White hat crypto hackers join forces to fight crime together
The crypto community has welcomed the launch of Security Alliance, a non-profit organization registered in the United States designed to provide support to “white hat” hackers who can profit from exploiters. The initiative unites a team of blockchain security specialists led by samczsun, head of security at crypto venture capital firm Paradigm.
The new organization was officially announced on February 14. According to its website, the Security Alliance has three projects underway. There's a hotline for help with security responses and a War Games component to help prepare developers for security threats.
Sealing the deal with @samczsun
Uniswap Labs is proud to support the Security Alliance (SEAL), which encourages white hat hackers to keep crypto safe and secure pic.twitter.com/NHgmclIdcG
— Uniswap Labs (@Uniswap) February 14, 2024
Happy Valentine's Day to all crypto whitehats and security researchers!
Check out the launch initiative on the website. SEAL is just getting started. More to come.
Fun fact, SEAL in Security Alliance refers to @Samczsun's more autistic lineage. https://t.co/f6P8xFQcBL
— Mudit Gupta (@Mudit__Gupta) February 14, 2024
Perhaps the biggest innovation the group has to offer is the Whitehat Safe Harbor Agreement, which provides “legal protection and incentives for Whitehats to rescue species under active exploitation.” This is a preliminary agreement that reads in part:
“If done lawfully, competently and in good faith, the Protocol and its members waive their right to pursue legal claims against you.”
“However, be aware that the legal landscape is complex and engaging in agreements of this nature carries associated risks,” the agreement continues.
Related: White Hat: I Recovered Most of the Stolen Nomad Coins and What I Found Was This Stupid NFT.
The Security Alliance drew inspiration from the Nomad hack in August 2022. Many white hat hackers are involved in recovering nomadic funds, but:
“Members of the security community lamented that if there was a legal framework to allow the Whitehats to act in good faith, more people would be able to help.” So we decided to build one.
Although samczsun is the only member of the Security Alliance mentioned on the website, following their usual security practice of hiding their true identities to avoid retaliation, several others have been named or identified themselves as team members on X.
A host of talented lawyers helped make the Whitehat Safe Harbor deal a reality, including @MikeBacina, @lex_node, @milesjennings, @RSSH273, @Debevoise, @SH_Brennan, @MarcGoldich, @0xCharmed and the entire @LeXpunK_Army.
— samczsun (@samczsun) February 14, 2024
He said the group has more than 50 donors and partners. Among those mentioned are Ethereum Foundation, Vitalik Buterin, a16zcrypto, Paradigm, Electric Capital and Coinbase. Bloomberg reports that the group has raised more than $1 million, with Buterin alone contributing $500,000.
According to one estimate, $2.61 billion will be lost to hacking and fraud by 2023, with only a small fraction recovered. New hacking technology emerges all the time.
Magazine: Real AI Matters in Crypto, Issue 3: Modern Contract Audits and Cyber Security
