Security enhancement technologies for smart contracts in the blockchain: A survey

Abstract

AbstractSmart contract has shown its potential in cutting down the cost of administration through reshaping conventional business processes and in expanding the application of blockchain to areas that are beyond the cryptocurrency. However, with the rapid development and wide application of smart contracts, security issues have become a serious concern and have thus attracted widespread attention. As the result, a great deal of effort has been spent on improving and supporting secure development and on the application of smart contracts by introducing new and advanced vulnerability detection and privacy protection techniques in recent years. There is therefore the need for a comprehensive review of the new development on security enhancement technologies of smart contracts for the blockchain. This paper provides a review of the current research status and advances in smart contract security based on related literature published in recent years. Our review is divided into six categories along the line of the technology, which includes symbolic execution, abstract interpretation, fuzz testing, formal verification, deep learning, and privacy enhancement. A comparison of the various tools and methods developed to tackle security issues is provided. Challenges in the research of smart contract security as well as future directions are discussed. This paper intends to provide the inspiration and reference for follow‐up research on the security issues of smart contracts in the blockchain.