By Michael Scott
Security audit reports released by Worldcoin show that the protocol initiated to prove humanness in networks addressed most of the issues discovered.
On July 28, Worldcoin, a proof of humanity protocol, released audit reports amid mounting criticism concerning its data collection practices. Security consulting companies Nethermind and Least Authority conducted the new audit.
Worlcoin Developers Resolve Over Dozen Security Issues
An accompanying announcement by Worldcoin revealed that 26 security problems within the protocol were established by Nethermind. The verification phase demonstrated that 24 were ‘identified as fixed .’Also, the audit reports that one was acknowledged and the other mitigated.
Three issues were discovered by Least Authority, and six recommendations were made. According to the announcement, all the issues ‘have planned resolutions or have been fixed.’
Worldcoin’s initial fame was in 2021 after its announcement that it would provide free tokens to persons who confirm their humanity. This could be done by scanning their iris using a device called an ‘Orb.’
Will Worldcoin Help Proof of Humans Overcome the Challenges Posed by AI-Bots?
Sam-Altman, the co-founder of OpenAI, co-founded the project. During that time, he and other team members claimed that failure by people to find a way to confirm their humanness without compromising their privacy would result in artificial intelligence bots causing trouble on the internet. The protocol’s documentation reveals that the Orb makes a hash of a user’s iris scan but fails to store a copy.
After almost two years of development and beta testing, Worldcoin’s public launch was initiated on July 25. However, it received instant criticism. According to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the United Kingdom, a consideration of whether the project’s investigation was necessary to determine if it violated the nation’s data protection regulations. CNIL, a French data protection agency, also questioned the legitimacy of Worldcoin.
Crypto Community Show Mixed Response to Worldcoin
Divisions concerning the project’s launch were witnessed in the crypto community. On the one hand, some participants viewed it as the beginning of a gloomy future that would invade privacy. Others considered it a critical step toward protecting human beings against malevolent artificial intelligence.
Various security topics, for instance, case-specific implementation mistakes, DDoS attack resistance, crucial storage and appropriate management of encryption and signing of keys, information integrity, and data leaking, are featured in the new audit reports.
The announcement revealed that some established issues resulted from reliance on Ethereum and Semaphore. Every issue apart from one was alleviated, solved, or have planned fixes. The sole unsolved security matter by the time of verification is labeled ‘acknowledged’ and possesses a severity of an ‘undetermined’ nature.
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