A smart contract is computer code with a set of rules that are executed when certain conditions occur. This happens automatically, without human involvement and without trust between the two participants of the transaction.
But what happens if a developer accidentally or intentionally makes a mistake in a smart contract? Participants lose their money. At the same time, typical critical errors in smart contracts are usually detected by automatic analyzers.
But when we want to check the high-level logic of smart contracts and the compliance of the rules with the stated goals, this requires a rather complex audit involving specialists who use automatic and manual checks in combination with mathematical forecasting models.
An audit of the smart contract is the cornerstone of security. Most of the smart contract audit is aimed at detecting vulnerabilities, and in lesser part at the efficiency of gas expenditure while completing tasks.
In addition, auditors study the DApp interface itself and the application’s resistance to DDoS attacks. This ends in the issuance of a security report, which can most often be found in the public domain.
Often, when audit companies detect the risk of exploits in smart contracts and when developers are unwilling to eliminate them, the auditors themselves notify users of large sites and applications about the presence of a threat.