Monad Foundation believes that Operational Security (OpSec) is of the utmost importance and is excited to announce the Dedicated Device Subsidy Program.

The Monad Foundation seeks to encourage robust security practices across the crypto ecosystem. The lack of dedicated signing devices stood out as particularly low-hanging fruit for builders to improve their security practices.

Some of DeFi’s biggest compromises could have been prevented through the use of dedicated devices such as a laptop or computer used solely for multisig, treasury, or other critical operations.

Your signing machine should NEVER be the same as the one you use for everyday browsing, coding, or taking calls.

Program Details

Protocol teams with at least $2.5M in TVL on Monad are eligible for a subsidy toward dedicated devices to handle multisig, treasury, and other critical operations for your team. The subsidy may be subject to completion of additional security training and customary KYC.

If you believe your project is eligible, please reach out at secteam@monad.foundation or via a pre-existing channel with the Monad Foundation.

Why do dedicated devices matter?

Dedicated devices do not solve all problems. However, the appropriate use of dedicated devices (a combination of both a hardware wallet and dedicated signing device) offer greater defense against compromises.

1. Everyday computers are high-risk surfaces. The laptop you use for everyday browsing, coding, messaging, and taking meetings has a higher risk of compromise than an isolated, dedicated device. . Compromises of daily-use devices occur frequently, and sometimes without a user's knowledge.

2. Once your device is compromised, your screen can lie to you. Attackers can control what you see, including transaction details, hashes, and confirmation flows. What appears benign may actually be malicious underneath, and verification becomes useless.

3. Hardware wallets are a MUST, but aren’t enough. Always use hardware wallets. However, if the host is compromised, then there are opportunities for an attacker to manipulate payloads or sneak in a fraudulent hash that are hard to identify on a hardware wallet alone. Further, not all hardware wallets give you the granularity of information needed to ensure safety.

4. Dedicated devices help defend against critical asset compromises. Laptops and computers that are used only for the purposes of preparing, signing, and broadcasting critical operations are dedicated devices. These devices should only be used and run at the bare minimum needed for critical operations and nothing else. In combination with a hardware wallet, dedicated devices can defend against compromises against daily-use machines.

Security is Multifaceted

Building up strong security practices is multifaceted. The use of dedicated devices does not solve all problems but is a critical start.

We encourage all builders to review recommendations from reputable security researchers, such as:

• SEAL Frameworks: https://frameworks.securityalliance.org/intro/introduction/

• How to Multisig: https://howtomultisig.com/