My Auditing Journey: From Line-by-Line to Intuition-Driven Expertise with Bailsec
Introduction: The Evolution of a Web3 Auditor
Auditing smart contracts in the Web3 space is a journey of growth, skill, and perspective. At Bailsec, we’ve seen how auditing evolves from a meticulous, line-by-line process to an intuition-driven art. This article traces my path through four key steps, revealing how experience transforms auditing techniques and why it matters for securing blockchain protocols. Whether you’re a developer or a project owner, understanding this progression can enhance your approach to Web3 security.
Step 1: Mastering the Basics with Line-by-Line Auditing
When I started auditing, my method was simple: review each contract line by line. I focused on understanding the business logic behind every function and how it fit into the bigger picture. This foundational approach built my skills in Solidity syntax and structure but had limitations:
- Missed Complex Bugs: Cross-functional or state-based vulnerabilities often slipped through.
- Narrow Focus: I struggled to see the contract’s overall design.
Resources were scarce back then – I relied on Udemy courses to learn Solidity and auditing. Despite the challenges, this phase laid the groundwork for my audit expertise at Bailsec.
Step 2: Expanding Scope with Function Jumping
To overcome these limitations, I shifted to “function jumping” – tracing how functions interconnect and manage state. This step improved my auditing by:
- Enhanced Context: I spotted issues in state transitions.
- Holistic Analysis: Viewing functions as a system revealed logic flaws.
This approach caught more bugs and refined my skills, though game-theoretical and state-related vulnerabilities remained elusive. Our workflow at Bailsec builds on such techniques to ensure thoroughness.
Step 3: Strategic Insights Through State Separation
With experience, I began audits with a state-based assessment, mapping contract states and interactions. This method offered:
- Early Bug Detection: Categorizing states exposed vulnerabilities upfront.
- Pattern Recognition: I learned to flag risky coding patterns intuitively.
This deeper understanding uncovered sophisticated bugs tied to state transitions – a skill we refine in Bailsec’s services to protect Web3 projects.
Step 4: Freestyle Auditing and Intuition at Its Peak
By the fourth step, my auditing became freestyle and intuition-driven. I’d dive into the codebase randomly, following leads based on gut instinct:
- Lead-Based Approach: I identified potential issues within minutes.
- Architectural Mastery: This revealed game-theoretical and complex vulnerabilities.
Years of experience honed my intuition, enabling me to detect 95% of issues with care and time – a claim proven in team audits. At Bailsec, intuition complements our structured audit process.
Why Experience Matters in Web3 Auditing
Experience transforms auditing from a mechanical task to a strategic craft. Early systematic methods build skills, but intuition unlocks the ability to spot hidden, sophisticated bugs. This evolution ensures not just functional security but protocol-wide resilience – a cornerstone of Bailsec’s blog insights.
