Zcash Security Researcher to Audit Monero, Expands to More Privacy Coins

ChainCatcher report, according to CoinDesk, security engineer Taylor Hornby, who discovered a critical vulnerability in Zcash using the Anthropic Opus 4.8 AI model, stated that Monero (XMR) has been added to the audit queue, with plans to conduct further security reviews on additional privacy-focused cryptocurrency projects. Hornby previously identified a critical vulnerability in Zcash’s Orchard shielded pool on May 29, a flaw that had gone unnoticed since May 2022 and theoretically could have allowed attackers to generate unlimited, undetectable counterfeit ZEC. Shielded Labs, the team responsible for development, completed an emergency fix before June 1 and subsequently disclosed the details of the vulnerability. Following the announcement, ZEC dropped as much as 38% within 24 hours, as market participants feared attackers might have already exploited the flaw to siphon funds from the shielded pool without leaving any on-chain trace. Hornby said he was commissioned in April by the nonprofit Shielded Labs to identify protocol vulnerabilities before malicious actors could exploit them. Despite having the means to profit from the vulnerability, he chose to report it to the development team, stating, “I could not accept such a betrayal.” Additionally, Hornby plans to apply for funding from the Zcash community to support future security research.