Crypto.com Internship

During my internship at Crypto.com's Innovation Lab, I had the privilege of furthering a project we developed during the Crypto.com 2023 APAC Hackathon, where my team, Sentrii, won first prize. Our project, SentryScanner, is a Chrome extension designed to combat scams in both Web2 and Web3 spaces. This internship was an opportunity to refine and enhance our solution while exploring innovative technologies.

SentryScanner Overview

SentryScanner uses a three-pronged approach to protect users:

• A Smart Contract Scanner that analyzes token addresses, providing liquidity analysis, trust scores, and potential issues.
• A Machine Learning Model to scan website URLs and HTML code, flagging malicious sites and alerting users with a warning box.
• An Automatic Blockchain Transaction Interceptor that provides detailed transaction insights in a user-friendly popup, allowing users to continue or reject transactions.

Key Contributions

• Built the web extension using React and integrated it with a Node.js backend for seamless communication.
• Leveraged Parcel as the build tool to handle multiple entry points (popup, background script, and content script) in a single build, improving development efficiency.
• Developed a secure communication layer between the extension and third-party APIs using HTTPS and API tokens.

Technical Challenges and Design Decisions

• Switching from Vite to Parcel: Vite, while optimized for single-page applications, did not support our need for multiple entry points. Parcel allowed us to:
  • Bundle the popup, background script, and content script in a single build.
  • Streamline the extension’s architecture for better maintainability.
• Node.js Backend: Used Node.js for the backend due to:
  • Its non-blocking, asynchronous nature, which efficiently handled API requests for URL and smart contract analysis.
  • Ease of integration with third-party APIs like De.Fi, enabling secure data fetching and processing.
  • Unified development in JavaScript, allowing seamless communication between the frontend and backend.
• Security Considerations: Implemented robust security practices:
  • Encrypted all communication using HTTPS to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
  • Adhered to the principle of least privilege by requesting only minimal browser permissions for the extension.

Publications and Recognition

• Hackernoon: Sentrii Unveiled - An article highlighting how AI is shaping fraud prevention in Web3.
• Hackernoon: Pioneers of Tomorrow - Coverage of our hackathon win.

Key Takeaways

• Gained hands-on experience with Node.js for backend development, particularly in asynchronous API integration.
• Learned how to secure browser extensions through HTTPS, API tokens, and minimal permission requests.
• Improved development workflows by adopting Parcel for multi-entry-point builds.
• Strengthened teamwork and problem-solving skills through collaboration in a competitive, fast-paced hackathon environment.