Teamwork makes the dream work

The most secure protocols consider attacks from all angles, and have a solid defense to repel invaders of all kinds.

Blockchain projects often don’t consider that security is an ongoing battle that can’t simply be solved with one solution. Having a plan, and being able to adjust on the fly are key to making the right decisions when it matters most.

This starts from the very beginning, before launching any protocol, and teamwork is key.

The importance of a solid foundation

Code audits are a valuable tool in any project’s arsenal. As they enable teams to discover bugs, find weaknesses, and improve overall code quality. Third-party testers that haven’t spent weeks and months writing your code can often find backdoors or errors that you may overlook.

They also are important as protocols continue to scale and evolve, adding more users and features, and can also help ensure stability and best performance.

Audits also help solve potential problems, and can uncover ways to improve workflows or procedures, enabling teams to work more efficiently and figure out whether code needs to be rewritten or simply cleaned up.

Your project is only as good as your base, and making sure that foundation is firm is vital to your success.

Vigilance is key

Cybercriminals will consistently try to penetrate your defenses post-launch, and repelling one hack does not mean the fight is over.

Ongoing vigilance and an ability to respond in the face of an attack is often the difference between victory and defeat. It takes many battles to win the war, even if it never really ends.

Think of cybersecurity like a game of chess, and the three distinct phases each game has when considering how to defend against malicious actors — the opening, the middle game, and the end game. Hackers always make the first move, and must expose themselves in order to potentially achieve success.

Oftentimes, exploits occur through methods that a code audit would be unable to stop — be they novel or rooted in hacking folklore. Successful phishing schemes can enable hackers to gain access to systems with even the most robust code — but advanced detection systems can quickly identify their actions and enable teams to act to mitigate the threat posed. This middlegame is where pressure is not just on projects to stop hacks from being successful, but also on cyberthieves to execute their plan and escape without being uncovered or exposed to criminal liability

Likewise, compromised pricing oracles or private keys can enable thieves to move assets without being detected until they’ve successfully stolen millions of dollars — but effective monitoring can enable protocols to see in real time what is happening and stop thieves in their tracks.

Code audits can stop known exploits from being successful, and can repel a good deal of attacks, but they are only one piece of the puzzle and need to be implemented alongside additional efforts to minimize the likelihood of a successful hack.

Checkmate

Ironblocks is committed to being part of the solution rather than being part of the problem, and we fully recognize that no one company or solution can protect against every potential threat.

By working together as an industry, we believe that we can instill confidence in projects and founders, and ultimately turn the tide against would-be thieves so that each passing year does not see another all-time high for assets stolen from DeFi and Web3 protocols.

That’s our endgame, what’s yours?