Informal Systems is excited to announce the v0.1 pre-release of Interchain Security! Interchain Security is a feature which will allow the Cosmos Hub to share security with other blockchains. On a technical level, this means that the Cosmos Hub validator set will gain the ability to validate other blockchains alongside the Cosmos Hub. These blockchains are called “consumer chains”, and will be secured by the Cosmos Hub’s billions of dollars of staked ATOMs.
This pre-release is a milestone that will be extensively audited and tested over the coming months in partnership with a diverse group of Cosmos stakeholders. Once any bugs identified during this phase are fixed, we will release v1 and begin the process of deploying it to the Cosmos Hub. We will also be starting a private testnet in early September with a smaller subset of Cosmos Hub validators as a dry run for the public testnet that will commence upon release of v1. Keeping the private testnet small will allow us to move quickly.
Full specification of the CCV protocol underlying ICS
Implementation of the protocol
Validator set change packets and confirmations:
Keep validator set in sync on consumer chains
Slashing packets:
Punish validators on the Hub for downtime and double signing on consumer chains
Distribution packets:
Allow consumer chains to send a variable percentage of fees and inflation to the Hub as a payment for security
Cosmos SDK modifications:
Small modifications to Cosmos SDK modules
Testing
Unit tests:
Live alongside the code and test individual functions.
Integration tests:
Spin up a 6 node network simulating the Hub and a consumer chain, run on every code change.
Differential tests:
A model of the protocol in Python is tested alongside the real system to uncover the most complicated bugs.
Testnets:
3 small private testnets, first among the dev team, then expanding to include some validators
Private testnet:
Catch any operational bugs or difficulties, and prepare for the public incentivized testnet
Audit by Informal Systems audit practice:
The audit practice, a completely separate team at Informal, will go over the code and tests with a fine-tooth comb to catch any security vulnerabilities.
Community Spend Proposal for Incentivized Testnet
Apply fixes to issues found during audit
Incentivized testnet:
An incentivized public testnet with prizes will expose the protocol to a large, Hub-sized validator set, and reward validators who accomplish tasks and find bugs
Signaling proposal on Cosmos Hub
Final deployment of interchain security on the Cosmos Hub
Onboarding of consumer chains (QuickSilver, Neutron, and others)