Solana security warns AI scams now surpass smart contract flaws

The most urgent threat facing the cryptocurrency industry is no longer vulnerable code but increasingly sophisticated AI scams, according to the new Chief Information Security Officer of the Solana Foundation.

Michael Coates, who joined the Solana Foundation in July after leading security teams at Twitter and Mozilla, said many of the industry’s most significant security incidents in recent months have resulted from identity compromise and AI-powered fraud rather than vulnerabilities in smart contracts. Speaking to CoinDesk, he stressed that blockchain organizations now face both traditional cybersecurity risks and the unique challenges of Web3.

Coates said companies operating in the sector must adopt the same security standards expected in Web2 while preparing for attackers motivated by the possibility of stealing irreversible digital assets. In such an environment, cybercriminals will exploit any weakness, whether technical or human.

Advances in artificial intelligence and deepfake technology have significantly increased the effectiveness of social engineering attacks. Instead of attacking blockchain protocols directly, criminals increasingly target users to obtain private keys and recovery phrases through fake identities, romance scams, and so-called pig butchering schemes.

According to Coates, AI-generated voice cloning is likely to become an even greater concern, allowing attackers to impersonate relatives, friends, or trusted contacts during phone calls. These techniques make fraudulent schemes more convincing and more difficult for individuals to detect.

His warning comes as the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem experiences a growing number of incidents linked to stolen credentials and operational failures instead of protocol-level exploits. This shift suggests that attackers are finding greater success by manipulating people than by breaking blockchain infrastructure.

Coates argued that expecting users to identify every scam is unrealistic. Instead, cryptocurrency platforms should implement multiple layers of protection so that even if someone falls victim to deception, additional safeguards can prevent the loss of digital assets.

Before joining the Solana Foundation, Coates testified before the United States Congress on the security implications of artificial intelligence. He believes AI can also strengthen cybersecurity by helping organizations detect suspicious behavior, identify emerging threats, and automate defensive responses.

His appointment reflects a broader change across the blockchain industry, where protecting users from AI-driven fraud and identity attacks is becoming as important as auditing code and securing decentralized protocols.