CoinDesk
Michael Coates, the new CISO at the Solana Foundation and former security lead at Twitter and Mozilla, warned that AI-powered social engineering and compromised credentials, not smart contract exploits, will drive the next wave of crypto security incidents. In an interview with CoinDesk, Coates said attackers are shifting focus from protocols to people, because operational and Web2-layer mistakes now open the door to key compromises that drain wallets just as effectively as a code bug would.
Coates pointed to AI as the accelerant. "The social engineering piece is going to get a lot worse because of the power of AI and deepfakes," he said, predicting fully spoofed phone calls using real voices of people the victim knows. He framed the threat as inevitable rather than preventable: "Eventually, you will be fooled because the cons are that good."
Why it matters
The shift reframes who crypto security is built for. Coates, who joined the Solana Foundation earlier this year, argues the industry must build systems that protect users by default rather than expecting users to act as security experts. That means layered controls so that when one is bypassed, the next catches the fall. The cost of getting this wrong is rising because AI tooling lowers the bar for convincing impersonation across voice, video, and identity.
Market impact
For Solana and its ecosystem, the mandate extends beyond the foundation itself to advising ecosystem projects and engaging regulators on cybersecurity standards. Coates also flagged quantum computing as the longer-horizon threat, noting Solana has published its own post-quantum strategy even though the Q-day timeline is unknown. The near-term read for users is heightened vigilance on calls and identity verification, and for builders, a renewed emphasis on key management and default-secure workflows.
Frequently asked questions
-
Who is Michael Coates and what is his role at the Solana Foundation?
Michael Coates is the new CISO at the Solana Foundation. He previously served as CISO at Twitter and led security at Mozilla before joining the foundation earlier this year.
-
What security threats does Coates say are the biggest risk to crypto now?
Coates says AI-powered social engineering and compromised credentials are the leading threats, with attackers shifting from protocol exploits to targeting people through operational and Web2-layer mistakes.
-
How does AI make crypto scams more dangerous according to Coates?
Coates warned that AI-generated deepfakes will enable fully spoofed phone calls using the real voices of people victims know, making social engineering dramatically more convincing and harder to defend against.
-
What is Solana doing about post-quantum cryptography?
Coates said the Solana Foundation has published its own post-quantum strategy, adopting known post-quantum algorithms to prepare for the eventual Q-day even though the exact timeline remains unknown.
-
What does Coates think crypto should do to protect users?
Coates argues crypto must build systems that protect users by default, using layered security controls so that when one layer is bypassed, the next catches the fall, rather than expecting users to act as security experts.
CoinTelegraph
TheBlock
Crypto News
CryptoSlate
WuBlockchain
Lookonchain