Part of the legitimization process of any new technology is proving that it’s battle-tested. In Web3 projects, unlike their web2 predecessors, decentralization creates new vectors of vulnerability in a way that security becomes everyone’s responsibility. It’s much easier to protect a centralized system with fewer points of failure, meaning the bar is raised on what we need to do as an industry to exceed the high-security standards already in place. Coordination and collaboration between key stakeholders in web3 — those who build, fix, protect, and propagate decentralized finance.
SEAL and its Safe Harbor Agreement for Whitehats is one huge step towards that goal.
What is SEAL?
SEAL stands for “The Security Alliance”, an organization with two main objectives:
- To provide a platform for the security community to collaborate on ambitious and impactful security initiatives that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to execute.
- To attract and bridge web2 and web3 communities in finding technical solutions to crypto’s security challenges.
Today, SEAL is launching its third public initiative: an RFC for its Safe Harbor Agreement for Whitehats.
What is the Safe Harbor Agreement for Whitehats?
The Safe Harbor Agreement for Whitehats is a proposed legal and technical framework for whitehats and security researchers (Wardens, are you ready?) to respond to an active exploit. It will last for 1 month and close on March 14, 2024. There are two existing initiatives included in it:
- SEAL Drills: Free training and incident response simulations
- SEAL 911: A Telegram bot for anyone from the community to reach trusted whitehats, security researchers, and other experts during an emergency
How and why is Code4rena involved?
If you’ve read through Code4rena’s docs, you know that as an organization, we think of everyone — auditors, developers, users — as each playing a crucial role in a never-ending game. The ultimate goal? Leveling up web3 security as a whole to encourage adoption of this new technology, while reducing the pressure and burden on individuals.
SEAL’s ethos matches this perfectly: by bringing together nearly 50 different organizations and countless whitehats and security professionals, it’s aiming to arm web3 with as many experts who can help lead the industry in achieving that ultimate goal. As the largest host of skilled auditors ahead of any other web3 security platform, Code4rena is excited to help Wardens contribute their skills through this new avenue.
Here’s to the next, more secure, collaborative phase of web3 — we’re excited!
For more information on how you can get involved with SEAL, visit this page.
