Data Ownership Protocol is proud to confirm that a top-tier auditing firm has been chosen to scrutinize our infrastructure.

Hacken is one of the blockchain industry’s best-known security specialists. Boasting a team of over 60 experienced engineers, it has successfully completed over 1,500 audits in the sector.

The company has previously examined the code and smart contracts powering Binance — the world’s largest crypto exchange — and has also worked with NEAR Protocol and 1inch. 

Due to take place in the first quarter of this year, Hacken’s audit of DOP will center on our selective transparency features that allow crypto assets to be encrypted, meaning they are no longer publicly visible on the blockchain.

Detailed testing is designed to detect security weaknesses within our systems, and the outcome of the audit will be made publicly available. Major data sites including CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap also integrate reports into their websites.

This is a crucial step in further boosting confidence in our infrastructure — and follows a successful testnet where thousands of users have been experimenting with our offering, identifying bugs, and providing feedback.

Why audits matter

From day one, an audit has been an integral part of DOP’s roadmap, and for a good reason.

They’re vital for uncovering potentially critical vulnerabilities that could put user funds at risk and damage our protocol’s reputation. Experts who delve into the code can also offer bright ideas on how to make our protocol even better.

Hacken’s figures suggest a staggering $3.8 billion was stolen from crypto projects in 2022, causing untold harm to investors. When the blockchains they rely on are targeted, users suffer in two ways. Not only do they incur direct losses when wallets are drained, but plummeting token values can have a detrimental impact on their net worth.

How will it work?

Once Hacken’s audit is completed, a report will be delivered that summarizes DOP’s project — and offers clear scores based on our protocol’s code, architecture and security.

Any potential security vulnerabilities will be classed on severity, with the company’s engineers providing detailed recommendations on how they can be fixed.

Overall, there are four categories that potential issues end up falling under. Low-level vulnerabilities primarily relate to outdated code. Medium is used to describe problems that do need to be fixed at some date, but won’t cause assets to be lost. The High category is reserved for bugs that could undermine how smart contracts execute. And last but by no means least, Critical is assigned to vulnerabilities that could easily be exploited by malicious actors — resulting in stolen funds and manipulated data.

Once the audit has been concluded, DOP will be given the opportunity to act on Hacken’s recommendations — and as long as the issues are resolved in a timely manner, they won’t count toward the final security score that’s assigned to the project.