Security Practices

10. Security Practices

DRAFT - This document is currently in draft form and subject to change.

Purpose

This section defines the minimum security standards for blockchain projects. Security is foundational to maintaining network integrity, operator trust, and ecosystem reliability. These practices apply to all stages of development, release engineering, and infrastructure deployment.

The goal is to ensure that all blockchain projects follow consistent, verifiable, and transparent security processes for software distribution, configuration, and communication.

10.1 Principles

All blockchain software should be designed and operated with the following security principles:

  • Least Privilege: Run all components with minimal required permissions.
  • Defense in Depth: Combine multiple layers of protection — code, infrastructure, and process.
  • Transparency: Publicly document all security policies, vulnerabilities, and mitigations.
  • Verification: Allow independent validation of software integrity and authenticity.
  • Secure Defaults: Provide hardened, non-exploitable configurations by default.
  • Automation: Automate key rotations, patch management, and dependency scanning.

10.2 Code Signing & Integrity

Projects must sign and verify all distributed binaries, containers, and source artifacts.

Requirements:

  • Use GPG or Sigstore Cosign for signing release artifacts.
  • Publish public signing keys in the official documentation.
  • Include SHA256 or SHA512 checksums with every release.
  • Document verification commands in VERIFY.md.
  • Automate signature verification in CI/CD pipelines.

Example:

gpg --verify blockchain-v1.3.0.tar.gz.asc blockchain-v1.3.0.tar.gz
sha256sum -c blockchain-v1.3.0.tar.gz.sha256

Container Signing Example:

cosign sign ghcr.io/project/blockchain:v1.3.0
cosign verify ghcr.io/project/blockchain:v1.3.0

10.3 Secure Software Supply Chain

Blockchain projects must maintain the integrity of their software supply chain to prevent dependency hijacking or tampering.

Standards:

  • Pin all dependencies to specific versions in lock files.
  • Use verified and cryptographically signed dependencies where available.
  • Scan for known vulnerabilities using tools such as:
    • GitHub Dependabot
    • Trivy, Grype, Snyk, or OWASP Dependency-Check
  • Validate dependencies during build and release pipelines.
  • Maintain a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for every release.

10.4 Vulnerability Disclosure Policy

Projects must have a responsible disclosure process for reporting and resolving security issues.

Requirements:

  • Provide a SECURITY.md file in the repository with disclosure instructions.
  • Define an official security contact email (e.g., [email protected]).
  • Use CVE identifiers for publicly disclosed vulnerabilities.
  • Respond to reports within a defined SLA (e.g., 72 hours).
  • Publicly announce patched versions after resolution.

10.5 Authentication & Authorization

All blockchain components (CLI, API, RPC, Web UI) should enforce secure authentication and access control.

Guidelines:

  • Use mutual TLS (mTLS) or signed tokens for node-to-node authentication.
  • Protect RPC endpoints with authentication layers or network whitelisting.
  • Do not expose admin interfaces to the public Internet.
  • Integrate with modern identity systems (OIDC, OAuth2, etc.) when applicable.
  • Document all roles, permissions, and API scopes.

10.6 Secrets Management

Sensitive data such as private keys, API tokens, and validator credentials must be stored and handled securely.

Best Practices:

  • Never commit secrets to source code or version control.
  • Use Kubernetes Secrets, HashiCorp Vault, or AWS/GCP Secret Manager.
  • Rotate keys periodically and after personnel changes.
  • Encrypt secrets at rest and in transit.
  • Provide guidance for key restoration and cold backup.

10.7 Secure Configuration Defaults

Projects should ship with secure-by-default configurations to minimize risk.

Examples:

  • Disable remote RPC by default (localhost binding).
  • Require explicit enabling of API endpoints.
  • Disable unsafe debugging or admin modes in production.
  • Use HTTPS/TLS by default for all network connections.
  • Validate configuration files before startup.

10.8 Network Security

Nodes should communicate securely and protect against unauthorized access.

Requirements:

  • Support encrypted P2P communication (e.g., Noise, TLS).
  • Validate peer identities before establishing connections.
  • Rate-limit RPC endpoints to prevent DoS attacks.
  • Implement firewall and ingress rules for Kubernetes and Docker.
  • Document all open ports and protocols.

10.9 Monitoring & Incident Response

Blockchain projects should document how operators can detect, report, and mitigate security incidents.

Recommendations:

  • Provide metrics for failed authentication, peer bans, and RPC errors.
  • Emit audit logs for configuration changes or upgrades.
  • Integrate with SIEM tools (Splunk, Loki, ELK, or CloudWatch).
  • Maintain a security incident response plan (SIRP).
  • Publish post-incident reports for transparency.

10.10 Compliance & Verification

Projects should maintain verifiable evidence of their security posture.

Recommendations:

  • Conduct periodic security audits by independent third parties.
  • Publish audit reports and remediation plans.
  • Perform penetration testing before major releases.
  • Follow frameworks such as:
    • CIS Benchmarks
    • OWASP Secure Coding Guidelines
    • NIST SP 800-53 (Moderate Controls)

Summary: Security must be a first-class concern throughout a blockchain’s lifecycle — from code to deployment. Projects that adopt standardized security practices protect their networks, operators, and communities from preventable threats. Transparency, automation, and proactive disclosure are the foundation of long-term blockchain resilience.