Hacken Integrates Chainlink to Bring its Security Audit Data On-Chain for DeFi

5 min readSep 16, 2020

We are pleased to announce Hacken’s forthcoming Chainlink integration that will make our security audit data about smart contracts, DeFi projects, and cryptocurrency exchanges available on-chain for use by decentralized applications. As a leading blockchain cybersecurity auditing shop, Hacken provides exchanges, wallet providers, and investors data about the underlying security of key pieces of infrastructure, such as informing users whether a DeFi smart contract was audited or generating a score to rate the security of exchanges.

Our integration with Chainlink’s market-leading decentralized oracle network will enable smart contracts from any blockchain to access Hacken’s security data. Developers can easily leverage Chainlink’s existing pool of secure node operators to build in security buffers that protect user funds and/or ensure more secure and reliable transaction/protocol automation based on Hacken data feeds. With the Chainlink Network already consisting of a large user base across many blockchains, including many leading DeFi projects, we’re excited to help bootstrap their ecosystem by offering additional layers of security.

The Need for More Security Options in DeFi

Providing cybersecurity data about DeFi smart contract audits is a crucial part of maturing the DeFi industry. Anonymous developers and yield farming spinoffs can drive speculation, often without regard for security. For average users, information about security and trusted audits is difficult to access, especially in real-time. Hacken aims to supply this data to users on-demand to foster stronger security in DeFi as a whole, ultimately reducing information asymmetry and increasing transparency.

Hacken’s security data product, СER, is the #1 cybersecurity data provider for both centralized and decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Launched in 2017, CER has audited more than 280 exchanges and provided more than 80 security certificates. In July 2020, Hacken partnered with the biggest independent crypto aggregator CoinGecko, which saw them adopt CER cybersecurity data as a crucial part of CoinGecko’s TrustScore. CER also provides data regarding cybersecurity audits of DeFi projects.

In order to make CER data available to smart contracts, an additional piece of infrastructure known as an “oracle” is needed. Not only does the oracle need to bridge communication between the two environments, but it needs to do so in a highly secure and reliable manner in order to maintain the valuable properties of the smart contract. For this reason, we selected the market-leader in secure oracles, Chainlink, to ensure our data is delivered on-chain in a highly available and tamper resistant manner.

This opens up additional programmability for smart contract developers like requiring confirmation that a smart contract has been audited before interacting with it. Answers to these key questions are provided by Hacken and relayed on-chain by Chainlink, which can be used to trigger different types of logic like accepting or denying a transaction. Additionally, essential security data for centralized exchanges such as server security features, user security requirements, fund solvency, penetration testing results, and other cybersecurity data will also be available on-chain.

Having security data on-chain opens new possibilities for smart contract automation and execution, such as:

A KYC-like equivalent for conservative DeFi users, such as enterprises, centralized exchanges, and investment funds, which may want to implement certain security checks before sending funds to a smart contract
A readily available and trusted layer of security for users, such as checking the audit status of a smart contract before farming a new DeFi governance token
A source of data to drive various insurance and derivative products about centralized and decentralized exchanges, such as speculating on their Trust Score. It can also be used as a reputation system for data providers, which automatically excludes a certain exchange should their Trust Score fall below a certain threshold.

How the Data Flows Through the Chainlink Network

The data flow from origination to smart contracts begins with the performance of Hacken security audits. The data produced from the audits are submitted to the CER.live platform, where Chainlink nodes can retrieve the data and make it available for smart contracts to consume as needed. Users can use an aggregation of multiple independent Chainlink Nodes to ensure availability and tamperproofness of the data delivery process.

*Data flow from CER to Chainlink oracles to end users*

“Bringing security data on-chain is advantageous for the entire blockchain industry because it creates more security for users and serves as a form of reputation that infrastructure providers must adhere to in order to gain market share. Integrating Chainlink allows this data to be made available across all the various chains in a reliable and transparent manner, upholding the guarantees users expect when interacting with blockchain technology,” stated Dyma Budorin, CEO and Founder of Hacken.
Dan Kochis, Head of Chainlink Business Development said “We’re excited to make Hacken’s data available to blockchain ecosystems via secure and reliable Chainlink oracles. Hacken’s security data will help shine a light on the security infrastructure underpinning most of DeFi and centralized exchanges, creating a safer user experience for everyone.”

About Chainlink

If you’re a developer and want to quickly get your application connected to Chainlink Price Reference Data, visit the developer documentation and join the technical discussion in Discord. If you want to schedule a call to discuss the integration more in-depth, reach out here.

Chainlink is an open-source blockchain abstraction layer for building and running decentralized oracle networks that give your smart contract access to secure and reliable data inputs and outputs. It provides oracles to leading DeFi applications like Synthetix, Aave, and Bancor; numerous blockchains such as Ethereum, Polkadot, and Tezos; as well as large enterprises including Google, Oracle, and SWIFT.

About Hacken

Hacken is a leading cybersecurity consulting company with an essential focus on blockchain security. Hacken is a part of Hacken Group including such companies as CER.live, HackenAI, and HackenProof. CER.live is the unique cybersecurity data provider for CoinGecko Trust Score.