NEAR Co-Founder: AI-Powered Hacking Demands New Era of Code Verification

Illia Polosukhin, co-founder of NEAR Protocol, has issued a stark warning about the escalating threat of AI-powered hacking, stating that traditional code review methods are no longer sufficient to protect blockchain ecosystems. According to a report from The Block, Polosukhin noted that AI-driven attacks began to intensify significantly in October of last year, marking a turning point in the cybersecurity landscape.

The Acceleration of AI-Driven Threats

Polosukhin emphasized that the sophistication and speed of AI-generated attacks have outpaced manual code audits, which are often slow, expensive, and prone to human error. He argued that the industry must pivot toward formal verification — a mathematical approach to proving that code behaves exactly as intended — to keep pace with automated adversaries. Formal verification, while historically costly and computationally intensive, offers a level of certainty that traditional testing cannot match.

Why Formal Verification Matters Now

The NEAR co-founder highlighted that the window for relying solely on human reviewers has closed. AI can now generate thousands of attack vectors in seconds, probing smart contracts and decentralized applications for vulnerabilities faster than any human team can respond. Polosukhin called for the integration of AI tools to make formal verification faster and cheaper, effectively using the same technology that powers attacks to strengthen defenses. This approach could mathematically guarantee that code is secure before deployment, reducing the risk of exploits that have cost the crypto industry billions.

Implications for Developers and Users

For blockchain developers, this shift means adopting new tooling and workflows that prioritize provable security over speed. For users and investors, it signals a growing maturity in the industry’s approach to risk management. Projects that fail to implement robust verification methods may face increasing scrutiny from both regulators and the market. Polosukhin’s comments align with a broader trend in cybersecurity, where AI is both a threat vector and a defensive tool.

Conclusion

As AI-powered hacking becomes more prevalent, the blockchain industry faces a critical inflection point. Illia Polosukhin’s call for widespread adoption of formal verification underscores a necessary evolution in code security. The challenge now lies in making these advanced verification methods accessible and cost-effective for developers across the ecosystem.

FAQs

Q1: What is formal verification in blockchain security?
Formal verification is a mathematical method used to prove that a program’s code behaves exactly as specified. Unlike testing, which checks for known issues, formal verification can guarantee the absence of entire classes of bugs and vulnerabilities.

Q2: Why is AI making traditional code reviews obsolete?
AI can generate and execute thousands of unique attack patterns in a short time, far exceeding human capacity. Traditional code reviews, which rely on manual inspection, cannot keep up with the speed and creativity of AI-driven hacking tools.

Q3: How can AI help improve code verification?
AI can automate parts of the formal verification process, reducing the time and cost required. It can also help identify potential attack vectors by simulating adversarial behavior, making the verification process both faster and more comprehensive.