The growth of blockchain signifies the efficiency unfolded by smart contracts.
Smart contracts are acclaimed for their self-executing nature, making businesses and individuals look upon them for reliability in transactions.
The elimination of intermediaries that comes with the design of smart contracts reduces the cost and improves the effectiveness with no room for human errors.
So, with the set of coded instructions, smart contracts can precisely fulfil the intended operations.
However, coding errors are humanly possible. That is why there are certain things to consider for the secure implementation of smart contracts in the long run.
Moving forward with the blog, we shall discuss the best practices to follow for creating smart contracts with hard-core resistance to hacks and exploits.
The Knowledge About Smart Contracts
Let’s find out the different categories of smart contracts with a specific set of functionality that it aims to accomplish to smoothen the transactions.
Smart legal contracts: They are legally enforceable smart contracts that dictate the terms and conditions for both parties to satisfy for furthering the transaction. Failing to satisfy would lead to legal actions against the respective parties.
Decentralized Autonomous Organisations(DAO): These contracts define the governance rules with sole deciding power handed over to the community. The rules of the DAO contracts are altered when the decision has the majority nod from the community.
Application logic contracts: These contracts are developed to work synchronously with other blockchain networks. Therefore, it is used to establish communication across different devices.
Encapsulation Of Smart Contract Security Best Practices
Smart contracts are specific programs which should signify the accuracy and security in functioning. Therefore, here are some tip-offs to keep in mind for smart contract development.
- Handling extra functionality with care
The more functionalities contracts possess the application aspect is enriched. This also opens up security risks, as with the number of functionalities, there are increased chances of errors. A small bug can lead to the collapse of the token logic.
Blockchain networks like Cardano impose code limitations that hinder them from including too many functionalities. On the other hand, it also improves the security of the contract.
Therefore, handling the functionalities with keen attention is important, otherwise leading to fatal code vulnerabilities. In addition, using automatic validation tools in contracts helps advance security.
- Programming Language Plays A Crucial Role
Choosing the programming language is all the more important to reduce the possibility of bugs and errors in code. Languages like C++ and JavaScript help in developing complex programs that may also have an underlying danger of severe security threats.
Therefore while coding, it is important to keep in mind one of the many factors such as language, compiler and blockchain network. It is always a best practice to go through security guidelines before developing contracts native to the network.
E.g. Security guidelines for coding on EOS
- Adopt Blockchain-Specific Coding Practices
Every blockchain comes with its own set of specifics. Understanding them helps to know what works best and create an apt solution for the network.
Unlike other software programs, issues with blockchain coding cost a lot. Therefore a right understanding of the elements of the network eliminates the critical errors from coding.
- Testing And Security Audits Form An Integral Part
No matter how much the code is developed with keen attention, running preliminary tests spots unidentified bugs.
This significantly reduces the chances of errors as you can still work and fix them. The other important measure is to undertake security audits.
Code developers may sometimes overlook the errors, which, while audited by third parties from a new perspective, brings about new suggestions.
A renowned firm with expert auditors having sound knowledge and years of experience in handling smart contract security audits is the right destination for cross-checking contracts before implementation.
A comprehensive study of code manually, as well as through the use of automatic testing tools, makes it tight for any coding flaws to escape from the grip.
Furthermore, offering bug bounty programs involves reviewing code by third persons also strengthens code against vulnerable attacks.
Final Note,
As smart contracts are getting into the spotlight due to the efficiency and ease of operations, the only concern lies with security. That makes them hit the news headlines for the numbers lost due to security breaches, hacks and thefts.
Working on it would further the wider adoption of blockchain in the coming years.
