practices in the digital assets space.The reports encourage Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as appropriate, to redouble their efforts to monitor consumer complaints and to enforce against unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices.The reports encourage agencies to issue guidance and rules to address current and emergent risks in the digital asset ecosystem. Regulatory and law enforcement agencies are also urged to collaborate to address acute digital assets risks facing consumers, investors, and businesses. In addition, agencies are encouraged to share data on consumer complaints regarding digital assets—ensuring each agency’s activities are maximally effective.The Financial Literacy Education Commission (FLEC) will lead public-awareness efforts to help consumers understand the risks involved with digital assets, identify common fraudulent practices, and learn how to report misconduct.

    Advancing Responsible Innovation

    The Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and NSF will develop a Digital Assets Research and Development Agenda to kickstart fundamental research on topics such as next-generation cryptography, transaction programmability, cybersecurity and privacy protections, and ways to mitigate the environmental impacts of digital assets.

    Quite a bit more to the report.

    And the Forbes Headline reads…
    Joe Biden Just Sent A Stark Warning To Bitcoin And Crypto After $2 Trillion Price Crash

    What is your narrative?

    What do the machines think?

    1. (June 9th, Wintermute OP issue)[https://rekt.news/wintermute-rekt/] and now this… ()[https://rekt.news/wintermute-rekt-2/]

    Let’s start with a story that broken on September 14th. 1Inch, a dex aggrator protocol’s community discovered an issue with Profanity, a Ethereum address generator tool

    Even worse, the possibility of this issue was raised on the Profanity Github on January 17th, 2022.

    Why didn’t Wintermute act when the Profanity issue was raised with proof six days ago? Well, the did:

    Around the time that the disclosure happened, Wintermute removed all ether from an admin address which suggests that they realized it might have been vulnerable. However, they forgot to remove this address as an admin from their vault.The attacker is likely a seasoned hacker/solidity developer. They created a helper contract, deposited stables into curve to avoid blacklisting, and figured out this vulnerability in a closed sourced vault contract in the first place.
    –Mudit’s BlogThe stolen funds were mostly various stablecoins, totalling $118.4M. The majority of these were deposited into Curve’s 3pool, presumably in an attempt to avoid any blacklisting.The exploiter is now the 3rd largest holder of 3CRV with over 13% of the supply.


    I, Degen - Deep Dive

    Reflecting on the merge ETH?


    Ethereum itself

    Social Attacks - Narrative-based attacks in crypto. We tend to think about FUD...

    58 min
  • E14 - All Eyes On Ethereum - 9/11/2022

    I, Degen - E14: All Eyes On Ethereum - 9/11/2022

    Listen at: idegen.fm

    Contact us: @idegenfm


    Full show notes with images on HackMD - https://hackmd.io/@idegen/E14-All-Eyes-On-Ethereum

    Intro

    Welcome to I, Degen - A podcast about crypto technology, security, and culture. With a healthy balance of enthusiasm and skepticism, we dig into a weekly look at crypto, cutting through the misinformation and hype in search of signal in the noise.


    Episode Summary

    All eyes are on Ethereum - we are now less than four days out from the merge. We’ll talk about some possible scenarios the merge might bring and what you can do to stay safe during the merge. We’ll also look into recent updates on the Tornado Cash sanctions, a new report on fraudulent crypto trading volume, and other crypto security-related news.

