- Jae Kwon communicates concerns regarding North Korean involvement in the development of Cosmos Hub’s liquid staking module (LSM).
- Kwon accuses Iqlusion leader Zaki Manian of neglecting unresolved security vulnerabilities.
- Calls for immediate audits and enhanced oversight in future programming efforts.
Jae Kwon, co-founder of Cosmos, has expressed serious worries about the integrity of the Cosmos Hub’s liquid staking module (LSM), suggesting that individuals with ties to North Korea played a role in its development.
In a recent statement, Kwon accused the validator hosting company Iqlusion and its head, Zaki Manian, of “gross negligence” for permitting the module’s integration without comprehensive security evaluations.
Allegations of North Korean Contributions to LSM Development
Kwon asserts that the development of the LSM commenced in August 2021 under Iqlusion’s guidance, with contributions from developers Jun Kai and Sarawut Sanit.
These individuals have since been suggested to be North Korean operatives who contributed significantly to the module’s codebase. Despite knowing about their affiliations since March 2023, Kwon alleges that Manian neglected to disclose this information and continued to overlook multiple unresolved security issues related to the LSM.
The situation escalated after Manian acknowledged on social media that he had known about the developers’ ties for months. Instead of pursuing preventive measures like an additional audit or raising awareness within the Cosmos community, Kwon claims that Manian erroneously affirmed the module’s readiness for deployment.
Kwon labeled this as a “grave breach of trust,” accusing Manian of favoring deployment over the safety of the community.
Concerns Over Security Vulnerabilities in the LSM
Previous audits in 2022 had already highlighted critical security flaws within the LSM, which were allegedly addressed by the same developers tied to North Korea.
Even though Manian claimed to have revised the LSM code prior to deployment, Kwon pointed out that serious vulnerabilities remained, especially since the LSM is a series of modifications rather than an independent component, which could jeopardize all staked ATOM tokens to potential security risks.
Kwon is urging the Cosmos governance community to conduct a thorough audit of the LSM without delay and is advocating for the Interchain Foundation to implement stricter auditing protocols and establish a robust oversight framework to safeguard future projects within the Cosmos ecosystem.
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