# smart contract defense Smart contracts are the foundation of Web3 applications, but they can also become the source of major exploits. Aegis Shield is designed to analyze smart contracts before users or protocols interact with them. ## Detection Areas * Risky permissions * Suspicious functions * Hidden ownership controls * Upgradeability risks * Malicious logic patterns * Exploit indicators * Contract behavior anomalies * Unsafe token mechanics * Liquidity and transfer restrictions ## Security Goal The goal is not only to detect vulnerabilities, but to explain risk clearly. > **If users cannot understand the risk, they cannot defend themselves.** --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://whitepaper.aegis-labs.org/aegis-labs-docs/smart-contract-defense.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.