Key Takeaways
- Chaofan Shou is the co-founder and CTO of Fuzzland, focused on automating smart contract testing for blockchain security.
- He gained early experience as a security engineer at Salesforce, improving internal security systems and detecting threats.
- He has co-authored several key papers on cybersecurity and blockchain, contributing to developing new security tools.
Who Is Chaofan Shou?
Chaofan Shou is the co-founder and CTO of Fuzzland, a blockchain security firm that builds automated testing solutions for smart contracts. He also contributes as a developer at Solayer. Currently, he is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, where he conducts research in the Sky Computing Lab under Professor Koushik Sen. His academic work centers on program analysis, cybersecurity, and distributed computing. Before starting his Ph.D., Shou earned his degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Early Career and Salesforce Experience
Shou started his career as a security engineer at Salesforce, where he helped improve the company’s internal security systems. He worked on tools that check code for security issues, created services to scan the company’s internal network, and built systems to spot possible threats using large amounts of data.
This gave him hands-on experience with big, complex systems and advanced security methods. His time at Salesforce helped him build strong skills in finding and fixing security problems, which later helped him move into blockchain and smart contract security.
Transition to Blockchain and Veridise
After working at Salesforce, Shou became a founding engineer at Veridise, a startup focused on blockchain security. The company worked on making smart contract audits faster and more automatic. At Veridise, Shou created tools to make blockchain apps more secure.
One of his main projects was Chainsaw, a tool that tests and tries to break blockchain systems to find hidden problems. He shared Chainsaw at the 2022 Smart Contract Summit, showing how it could find issues that regular checks might miss. His work at Veridise showed how he could turn deep technical research into valuable tools for real blockchain use.
Fuzzland and Leadership in Blockchain Security
Shou co-founded Fuzzland and now works as its CTO. The company builds tools to test and secure smart contracts automatically. With Shou’s guidance, Fuzzland has improved the safety of decentralized apps. In early 2024, the company raised $3 million in funding. Shou also talked at BuildETH 2023 on using fuzzing to protect DeFi from MEV attacks.
Publications and Scholarly Contributions
Shou has co-authored several key research papers in cybersecurity and blockchain. His work includes ItyFuzz (ISSTA 2023), a tool for testing live smart contracts, Query Planning (CoNEXT 2024), focused on data collection in large networks, and a CCS 2024 paper on detecting fraud in online ads. These papers show his strong focus on improving security and reliability in tech systems.
Shou’s BACKRUNNER Framework
In an episode of IC3 Initiative for Cryptocurrencies and Contracts, Chaofan Shou, co-founder of Fuzzland and former PhD student at UC Berkeley, talks about ways to protect smart contracts from real-world attacks. Shou introduces the BACKRUNNER framework, which uses new techniques like stopping attacks before they happen and fixing them after they occur.
This method has helped prevent losses, saving over $11.2 million in 28 different cases in just two months. His work shows the importance of using flexible security solutions in the fast-changing world of decentralized finance.
Innovation in Blockchain Security
Shou’s work in blockchain security has pushed the limits of automated testing and fuzzing. His tools, like Chainsaw and ongoing projects at Fuzzland, combine research with practical solutions to secure decentralized apps and smart contracts. Focused on improving DeFi security, Shou is helping to shape the future of blockchain, making systems more resilient and secure.
Challenges in Blockchain Security
Although blockchain security has improved, Shou sees ongoing challenges in protecting decentralized systems. As blockchain grows, new attacks and weaknesses appear. He focuses on decentralized apps (dApps) issues, like attacks that steal funds or use flash loans for tricks. His work aims to create better testing methods and security tools to address these risks, showing the need for constant innovation to stay ahead of new threats.
Final Thoughts
Chaofan Shou’s career, from his early work at Salesforce to his leadership in blockchain security, shows his commitment to making decentralized systems safer. Through his work at Veridise, Fuzzland, and his research, Shou has helped improve the security of smart contracts and decentralized apps.
His creation of tools like Chainsaw and the BACKRUNNER framework shows how he combines research with practical solutions. As blockchain technology keeps changing, Shou’s focus on innovation is key to discussing new threats and shaping the future of blockchain security.
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