From Academia to Blockchain Brilliance: Mirror Tang's Journey to Reshaping Web3 Security

In the ever-evolving world of blockchain technology, few stories are as captivating as that of Mirror Tang, the Chief Scientist at Salus. From a PhD in Computer Education to pioneering research in blockchain and ZK-SNARKs, Mirror’s journey is not just a story of academic excellence, but a testament to the transformative power of interdisciplinary research.

Today, in this exclusive HackerNoon interview with Ishan Pandey, we peel back the layers of this incredible journey, exploring the intersections of blockchain engineering, smart contract security, and the future of blockchain application. Join us as we delve into Mirror’s insights and Salus’ cutting-edge advancements in the blockchain space.

Mirror Tang: Blending Blockchain Science and Innovation at Salus – A HackerNoon Deep Dive

Ishan Pandey: Mirror, your journey is quite remarkable, from earning a PhD in Computer Education to publishing groundbreaking research. Could you share some insights into your journey and what motivated you to delve into the world of blockchain and ZK-SNARKs? How have your experiences shaped your approach at Salus?

Mirror Tang: long story short, I am an interdisciplinary blockchain science researcher working on blockchain engineering and social science. My areas of interest include smart contract security, the use of zero-knowledge proof technologies in the blockchain application layer, the performance of distributed systems, and the data and economic analysis of gas markets. I have been studying blockchain and its related technologies for several years. An important watershed year is 2019, during 2016-2019 my main focus was on blockchain engineering and blockchain security attack and defense. And after 2019 my focus shifted to research work in blockchain science.

One important reason for this is that the "low-hanging fruit" has been largely picked in the past years, and the fundamental problems in the blockchain industry, such as performance issues, have been better addressed. After that, every step in the further development of blockchain technology will be a tough battle, forcing us to look at the underlying technology and seek to combine research from multiple disciplines.

Zk-snarks is just one aspect of the team's research. The Salus team has a lot more to offer than just the ZK technology, such as the research article: Security Analysis of Smart Contract Migration from Ethereum to Arbitrum and EIP Security Analysis: Application Program Standards Attack Events, both of which do a good job of explaining the prevalence of smart contract migration and EIP protocols. Salus is a research-driven blockchain security company that helps the industry establish a security baseline through research into new technologies, and we are happy to share our findings in the hope that they will contribute to the further development of the industry.

Ishan Pandey: As the Chief Scientist at Salus, what are the core technological innovations you're focusing on? How do these innovations align with the company's broader vision and the evolving landscape of blockchain technology?

Mirror Tang: Salus is a blockchain security company, but we all know that blockchain is a complex interdisciplinary subject that is the product of the convergence of multiple sub-disciplines of social science, finance and computer science. At Salus, we not only focus on identifying and discovering unknown blockchain security vulnerabilities, but we also focus on innovative technologies, which also includes the risks that technological innovations can bring to the industry.

Currently, I am most concerned about the use of zero-knowledge proof technology in the blockchain application layer, as this will greatly enhance the privacy and security of existing application layer projects.

If Salus is a warrior, then zero-knowledge proof technology is the sword in the warrior's hand. I should mention here that zero-knowledge proof technology is not new, it was first proposed in 1985 in a paper titled "Knowledge Complexity of Interactive Proof Systems". It has also been heavily used in various privacy coins and public chain scaling techniques in the past few years, but such applications are relatively shallow from the perspective of both blockchain research and promoting the industry. ZKP technology would be much more useful at the application layer, where it could help prevent data validation errors, service interruptions or rollbacks, and theft of funds. In addition, it can conditionally enhance user privacy and the sustainability of economic models to address major challenges.

Of course, in addition to the ZK technology Salus' research team has many other achievements, such as our research articles Security Analysis of Smart Contract Migration from Ethereum to Arbitrum and EIP Security Analysis: Application Program Standards Attack Events These two studies do a great job of explaining the risks prevalent in Smart Contract Migration and EIP protocols, echoing our mission: Salus tackles the most complex security challenges through scientific research and pushing the boundaries of Web3 security.

Ishan Pandey: Your research on 'The Application of ZK-SNARKs in Solidity' has been influential in the Ethereum community. Can you elaborate on the impact of this research and how it benefits the broader Ethereum ecosystem?

Mirror Tang: It is an honor to present to you this research of mine, which was the most viewed article in the past year and the most read article ever in the ZK section of the ethereum research forum ethresear.ch. In this article I focus on the integration of ZK-SNARK (Zero Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument from Knowledge) with Ethereum Smart Contracts. This research focuses on enhancing the privacy of EVM applications by implementing privacy preserving techniques in smart contracts. It addresses the issues of privacy transformation, computational optimization and MEV (Maximum Extractable Value) resistance in the EVM application layer.

