In late 2024 and early 2025, two major cybersecurity incidents shook the crypto world and highlighted serious security flaws in popular platforms. Trust Wallet lost nearly $7 million due to a hacked Chrome extension, while Ledger suffered another data breach through its e-commerce partner. These events have pushed the crypto industry to explore new and stronger ways to protect users.

On December 24, 2025, Trust Wallet’s Chrome extension (version 2.68) was compromised. Attackers used malicious code hidden in the update to steal nearly $7 million from hundreds of users. Victims were those who imported their recovery phrases into the affected extension. The stolen funds included around $3 million in Bitcoin and over $3 million in Ethereum, which were laundered through exchanges like KuCoin, FixedFloat, and ChangeNOW.

Cybersecurity firms PeckShield and SlowMist found that the malicious code secretly sent wallet data to a fake website, metrics-trustwallet.com. This phishing domain had been registered just days before the attack. Trust Wallet’s CEO, Eowyn Chen, confirmed that hackers uploaded the corrupted extension using a stolen Chrome Web Store API key, which bypassed internal checks. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao said victims would be reimbursed and hinted at possible insider involvement or even a nation-state attack.

Meanwhile, in January 2026, Ledger informed customers about a new data leak. This time, the breach happened at Global-e, its payment processing partner. The leaked information included names, emails, and mailing addresses of some buyers from ledger.com. Ledger clarified that its own systems, devices, and user funds were safe. Global-e didn’t have access to recovery phrases or private keys.

Even though no funds were stolen, this leak is concerning. In 2020, Ledger had a similar breach that exposed data from over 270,000 users. That incident led to phishing scams and physical threats like “wrench attacks” (real-world robbery targeting crypto holders). Internal reports show that social engineering attacks went up by 40% in 2025, with attackers using leaked personal info to trick users.

Both these incidents show how dangerous it is to rely on single points of failure. At Trust Wallet, one stolen API key allowed hackers to upload malicious software. At Ledger, trusting one outside vendor opened the door to a major data leak.

According to Chainalysis, over $3.4 billion was stolen from crypto in 2025 alone. Most attacks now target users directly rather than exploiting smart contracts. CertiK confirmed this shift—hackers are focusing more on human errors and system weak spots rather than code vulnerabilities.

To fight back, the crypto security industry is trying new ideas beyond traditional audits and security checks.

CertiK is a leader in smart contract auditing and has raised $296 million while protecting over $300 billion in assets across 3,200 clients. Its Skynet platform provides real-time monitoring and uses formal verification tools to catch bugs before code goes live. However, audits only work at a single point in time—they don’t protect against future threats or infrastructure attacks.

Other firms like Hacken and Quantstamp offer audit services too. Exchanges like Bybit EU use Hacken for transparency with proof-of-reserves audits. But these services also share the same limitation—they can’t prevent real-time attacks or evolving threats.

A new player bringing a fresh approach is Naoris Protocol. Instead of relying on central systems or one-time audits, Naoris turns every connected device into a security validator through something called a “Trust Mesh.” Founded in 2018 by David Carvalho, this protocol lets devices check each other for threats in real time.

Naoris uses a special consensus method called dPoSec (Decentralized Proof of Security), where all nodes validate each other’s behavior continuously. It also uses SWARM AI—an intelligent system that helps coordinate responses and roll out security updates instantly.

What really makes Naoris stand out is its post-quantum security. While today’s encryption (like RSA and ECC) could be broken by future quantum computers, Naoris uses quantum-resistant cryptography based on standards from NIST and NATO (including Dilithium-5). In fact, in September 2025, the U.S. SEC cited Naoris as a model for quantum-safe blockchain systems.

Naoris launched its testnet in January 2025 and has shown strong results: over 100 million post-quantum transactions processed, 3.3 million wallets created, 1 million validator nodes online, and 600 million threats blocked. The project raised $31 million from investors including Tim Draper and has high-level advisors from IBM, NATO, and even the White House.

In the Trust Wallet case, if a Trust Mesh had been used, it could have flagged the suspicious behavior—like sending data to an outside domain—before any money was stolen. Every device on the mesh would have worked together to spot and stop the threat early.

For Ledger’s data breach, depending on one vendor like Global-e proved risky. A decentralized system like Naoris could have checked third-party systems for weaknesses and helped prevent data leaks before they happened.

The “zero-trust” model behind Naoris doesn’t just protect one piece of the puzzle—it strengthens the whole system. This idea can be applied not just to wallets but also to DeFi apps, DAOs (decentralized autonomous organizations), and important governance systems in Web3.

As cyberattacks become smarter and more personal, it’s clear that traditional security isn’t enough anymore. The future of blockchain safety may lie in decentralization—not just of money—but of security itself.