    I,Degen - Weekly


    Cryptosphere

    1. From August 23rd, SudoRare, a LooksRare clone rugs 820K after just 6 hours of operation Rugged funds likely moved to a KYC’d address on Kraken.
    2. SudoRare, an NFTplatform that forked from SudoSwap and LooksRare, is just the latest crypto project to run off with users’ funds. The project also deleted all of its social media accounts Tuesday morning. - 
    3. Coinbase launches Liquid Staked derivative (LSD) cbETH ahead of the merge - [1][2][3]
    4. Earn 1 MIL if you can find a good bug in Ethereum before the merge
    5. August 26th, 2022 - Tailiban Outlaws Crypto in Afganistan and begins arresting sellers that refused to comply Bloomberg article
    6. Password managment first LastPass had it’s developer systems hacked to steal source code
    7. According to Forbes, more than 1/2 of all Bitcoin trades are ‘fake’
    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission defines wash trading as “entering into, or purporting to enter into, transactions to give the appearance that purchases and sales have been made, without incurring market risk or changing the trader’s market position.” The reason why some traders engage in wash trading is to inflate the trading volume of an asset to give the appearance of rising popularity. In some cases trading bots execute these wash trades in tokens, increasing volume, while at the same time insiders reinforce the activity with bullish remarks, driving up the price in what is effectively a pump and dump scheme. Wash trading also benefits exchanges because it allows them to appear to have more volume than they actually do, potentially encouraging more legitimate trading.

    “Fraudulent or non-economic”

    The biggest problem areas regarding fake volume are firms that tout big volume but operate with little or no regulatory oversight that would make their figures more credible, notably Binance, MEXC Global and Bybit. Altogether, the lesser regulated exchanges in our study account for approximately $89 billion of the true volume (they claim $217 billion).

    On Forbes method:

    We apply volume discounts based on a proprietary methodology that relies on 10 factors such as an exchange’s home regulator if any and volume metrics based on an exchange’s web traffic and estimated workforce size.

    So, private trading firms numbers are being grok’d by proprietary methodology.

    Worth note, the Bitwise Study from early 2019 said 95% of BTC trading was fake… so it’s getting better.

    In case you’re interested in this topic, here is another nice paper from 2019 that talks about fake BTC trading

    1. spoiler! -New Netflix show on John Mcafee rasies questions about his death - supposedly he called his ex-gf after his ‘death’ to say he faked it.
    2. Australia Establishes Federal Crypto Police 
    Launched in August, the unit will help combat crypto criminals by targeting their assets and providing investigative tracing capability and insight to other AFP authoritiesThe new crypto unit will operate as part of its Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT), which has been seizing illicit crypto funds since 2018, but without a dedicated standalone teamThe Australian Federal Police have confiscated over AU$600 million (US$408 million) in illicit funds and property since 2020, and though the amount of crypto funds seized were small compared to “traditional” criminal assets, the additional focus helps provide intelligence insights
    1. Solana didn’t go down this week - high TPS spike that might have caused a network outage before, didn’t cause one this time.
    2. September 5th withdrawals frozen at crypto mining firm Poolin because of a lack of liquidity - From theBlock.
    Poolin, one of the world’s biggest crypto mining pools, is suspending bitcoin and ether withdrawals from its wallet service due to “liquidity problems.”

    And now, from September 9th Bitcoin hash rate cut in half as miners leave

    This is significant because 1) Poolin is a China-based mining pool service, operating in China after the mining ban, and 2) the pool was estimated to have roughly 10% of the hash rate before withdrawals were suspended.
    1. Flash Loan used against single NXUSD market on Nerus
    At approximately 10:30PM UTC on September 6th, the Nereus team notified the community of an incident through the community discord; this was later picked up by CertiK and other on-chain analysis groups and reported broadly as a flash-loan exploit resulting in a $371k gain.An exploiter was able to deploy a custom smart contract and that leveraged a $51M flash loan to manipulate the AVAX/USDC Trader Joe LP pool price for a single block resulting in the ability for the exploiter to mint 998,000NXUSD against ~$508k worth of collateral.In the hours that followed, Nereus quickly consulted s...
    52 min
  • E13 - NiftyApes Open Source Audit w/Kevin Seagraves & Zach Herring - 9/1/2022

    I, Degen - Episode 13 - Open Source Audio Audit with Kevin Seagraves & Zach Herring from Niftyapes.money

    If you have a moment, please check out episode 13 I, Degen sequence on Zeevo. Give your feedback on the show, and we'll mint you a custom token of appreciation 🙏

    Listen at: idegen.fm

    Contact us: @idegenfm


    Intro

    On this episode of I, Degen we chat with Kevin Seagraves and Zach Herring from Niftyapes. They recently came out of stealth mode to launch their NFT lending platform and bravely agreed to an open-source audio audit with us.

