On Tuesday (17 July 2018), Ontology (ONT), a “new high-performance public multi-chain project and a distributed trust collaboration platform”, announced that it would be working with CertiK, a specialist in the area of formal software verification, to enhance the reliability and security of its DApps and smart contracts.

Here is how CertiK co-founder Ronghui Gu, a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, describes formal verification:

“Using logical language to describe standards and using strict mathematical deduction to examine whether the given system meets requirements”

It is especially important to make sure that smart contracts are bug-free and secure (resistant to hacking) since once they have been released onto the blockchain, their source code cannot be changed.

CertiK can help clients such as Ontology mainly in three ways:

  • a formal verification framework for smart contracts (using deep learning techniques, smart contracts are “labeled” with specifications; if the mathematical proof (verification) of a labeled smart contract is complex enough, the task is split into sub-tasks using a layer-based approach; Certik network nodes then solve and validate these smaller “proof obligations, which are encoded in Certik transactions, via mining using the CertiK app; and hopefully, at the end of all this, if there were no errors in the smart contract, we end up with a verified smart contract; CertiK ledgers work as certificates to exhibit the end-to-end correctness and security of the verified smart contracts);
  • a set of certified code libraries and IDE plug-ins (to get real-time feedback on vulnerabilities) for building more trustworthy apps; and
  • for DApps with very high reliability requirements (such as wallets), a customized certification service, where verification experts will help specify/verify the software and generate a comprehensive report.

Speaking on CertiK’s partnership with Ontology, Professor Gu said:

“Trust and security are the most important consensus of the blockchain industry and the common cause for Ontology and CertiK. It is our honor to work with a forward-looking project like Ontology to build a secure and reliable blockchain ecosystem and ensure the security of the blockchain world”.

As for Jun Li, the founder of Ontology (and co-founder and chief architect of its parent company, Onchain, he had this to say about his company’s collaboration with CertiK:

“CertiK’s vision is to realize a transparent, fair, and secure blockchain ecosystem around the world, the same vision as Ontology’s. We look forward to work with CertiK and bring more real cases of smart contract formal verification, solve blockchain security pain points, and create an ecosystem with high security”.

 

Featured Image Credit: Image Courtesy of CertiK