In response to the recent $270 million Drift Protocol exploit, the Solana Foundation has unveiled a suite of security measures designed to enhance the network's defenses. The centerpiece of this initiative is Stride, a comprehensive evaluation program led by Asymmetric Research, which will assess Solana DeFi protocols against eight key security pillars and publicly disclose its findings. Additionally, the Solana Incident Response Network (SIRN) has been established as a membership-based group of security firms and researchers focused on providing real-time crisis response. Protocols with over $10 million in total value locked (TVL) that pass the evaluation will be eligible for ongoing operational security and active threat monitoring, funded by Solana Foundation grants.
For larger protocols with over $100 million in TVL, the foundation will also provide funding for formal verification, a rigorous mathematical method that verifies the correctness of smart contracts. The SIRN network, which includes founding members such as OtterSec, Neodyme, Squads, and ZeroShadow, will prioritize protocols based on their TVL.
While these initiatives address some of the vulnerabilities exposed by the Drift hack, they do not directly address the human element that was exploited in the attack. The hackers had spent six months building relationships with Drift contributors and compromised their devices, ultimately using the stolen credentials to execute the exploit.
The Solana Foundation has emphasized that these new programs do not shift the responsibility for security away from the protocols themselves, highlighting the importance of individual protocol security measures. The foundation has also noted that existing free security tools, such as Hypernative for threat detection and Neodyme's Riverguard for attack simulation, are available to support builders in enhancing their security posture.