    Welcome to I, Degen gentleman, and thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Before we jump into the audit, can you tell us a bit about yourselves and what NiftyApes is?


    Intros Kevin Seagraves & Zach Herring:

    Who are we talking to?
    Tell us about your background and how you built an NFT lending platform.

    For KS: Can you tell us more about your work with ETHSecurity?

    Hunt questions:


    Intro NiftyApes:

    1. What is NiftyApes?

      1. How does it work?
      2. Why did you build it?
      3. Who’s gonna use it?
      4. What is HARBERGER AUCTION?
      5. When release?


    1. Let's talk about the “regen” side of Nifty Apes and the 1%? that goes to public goods. Why was it essential for you to do this?


    Open Source Audit:

    Security audits are expensive and rarely a priority for founders. This is especially dangerous when it comes to Defi apps and protocols, given the natural ability of an attacker to take something of value.

    The idea for our Open Source Audit is to help others learn about securing a crypto project by asking some questions about how you’ve approached the security of the Niftyapes.

    1. Can you give us a high overview of the tech stack? How does NiftyApes look from a zoomed-out view? What web2 components are at play, and what web3?

    2. Can you talk a little bit about your overall approach to securing niftyapes?

    3. How have you approached the security in your web2 interface?

    KS: we only store tx receipts in DB after a tx has taken place and been confirmed, so the attack surface for us on Web2 is low.

    3(b). Have you taken steps to ensure your DNS records are secure?

    1. Contract audits - Can you give us an overview of your process with the contract audits?

      1. How did you find your auditors?
      2. What was the process like?
      3. What did they find?
    2. You guys have gone out of your way to make security a priority for NiftyApes (from the front page):

    3. Does NiftyApes have a bug bounty program? If so, how does it work?

    4. Nocoiners and others have been all over a brewing problem at NFT lending platform, BendDAO. Specifically,

    “The NFT lending platform BendDAO has collateralized almost 3% of the entire Bored Ape collection, and many NFTs have recently entered the “danger zone” of liquidation.”

    ZW: Would this kind of thing be a potential problem on Niftyapes too?

    1. Game theoretical bugs are new and emerging class of attacks in DeFi that don’t necessarily exploit bugs in code but instead bugs in the relationship between values of pools, balances, and the connected systems.

    2. In the coming years, we will likely look back at this as the golden age of on-chain hacks, where trivial bugs lead to massive payouts for blackhats. 

    ZW: Are you tracking any risks related to game theoretic bugs? For example like, Flash Loan attacks?

    1. The unprecedented sanctioning of the Tornado Cash contract addresses by US Treasury in early August has added a new complexity for DeFi developers. What is your take on the sanctions at NiftyApes?

    2. Any advice for crypto founders on developing and deploying more secure projects?

    Outro Questions:

    1. Top musical artist you’re listening to right now?
    2. Tech gadget you can’t live without?
    3. Best book you’ve read recently? Or a book that has a notable impact on you?
    4. Your preferred place for crypto news?


    Contact Info for NiftyApes

    You can find more info about NiftyApes on their website niftyapes.money or their Twiiter @niftyapes.

    You can find Kevin Seagraves on Twitter [@captnseagraves] (https://twitter.com/captnseagraves) and Zach Herring @zherring

    Full show notes on hackmd can be found here.


    1 hr 18 min

About I, Degen

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Welcome! I, Degen is a podcast about crypto technology, security, and culture. With a healthy balance of enthusiasm and skepticism, we cut through the misinformation and hype in search of a signal in…