We also provide examples of well-written ZK applications and performance comparisons, including private transactions and improved computational processes. Once the technology is rolled out in the Ethereum ecosystem, it will save a lot of gas costs and facilitate the privacy of EVM ecosystem applications. At the same time, I also gave it an important mission - L2 killer. Considering the cross-chain proof cycle and liquidity fragmentation as well as the L2 security issues, once the mainnet itself can directly implement the privacy function and the off-chain ZK module to save the gas spending, the users' demand for L2 will be greatly reduced. This also in effect saves some high-frequency operational projects deployed on costly chains from having to undergo painful migrations and losing users.

Ishan Pandey: In your experience, what are the most significant challenges you've faced in blockchain research and development, and how have you addressed these challenges at Salus?

Mirror Tang: For me, the most important thing is striking a balance. Getting from good research to good technology and then to good products & services is a long process, I must say. It's important to compromise: let go of the paranoia about technology and research at the product and service level , and focus on the user experience. And it is also important not to compromise: good research has to be persevered through thick and thin.

Ishan Pandey: How do you envision the future of Ethereum and zero-knowledge technologies evolving in the next few years? What role do you see Salus playing in this evolution?

Mirror Tang: Looking to the future of Ethereum and zero-knowledge technologies, I see significant advances in the coming years. Ethereum will likely move towards greater scalability and efficiency, utilizing zero-knowledge proofs to enhance privacy and security. Zero-knowledge technology will become more accessible and integrated into various blockchain applications.

Salus is poised to play a key role in this evolution. We aim to be at the forefront of implementing these technologies, with a particular focus on enhancing the privacy and security of blockchain applications and contributing to the broader ecosystem through innovation and thought leadership.

Ishan Pandey: Given your strong academic background and industry experience, how do you view the relationship between academic research and practical application in the blockchain space?

Mirror Tang: In the last decade, the integration between academic research and practical applications in the blockchain field has not been close. Most projects stemmed from engineering implementations of some of the research, but that was the past. Today's blockchain industry is a professional discipline of some magnitude.

As if 4 years ago a Solidity developer only needed to be able to write simple ERC 20 token contracts, whereas today one needs to learn and understand the differences between the various versions of Solidity, compatibility, frameworks such as Hardhat, Foundry, and the Openzepplin library as well as a wide variety of oracles and external dependencies. And also, how to develop ZK in Solidity.

So, what does this tell us? Specialization and in-depth research will be a necessary prerequisite for future innovation in practical blockchain applications.

Ishan Pandey: What advice would you give to young scientists and entrepreneurs who aspire to make a mark in the blockchain industry?

Mirror Tang: Focus on learning the fundamentals of blockchain and cryptography. Innovation in this field often comes from a deep understanding of its technical aspects.

Embrace interdisciplinary approaches, combining knowledge from finance, law, and technology. Stay adaptive and resilient, as the blockchain industry is fast-evolving. Your unique perspective and innovative ideas are valuable contributions to this emerging field.

Ishan Pandey: How do you approach the ethical considerations and potential societal impacts of blockchain technology in your work at Salus?

Mirror Tang: In our work, we prioritize ethical considerations, especially regarding data privacy and security. We actively assess the societal impacts of our blockchain applications, ensuring they align with principles of fairness and inclusivity. Our goal is to leverage blockchain for social good, enhancing transparency and trust in digital interactions while being mindful of potential unintended consequences.

Ishan Pandey: Who are your personal inspirations or role models in the technology world, and how have they influenced your work and vision?

Mirror Tang: My inspiration comes from Professor Dan Boneh at Stanford University, a leading figure in cryptography. His work, particularly in the field of applied cryptography and its implications for blockchain technology, has deeply influenced my approach.

Professor Boneh's research in advancing cryptographic techniques and his commitment to educating the next generation of cryptographers have shaped my vision for integrating robust security and privacy features in blockchain applications.

Ishan Pandey: Finally, what are your predictions for the key trends and breakthroughs in blockchain and crypto for the upcoming year? How is Salus positioning itself in relation to these anticipated trends?

Mirror Tang: I expect an explosion of blockchain application layer technologies soon, with a focus on scalability, interoperability, and sustainability through integration with technologies such as AI, ZK, and FHE. Privacy enhancing technologies such as ZK-SNARK will be emphasized. Our current research-based products include Lighting cat, a deep learning-based smart contract detection tool that has been published in Nature's Scientific Reports, and the EVM application layer ZK solution of Salus that has been the most viewed on the EthResearch platform over the past year.

Positioning itself as a beacon for Web3 security, Salus tackles the most complex security challenges through scientific research and pushing the boundaries of Web3 security. Therefore, research on cutting-edge technological trends, a focus on developing scalable, secure, and user-friendly blockchain solutions will all be the key focus areas for Salus.

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