A group of ethical hackers known as the Security Alliance (SEAL) has announced that it has recovered $50 million in assets since its establishment in 2023. In addition to this accomplishment, SEAL has launched a new platform called SEAL-ISAC, which is specifically designed to protect the crypto industry from cyberattacks and financial crimes.
SEAL-ISAC, the Information Sharing and Analysis Center, offers a range of features including information sharing, threat analysis, alerts, best practices, incident coordination and response, as well as educational resources on security. The platform has already gained the support of nearly two dozen major crypto organizations, including the Ethereum Foundation, Polygon, Uniswap Labs, Chainalysis, and MetaMask.
Built on the open-source Open Cyber Threat Intelligence Platform (Open CTI), SEAL-ISAC is compatible with both centralized and decentralized crypto entities. It also integrates with SEAL’s other initiatives, such as SEAL 911, a Telegram messenger channel where a team of approximately 40 white hat hackers can receive reports of ongoing hacks and provide real-time assistance.
According to a report by DefiLlama, the decline in hack losses in 2023 has positioned the crypto markets for another bull cycle. Since 2016, over $7.7 billion has been stolen in crypto hacks, with the majority of these thefts occurring during major exploits in 2021 and 2022.
A member of the SEAL team and the head of security at Paradigm, known as “Samczsun,” shared with Cointelegraph Magazine in March that the complexity of crypto-related hacks is increasing at an alarming rate. They compared it to taking a college-level course on quadratic equations but saw it as a positive sign that hackers are being challenged by more complicated problems.
In an effort to combat these hacks in real time, the SEAL team formed SEAL 911, a group of white hat hackers dedicated to responding to crypto security incidents as they occur.