Are Blockchain companies 100% safe from cyber attacks? Find out how to take advantage of a Bug Bounty Program to protect your data and your business.
The blockchain is an immutable ledger that records all transactions securely. Because it is a decentralized database, it’s nearly impossible to compromise.
The security of the blockchain makes it perfect for storing sensitive data like medical records or financial information. Unfortunately, as with any system, it has its weaknesses.
In the past few years, there have been several high-profile cyber attacks on blockchain-based businesses and their users. These vulnerabilities can be challenging to find and fix because they are often very specific and require extensive code analysis to identify. Many companies that use the blockchain have experienced devastating results because of these exploits.
To avoid being one of them, you need a robust Bug Bounty Program that drives Crackers away from your software so you can protect against cyber criminals in future versions of your app.
What is a Blockchain Bug Bounty Program?
A Bug Bounty Program for blockchain is a cybersecurity initiative where you invite Ethical Hackers to find vulnerabilities in your products. You reward the hackers for their efforts, and they give you advice on how to improve your product’s security.
You can implement a blockchain Bug Bounty Program for one specific app or blockchain-integrated websites and apps. If you decide to partner with a third party, you can also get advice on how to harden your infrastructure and employ best practices.
There are many advantages to implementing a Bug Bounty Program, including:
- Identifying and fixing critical vulnerabilities early
- Reducing the cost of product testing
- Saving time on development
As a blockchain business, you need to start thinking strategically about cybersecurity from the beginning. And the best way to do that is to invite the world to hack your app.
How to Secure the Blockchain using a Bounty Program
- Establish a Bug Bounty Program
You can start your blockchain Bug Bounty Program by inviting Ethical Hackers to identify vulnerabilities in your app. From there, you can use their findings as a checklist to improve your app’s security. Make sure to specify the rules of the program to avoid confusion and misunderstandings.
- Define success in a Bounty Program
Before you create your blockchain Bug Bounty Program, you need to decide how you will define success. At a minimum, you should expect hackers to find high-risk vulnerabilities in your software so you can fix them before they impact your users. Ideally, you want your hackers to find low-risk vulnerabilities so you can implement fixes that don’t impact your app’s core functionality.
- Identify the areas of vulnerability in your App
To maximise the results of your Bug Bounty Program, you need to first figure out where vulnerabilities may exist. You can do that by conducting code reviews and using protection software.
- Code Reviews
The best way to find vulnerabilities in your blockchain code is to do a code review. Code reviews are specifically designed to look for weaknesses in your code. You can contact someone to do code reviews for you or use an automated code review tool.
- Protection Softwares
Protection softwares can help you better understand the blockchain’s attack surface and identify vulnerable areas in your app. The software monitors your network traffic and looks for anomalies and potential threats.
Implement Detection Software during your Bug Bounty Program
- Using Intrusion Detection Systems
Intrusion detection systems (IDS) are network-based tools used to identify malicious activities. You can use an IDS to monitor your blockchain network and identify suspicious traffic. Ideally, your IDS solution will be able to identify a wide range of attacks, including SQL injections, Cross-site scripting, Denial-of-service attacks and Brute force attacks. If your blockchain uses a public ledger, you can monitor the network to identify malicious activity. If your blockchain is private, you can use VPN services or proxies to monitor the traffic.
- Using Network Firewalls and Traffic Shaping Firewalls
There are other critical security tools that can help you protect your blockchain apps. Network firewalls can identify malicious traffic and block it from entering your network. You can also use traffic shaping to prioritize your traffic, which may help you avoid a Denial-of-service attacks.
Use Solidity Code Auditing Software After your Bounty Program
After your blockchain Bug Bounty Program has concluded, you should use code auditing software to identify potential vulnerabilities in your blockchain app. Code auditing tools can help you find code weaknesses like Insecure data storage, Insecure data transmission and Lacking code functionality. You can use code auditing software to identify code weaknesses in your app and propose fixes for them.
Conclusions
The blockchain is a powerful technology for safely storing sensitive data and executing smart contracts. However, to ensure the security of this data, it is essential to apply robust security practices. Fortunately, by following these four steps and a Bug Bounty Program, you will be able to secure your blockchain.
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