SOOHO.IO’s security research group, MATZIP, recently held its first meeting. The group grew out of our first blockchain security seminar, held in August, and brings researchers together to develop their skills through collaboration. Here is how the seminar led to its formation.

Why we organized our first security seminar

Security auditing has been central to SOOHO.IO since our first report in 2018. We wanted to introduce more people to that work and give those interested a way to get involved.

We also planned to build a red team focused on offensive security research. Blockchain security was still a relatively unfamiliar field, so we wanted to help security professionals and Web3 developers explore it and connect with others who shared that interest.

Bug Hunting Smart Contract for Fun&Profit

The organizing team identified an audience familiar with either blockchain or security but looking to understand the intersection. We designed three sessions that would take participants from the fundamentals to more advanced topics.

• SESSION 01 : Introduction to Web3 and Smart Contract

• SESSION 02 : Common Vulnerabilities and Case Study

• SESSION 03 : How to find real-world bugs?

Working with brand designer Juju, we developed a poster around the idea of a bug-hunting wanted notice, highlighting the maximum bug bounty of USD 10 million. We promoted it through social media, KakaoTalk communities, event platforms, and direct outreach. Word spread quickly through the community.

A last-minute change of plan

We initially expected a small gathering of around ten people. When registrations exceeded the café’s capacity, we decided to add a live online option rather than turn people away. We contacted registrants to confirm how they wanted to attend and quickly prepared the webinar setup.

More than 170 people registered interest in Jasper’s sessions—an encouraging response for blockchain security research.

Preparing for the first session

While the organizing team handled logistics, Jasper prepared the seminar content, including advance reading, demonstration code, and videos. His attention to detail was reflected in the feedback we received. The materials are available here.

On the day, setting up the webinar equipment proved more complex than expected. Cha Cha helped resolve the issues that arose in the final hour, allowing the session to run successfully.

Other SOOHO.IO team members volunteered to prepare drinks and welcome attendees. Jasper delivered the material smoothly, keeping the sessions focused and engaging.

Participants received SOOHO.IO merchandise and a POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) NFT. At the time, the NFT also provided café benefits through the end of the year, including buy-one-get-one drinks and a complimentary one-hour meeting-room booking.

After the first session, we reviewed what could be improved and incorporated feedback from participants:

• Provide clearer directions for arrival, check-in, refreshments, merchandise, and seating.

• Build in a break for questions during the presentation.

• Highlight the relevant code during walkthroughs.

• Have CEO Jisu Park introduce SOOHO.IO.

• Add a second large display.

We made these changes for the next session and were pleased to hear that the experience felt noticeably smoother.

A selection of the encouraging feedback we received

After the seminar

Around 100 people attended online and in person, with fewer than 1% leaving during each session. Participants rated the event 4.65 out of 5. We were also encouraged to hear about it from people beyond our immediate network, suggesting that awareness of SOOHO.IO’s technical work was growing.

Thank you to Zen, Jasper, Juju, Cha Cha, and everyone at SOOHO.IO who spent a month preparing the event and stayed late to help. It was an opportunity to see the strengths of colleagues we do not always work with directly.

A new community for blockchain security research

Seventeen participants went on to join MATZIP. The group plans to research Web3 products, report vulnerabilities, and contribute to a more secure blockchain ecosystem. We look forward to seeing its work in bug bounty programs and CTF competitions.

Interested in blockchain security? Contact SOOHO.IO.

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