S16 E33: Liz Steininger on Least Authority & Auditing Open Source Software

Liz Steininger is the CEO of Least Authority: a company which specializes in auditing open source software since 2014. Originally founded by Zooko Wilcox, Least Authority has conducted more than 100 security audits in the space. Some of the best known contractors who requested an expert review include the Ethereum Foundation, the Electric Coin Company, Metamask, the KeyStone hardware wallet, and Avalanche. Least Authority also builds products that make use of Zero Knowledge Proofs: PrivateStorage (a cloud storage system that's designed to make the host unaware of the files being stored), ZKAPs (Zero Knowledge Access Passes, an authorization system that separates the payer from the data on the items being bought), and Winden (a file-sharing service that's encrypted and requires no identity from the sender and receiver). In a space which often defers to "check the code, it's open source", companies such as Least Authority offer high quality verification which makes it easier for the average non-technical person to trust that something is safe. Also, it helps builder have the peace of mind that what they're working on will not bring any unforeseen consequences.