Web3 Security Services to Protect Your Protocol

The Web3 security market is growing steadily, providing various security options for protocols and users. Audit teams, bug bounty platforms, risk management tools, analysis tools, and so much more – and while one can never have enough security solutions, we wanted to create a small list both projects and users can use while searching for the Web3 security services already present in the market.

Security auditors & auditing teams

When it comes to Web3 security, most people first think of security audit teams and individual auditors. Companies like Trail of Bits, Quantstamp, and OpenZeppelin are proven leaders who conducted hundreds of security audits for various Web3 applications.

Most protocols undergo a security audit before launching the application or new feature to mainnet – external auditing teams might catch loopholes or small bugs that developers oversaw or did not pay attention to. Auditors review the code as a whole, testing it against various economic and technical exploits and checking if the protocol’s logic is working properly. Some auditing teams also provide continuous audits, reviewing code changes monthly for a fixed fee.

Bug Bounty Platforms

Next on our list are bug bounty programs and platforms. Custom bounties in a form of a grant, bug bounty platforms like Immunefi, white hat hacking – there are various ways for incentivised code testing. Bug bounties serve wide variety of purposes:

• Engaging new developers. Open bounties attract developers and testers to the protocol, and some of them might become intrested in the project’s idea and contribute to it part or full-time.
• Engaging the community. Who told that bug bounties should be restricted to the smart contract testing? You can also put up simpler tasks by asking the community to test the application’s frontend or user experience. Less bugs in the interface, more ideas from your actual users – the dev team’s dream.
• Stress-testing. Having an open-source code with public bug bounty could result in stress-tests as more people (bad and good actors alike) are aware of your protocol, be it a DDOS attack or smart contract exploit attempts. It can help you identify weak points early on and fix bugs before protocol’s liquidity grows.

Risk Management Solutions

Last, but not least, are risk management tools and platforms. Nowadays, economic attacks are becoming more sophisticated – and not all protocols can allow in-house risk management and financial teams in the early stages of development. That is where risk management platforms like Gauntlet, Apostro, and ChaosLabs are coming in to help. They can be used as continuous monitoring and risk assessment tools – they help safeguard the protocol against volatile market conditions and economic attacks by screening and analyzing both blockchain and market data. All DeFi protocols should use them as an additional protection tool – no matter the size or product’s stage.