Billions of dollars have been lost due to bridge hacks in the blockchain industry, which not only harm individuals but also deter the adoption of Web3 initiatives aimed at creating a robust onchain economy. The blog discusses the pitfalls of centralized and superficially decentralized cross-chain solutions, emphasizing the need for a defense-in-depth approach featuring multiple layers of decentralization and risk management. Chainlink's Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) is highlighted as setting a new standard for cross-chain communication, achieving level-5 security by utilizing multiple independent decentralized networks to ensure secure and scalable cross-chain transactions. CCIP's architecture, comprising Committing, Risk Management, and Executing Decentralized Oracle Networks, provides unprecedented levels of decentralization and risk management, enabling financial institutions and Web3 protocols to manage transactions securely across chains. The protocol's advanced security features have attracted interest from both traditional financial institutions and DeFi protocols, positioning CCIP as a universal interoperability standard for blockchain ecosystems.