Establishing confidence before deployment.
WHAT AN AUDIT INVOLVES
Independent review of the code against its intended behaviour.
WHAT AUDITORS EXAMINE
Known vulnerability classes Access control Economic assumptions Interaction with other contracts Upgrade and administrative powers
WHAT AN AUDIT DOES NOT GUARANTEE
That the contract is safe.
WHY
Audits sample; they do not prove.
WHAT AUDITED CONTRACTS HAVE STILL DONE
Lost very large sums.
WHAT TO PROVIDE AN AUDITOR
The intended behaviour, documented The economic assumptions What should be impossible
WHY THAT LAST POINT
Without it, they can only check for known patterns.
WHAT FORMAL VERIFICATION PROVIDES
Mathematical proof that specified properties hold.
WHAT IT COSTS
Substantial effort, and it proves only what was specified.
WHAT BUG BOUNTIES PROVIDE
Continuing scrutiny, with payment for findings.
WHAT TO SET THEM AT
An amount competitive with exploiting the defect.
WHY
A bounty far below the exploitable value does not change the incentive.
WHAT TO DO BEFORE DEPLOYING
Test on a test network, extensively Deploy with limited value initially Increase gradually
WHAT TO PREPARE
A response plan, including how to pause if possible.
