Decentralized finance is a term for various financial applications in blockchain projects. Many scams and hacks have proven the need for auditing before deploying code to the main network. Therefore, audits have become a DeFi industry staple to avoid hacking. Decentralized finance runs on automated smart contracts, and bugs in the code can disrupt the system’s smooth operation. The DeFi security audits become very important to find code errors, and security vulnerabilities to ensure safety. It is a thorough, detailed review and analysis of the code, manual audit, manual code review, etc., performed by security experts. Discuss the DeFi security audit, audit firms, and DeFi smart contracts.
What is a DeFi Security Audit?
Security and protection from hackers are a top priority. Conducting a DeFi audit is an important tool for organizations to ensure the integrity of the data they share in a blockchain project. First of all, it concerns financial services. Therefore, codes for services must fully comply with security requirements.
How Does the DeFi Audit Work?
The auditor examines websites, documents, and repositories for detailed security analysis. An audit report and a summary are developed, including a full, thorough security assessment of the blockchain project and its compatibility with the white paper. In addition, the audit identifies potential security issues. This verification is essential before starting the project because it allows you to verify its authenticity.
What is a Smart Contract Security Audit?
It is a comprehensive process of detailed verification of the smart contract code used to interact with the blockchain or cryptocurrency. This process is performed to detect problems, errors, and vulnerabilities in the code to fix them.
Why is the Smart Contract Auditing Process so Important?
Companies are concerned about the deployment of smart contracts as they are irreversible. Security issues are the biggest challenges faced by the smart contract deployment process. As you know, even the most minor errors in the code can lead to the unauthorized use of funds. The breach of the DAO, for example, resulted in about $60 million of ETH being smuggled into Ethereum.
Benefits of Smart Contract Audits for DeFi Projects
When a company takes care of the safety of its assets, it protects millions of dollars. Contract monitoring by highly qualified experts gives your blockchain project the following benefits:
- Better code optimization
- Protection against hacker attacks
- Increased wallet security
- The audit acts as a safety certificate for investors
- Verified applications have a higher level of longevity
Auditing smart contracts are the most important step in ensuring the security of your blockchain project.
How does Defi Smart Contract Auditing Work?
First, an analysis is made of the main documentation required for the smart contract audit process, including BRD, technical specifications, white papers, and so on.
Auditors review source code to recommend improvements.
The client is provided with a detailed final audit report indicating all errors and recommendations for solving problems.
10 Best DeFi Audit Firms
We present you with the best DeFi audit firms, which have won customer recognition by providing quality audits. These companies can be very useful to organizations that understand the importance of security.
Hacken
This famous audit company provides a wide range of cybersecurity services for businesses in the digital world. Its professional specialists develop high-tech solutions, focusing on the client’s needs. Hacken analyzes the security of the blockchain protocol, Ethereum smart contracts, etc.
OpenZeppelin
The company’s open-source smart contract libraries are considered the industry standard. Security professionals are known for their merit. The company was recently awarded a large contract to provide ongoing security for Compound.
Certik
This great blockchain security company often appears among the leaders in Rekt. The firm introduces tools for security investigation and monitoring.
Trail of Bits
It is one of the best audit firms doing a great job with open source. Its security experts have recently found vulnerabilities in well-known encryption libraries. The company’s security team maintains the open source smart contract security analysis tools Echidna and Slither.
ConsenSys Diligence
The ConsenSys company includes Truffle, MetaMask, and Infura. In addition to auditing services, the company supplies clients with a range of closed and open-source security products. Among the company’s merits is the audit of the protocols Aave, Fei, ENS, PoolTogether Bancor, and Balancer.
Runtime Verification
The company is engaged in security and pays great attention to formal verification. List of its known audits: Algorand, OlympusDAO, Tezos, ETH 2.0 Beacon Chain, Maker, Gnosis, and others. Often, company specialists publish research articles.
Quantstamp
This company is engaged in the security of blockchains. Its projects include Binance, Cardano, and Solana.
Slowmist
A Chinese company involved in blockchain security and offers customers a wide range of security services. Actively fights against fraud.
Solidity Finance
A renowned blockchain security firm. According to its information, the company conducted 1,300 audits. But, alas, three exploits in its story caused more than $50 million in damage.
PeckShield
It is famous Chinese security and audit firm. The company’s specialists have tested many protocols, including certain PancakeSwap contracts.
Conclusion
The audit is super important for blockchain projects today. Audits are required when critical issues are found in the protocols. In addition, audits are of great value in preventing successful hacker attacks and protecting user data. So you should spend time, effort, and money hiring professional auditors who can perform quality, detailed, competent, smart contract security audits.
FAQ
It is a very detailed check and analysis of the code that auditors perform to prevent a successful hacker attack. This process is performed by third-party auditors, which guarantees an unbiased review of the code.
The cost depends on the provider and most often ranges from 5 to 30 thousand US dollars for small and medium projects. And for large projects, the cost can be $500,000 or even more.
There are more and more hacks. Many unscrupulous participants in DeFi are ready and able to exploit vulnerabilities and bugs. In this case, we are talking about millions of dollars. For example, not too long ago, DeFi users lost $10.5 billion in theft in 2021. A competent security audit allows you to find errors and eliminate them.