Quick Breakdown
- SEAL launched a cryptographic verification tool to combat crypto phishing scams.
- The system enables researchers to produce verifiable proofs of phishing content.
- It tackles “cloaking” tactics that help scammers hide malicious activity.
SEAL unveils tool to verify crypto phishing attacks
Cybersecurity nonprofit Security Alliance (SEAL) has introduced a new verification system designed to help researchers authenticate crypto phishing websites — a growing issue that has already cost victims more than $400 million in the first half of 2025.
🔏 SEAL has been working on a new tool to enable advanced users and security researchers to join the fight against crypto phishing, and we’re excited to release it to the public pic.twitter.com/6denBjlO1L
— Security Alliance (@_SEAL_Org) October 13, 2025
Announced on Monday, SEAL said the tool, known as the “TLS Attestations and Verifiable Phishing Reports” system, aims to empower “advanced users and security researchers” to independently verify if a reported phishing link is genuinely malicious.
Addressing cloaking techniques in crypto scams
One of the biggest challenges in detecting phishing websites, SEAL explained, is “cloaking” — a technique that delivers harmless content to web scanners while showing malicious pages to unsuspecting users. This deceptive strategy has made it difficult for investigators to confirm phishing reports with certainty.
The new system solves this by using a trusted attestation server as a cryptographic oracle during the Transport Layer Security (TLS) connection, the protocol responsible for encrypting data across networks. This ensures the malicious content presented to users can be cryptographically verified.
How the verification system works
To use the tool, researchers run a local HTTP proxy that intercepts connections, gathers connection details, and forwards them to the attestation server. The server then performs all encryption and decryption operations while the user controls the network connection.
Researchers can then create “Verifiable Phishing Reports” — cryptographically signed records proving exactly what content a phishing website served. SEAL can validate these proofs without needing to visit the harmful sites themselves, reducing the risk of exposure while increasing transparency.
“This is a tool meant for advanced users and security researchers ONLY,” SEAL cautioned on its GitHub page, emphasizing that it is not intended for casual internet users.
Notably, Venus Protocol successfully recovered $13.5 million stolen in a high-profile phishing attack that compromised a whale wallet on September 3. The incident exposed a critical vulnerability not in its smart contracts, but in user security, emphasizing ongoing risks from social engineering attacks in the DeFi sector.
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