The post AI agents are poised to be crypto’s next major vulnerability appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

AI agents in crypto are increasingly embedded in wallets, trading bots and onchain assistants that automate tasks and make real-time decisions. Though it’s not a standard framework yet, Model Context Protocol (MCP) is emerging at the heart of many of these agents. If blockchains have smart contracts to define what should happen, AI agents have MCPs to decide how things can happen. It can act as the control layer that manages an AI agent’s behavior, such as which tools it uses, what code it runs and how it responds to user inputs. That same flexibility also creates a powerful attack surface that can allow malicious plugins to override commands, poison data inputs, or trick agents into executing harmful instructions. Amazon- and Google-backed Anthropic dropped MCP on Nov. 25, 2024, to connect AI assistants to data systems. Source: Anthropic MCP attack vectors expose AI agents’ security issues According to VanEck, the number of AI agents in the crypto industry had surpassed 10,000 by the end of 2024 and is expected to top 1 million in 2025. Security firm SlowMist has discovered four potential attack vectors that developers need to look out for. Each attack vector is delivered through a plugin, which is how MCP-based agents extend their capabilities, whether it’s pulling price data, executing trades or performing system tasks. Data poisoning: This attack makes users perform misleading steps. It manipulates user behavior, creates false dependencies, and inserts malicious logic early in the process. JSON injection attack: This plugin retrieves data from a local (potentially malicious) source via a JSON call. It can lead to data leakage, command manipulation or bypassing validation mechanisms by feeding the agent tainted inputs. Competitive function override: This technique overrides legitimate system functions with malicious code. It prevents expected operations from occurring and embeds obfuscated instructions, disrupting…

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Filed under: News - @ May 25, 2025 10:28 pm