In the Web3 world, the phrase “move fast and break things” can be fatal. In this eye-opening session from the HyperNest Founder Security Workshop, Alex from Recon lays out a brutally honest breakdown of how startups get hacked, why they repeat the same security mistakes, and what founders must do to protect their protocols, users, and reputations.

This is a condensed dive into one core topic: the three main attack vectors that bring projects down—and how to build with resilience from day one.

Three Attack Vectors: Where Projects Fall Apart

1. Web3 (Smart Contracts): Mistakes Are Instant and Permanent

The source of the most catastrophic losses. Mistakes here are often irreversible. Common pitfalls include:

– Relying too much on audits instead of in-house review.

– Writing overly complex contracts with poorly understood edge cases.

– Failing to use layered security or test for attacker logic.

2. Web2 (Front-End & Social Engineering): Death by Phishing
These attacks exploit human psychology more than code. From fake front ends to social engineering, they’re pervasive and under-discussed.

Lessons:

– Always validate call data directly on a hardware wallet.

– Bookmark trusted sites; don’t rely on search results.

– Use 2FA not linked to phone numbers (avoid SIM swaps).

– Never publish raw Discord invite links—spoofing is rampant.

3. Governance (Private Key Management & Upgrades)

The Most Preventable RiskStill, one of the biggest failure points. A compromised EOA can drain an entire protocol.

To stay safe:

– Never use an externally owned account (EOA) for governance.

– Always implement a multisig with a time lock and a cancel function.

– Treat governance like code—review it, test it, stress test it.

🎙️ Check out the full talk with Alex on our private founder platform.

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