CERTIK - Securing the blockchain community
Good morning Lions I trust you are safe and well and winding down for the weekend. Today I wanted to bring you something about Blockchain security as there are still quite a few people without a clear understanding of how things work.
There are a number of blockchain security specialists that operate in the sector that token owners can higher to undertake tests of tokens or their own chains. One of those companies and the one we will be focusing on today is Certik which is one of the most known security experts and one used quite often in the sector. It isn't uncommon to see their logo in white papers and information about crypto projects.
What is CERTIK?
In 2018 professors from Yale and Columbia university who specialised in information technology and were intrigued by the emerging blockchain technology. However, they perceived many of the start ups to be flawed and held weaknesses that could cost people significant investment if security wasn't prioritised.
Together, the formed CERTIK and commenced assessing each smart contract and blockchains code searching for weaknesses that could potentially lead to exploits in the day to day functioning of the technology.
Since then CERTIK has continued to become one of the biggest names in internet security having assessed 2,925 projects valued around $US364 Billion.
Keeping the Community Informed
Beyond just a security protocol CERTIK also provides live updates of breaches and exploits and often produce detailed reports on bugs and fixes of projects once their services have been engaged.
One of the current updates CERTIK is providing is on scams which are extremely common with BoredApes recently having its discord compromised with phishing attacks. Furthermore CERTIK tracks annual data of hacks and exploits and in their latest announcement is that May has had one of the highest recorded scams. There is further information stating that 2022 has been the biggest year for scams in the decentralised world to date.
A word of caution for many wanting to invest and to make sure that you are investing wisely.
It is also important to note that smart contracts and blockchains assessed by CERTIK doesn't make them impossible to be hacked or exploited as there are many examples of blockchains in the past that have been assessed and then exploited. So always be safe.
Image Source Keplr Wallet
CERTIK Launches it's own chain
If you have been a user of the KEPLR wallet you may have stumbled across the Certik Logo and chain. Well Certik have launched Shentu Chain which is built on the Cosmos Ecosystem and has cross chain capabilities.
Shentu is the first security focused blockchain that operates on a delegated proof of stake model and focuses on NFT's and Decentralised finance. However, Shentu also wants to expand into autonomous vehicles.
The chain also connects to other cross chain blockchains and provides updates and live data on weaknesses before they occur. They can also provide the Shentu Shield to other chains and can provide real time guards to on chain transactions picking up all sorts of malicious activity before it occurs.
They do this by operating a Security Oracle and is a paid service.
Shentu also has developed their very own Shentu Virtual Machine much like the Ethereum Virtual Machine which Shentu is compatible with the SVM enables chains and smart contracts to continue to engage with each other based on a risk matrix and if the other smart contract or chain has been audited.
There has long been talk of vulnerabilities in cross chain applications the biggest being the ability to churn out a chain to make transactions on others behalf. Certiks latest protocol enables cross chain collaboration with less of a risk. Although it is yet to still be proven successful.
Image Sources provided supplemented with Canva Pro. This is not financial advice and readers are advised to undertake their own research or seek professional financial services