A Reliable Framework for Detection of Smart Contract Vulnerabilities for Enhancing Operability in Inter-Organizational Systems

Abstract

Information and communication technology based inter-organizational systems enable companies to integrate information and conduct business electronically across different parts of the organization. For organizations embracing blockchain, smart contracts provide automation and operational efficiency for inter-organizational systems. Initially utilised for financial transactions, smart contract are extended beyond banking and deployed in wide number of organizations. Smart contracts are regarded as self-executing type of contract consisting of agreement’s terms embedded directly into the code which plays a vital role in operability for inter-organizational systems, however, smart contract vulnerabilities can arise due to programming errors, leading to security issues. The effects of smart contract vulnerabilities can be significant, including loss of funds, unauthorized access to sensitive information, manipulation of data, and loss of trust in the application leading to catastrophic financial losses followed by legal implications for an organization based on blockchain technology. The goal of smart contracts exploiting vulnerabilities is to discover and eliminate potential security vulnerabilities in smart contract code prior to it being deployed. Detecting vulnerabilities in a timely manner helps to prevent financial losses, unauthorized access, and data manipulation. In order to provide a robust solution to detect vulnerabilities in smart contracts, the proposed methodology presents a novel approach for rapid detection of vulnerabilities by integrating genetic algorithm with isolation forest. Furthermore, enhancing smart contract vulnerability identification with higher accuracy and false-positive rate provides a reliable gateway for organizations to adopt blockchain.