Web 3.0 proponents argue that the decentralized web is more resilient and secure than Web 2.0 systems, which are based on centralized networks. The ability to access information through a distributed network instead of a single source helps mitigate the risk of data breaches and other security incidents. In addition, blockchain technology allows for transactions between users to be automated and tamper-proof, making online transactions more reliable than ever before
In the 2000s, Web 2.0 was all about user-generated content, rich user interfaces and cooperative services. However, this ushered in a new wave of security threats, including malware, phishing, social engineering, spoofing, cross-site scripting and data breaches. With the growth of online communities and platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, malicious actors have had an easier time targeting users with fake news stories or scamming them out of their personal information. Thus far in 2019 alone we’ve seen reports of several high-profile data breaches including Equifax’s hack that impacted 143 million Americans as well as Facebook’s revelation that millions of people’s profiles were harvested without their consent via Cambridge Analytica.
Despite initial appearances, there are several potential security flaws with the use of web3. For one, people’s data is still at the mercy of centralized entities. Additionally, blockchain technology is only as strong as its developer community and lacking a robust ecosystem could lead to serious vulnerabilities. However, with innovations in encryption and other technologies coming to bear on this field, it seems that even these threats may be disappearing in the future
Web 3.0 represents a shift in how we think about the internet, but it’s still fundamentally based on the same technology and principles as Web 2.0. This means that while it may offer new opportunities, it also presents new threats to users’ online security. Cybercriminals are already exploiting Web 3.0 platforms to carry out attacks, and they will continue to do so until these platforms are more secure
New and unimproved
From a user’s perspective, the biggest downside of using web3 is that it still relies heavily on legacy technologies. This means that dApps and other web3 services are vulnerable to all of the classic security issues that plagued their predecessors. Additionally, companies have to communicate with their users through traditional means such as email or online messaging that are also susceptible to attack.
