AI is shortening the shelf life of crypto security audits, researchers warn
Reported by Cointelegraph · AI-assisted summary by ChikoCorp AI News Desk
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Blockchain security experts are cautioning that advances in artificial intelligence are significantly reducing the effective lifespan of crypto security audits. Ari Redbord, head of policy at TRM Labs, emphasized that attack methods are evolving faster than a single audit conducted at a project’s launch can address. He advocates for continuous and recurring auditing of smart contracts rather than one-time checks, warning that audits based on past attack patterns leave protocols vulnerable to new, emerging threats.
Data from CertiK highlights this growing concern, reporting that hackers stole $1.32 billion in the first half of 2026 using increasingly sophisticated techniques. A key strategy involves exploiting codebases from defunct decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, facilitated by improved automated tools for finding hidden vulnerabilities. For example, a significant security flaw in Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool—one of its central privacy features—was discovered by Shielded Labs using an AI-powered auditing agent based on Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.8. This vulnerability, which existed undetected for four years, could have allowed undetectable counterfeiting but has since been patched.
Recent attacks demonstrate ongoing risks posed by legacy smart contracts. Hackers stole $2.1 million from Aztec Connect, a protocol that had shut down in March 2023, and $300,000 from mySwap’s contract even after the exchange interface was closed to liquidity. Conversely, a white hat hacker managed to recover 1,003 ETH (about $1.72 million) locked in a failed 2016 ICO due to a bug in an auto-refund function. Despite these recovery efforts, the overall crypto ecosystem—with over $72 billion locked in DeFi contracts—remains an attractive target for attackers exploiting aging or poorly maintained code.
Experts like Redbord stress that reauditing smart contracts is necessary but insufficient alone to combat malicious cyberactivity. Broader industry cooperation and regulatory measures targeting threat actors, including those linked to North Korea and Chinese money laundering, are crucial. While protocols can strengthen their internal defenses, proactive action is needed against the actors behind attacks to improve the overall security landscape in crypto.