Merge PR cosmos#3616: DOCS: add launch blog post

docs/gaia/launch/launch-blog-1.md

@@ -0,0 +1,222 @@
+# Cosmos Hub to Launch Mainnet
+
+## Pre-launch Dependencies & How to Safely Claim Your Atoms
+
+In the summer of 2016, the [Cosmos whitepaper][whitepaper] was released. In the
+spring of 2017, the [Cosmos fundraiser][fundraiser] was completed. In the first
+months of 2019, the software is [feature complete][releases]. The launch of the
+Cosmos Hub draws near. What does this mean for Atom holders?
+
+If you are an Atom holder, you will be able to delegate Atoms to validators on
+the main network and vote on governance proposals. In fact, the future success
+of the network depends on you responsibly doing so! However, you will not be
+able to transfer Atoms yet. Transfers will be disabled at the protocol level
+until a hard-fork is executed to enable them.
+
+Atom holders should carefully follow the guidelines in order to safely delegate
+Atoms. Please read through the entire guide first to familiarize yourself
+before you actually do anything: [CLI guide][cli]
+
+The process outlined in the guide is currently the only verified and secure way
+to delegate Atoms at launch. This is because the gaiacli tool used in the guide
+is the only wallet software undergoing third-party security audits right now.
+No other wallet providers have begun security audits yet.
+
+Remember that delegating Atoms involves significant risk. Once delegated to a
+validator, Atoms are bonded for a period of time during which they cannot be
+recovered. If the validator misbehaves during this time, some or all of the
+delegated Atoms may be burned. It is your responsibility to perform due
+diligence on validators before delegating!
+
+The Cosmos Hub is highly experimental software. In these early days, we can
+expect to have issues, updates, and bugs. The existing tools require advanced
+technical skills and involve risks which are outside of the control of the
+Interchain Foundation and/or the Tendermint team (see also the risk section in
+the [Interchain Cosmos Contribution Terms][terms]). Any use of this open source
+[Apache 2.0 licensed][apache] software is done at your own risk and on a “AS
+IS” basis without warranties or conditions of any kind, and any and all
+liability of the Interchain Foundation and/or the Tendermint team for damages
+arising in connection to the software is excluded. Please exercise extreme
+caution!
+
+If you are looking for more information about delegation and want to talk to
+the folks developing Cosmos, join the virtual meetup on February 14 where you
+will be walked through the step-by-step instructions for delegating Atoms at
+launch.
+
+Register here: [gotowebinar.com/register/][webinar]
+
+## Remaining Milestones for Launch
+
+To follow mainnet launch progress, please bookmark:
+[cosmos.network/launch][cosmos].
+
+### 5 Cosmos-SDK Security Audits ✔
+
+In early January, the Cosmos-SDK underwent the first in a series of third-party
+security assessments scheduled for Q1 2019. This audit took place over a two
+and a half week period. To date, two different security auditing firms have
+assessed various parts of the Cosmos-SDK and a third audit is under way.
+
+### 4 Cosmos SDK Feature Freeze
+
+The final breaking changes to the Cosmos-SDK are included in the [v0.31.0
+launch RC][rc]. Once this RC is completed, the Cosmos-SDK team will engage in a
+round of internal bug hunting to further ensure sufficient pre-launch security
+due diligence.
+
+Right after Cosmos-SDK v0.31.0 is released, a Gaia testnet will be released in
+an effort to flush out any hard to find bugs.
+
+### 3 Game of Stakes Completed
+
+Game of Stakes (GoS), [the first adversarial testnet competition of its
+kind][gos], was launched in December 2018 to stress test the economic incentive
+and social layers of a blockchain network secured purely by Proof-of-Stake. The
+GoS blockchain was successfully hard-forked three times to date. As soon as the
+GoS concludes, the [scoring criteria][scoring] will be used to determine
+winners. Those will be announced following the completion of the game.
+
+### 2 Genesis Transactions Collected
+
+The Interchain Foundation will publish a recommendation for the allocation of
+Atoms at genesis. This will include allocations for Cosmos fundraiser
+participants, early contributors, and Game of Stakes winners. Any one with a
+recommended allocation will have the opportunity to submit a gentx, which is
+required to become a validator at genesis. The ultimate result of the
+recommended allocation and the collection of gentxs is a final [genesis
+file][file].
+
+### 1 Cosmos Hub Mainnet Launch
+
+Once a genesis file is adopted by the community, and +⅔ of the voting power
+comes online, the Cosmos mainnet will be live.
+
+## Official Cosmos Communication Channels
+
+These are the official accounts that will communicate launch details:
+
+- [Cosmos Network](https://twitter.com/cosmos)
+- [Cosmos GitHub](https://github.com/cosmos)
+- [Cosmos Blog](https://blog.cosmos.network)
+
+Please be aware that the [Cosmos forum][forum], [Riot chat groups][riot], and
+[Telegram group][telegram] should not be treated as official news from Cosmos.
+
+If you have doubt or confusion about what next steps to take and are unsure
+about trustworthy sources of information, do nothing for the initial period and
+wait for an update via the three communication channels listed above. Do not
+ever provide your 12 words to any admin, websites or unofficial software.
+
+**We will never ask you for your private key or your seed phrase.**
+
+## Staying Safe (and Secure!) for Mainnet Launch
+
+The launch of any public blockchain is an incredibly exciting time, and it’s
+definitely one that malicious actors may try to take advantage of for their own
+personal gain. [Social engineering][social] has existed for about as long as
+human beings have been on the planet, and in the technical era, it usually
+takes in the form of [phishing] or [spearphishing]. Both of these attacks are
+wildly successful forms of trickery that are responsible for over 95% of
+account security breaches, and they don’t just happen via email: these days,
+opportunistic and targeted phishing attempts take place [anywhere that you have
+an inbox][inbox]. It doesn’t matter if you’re using Signal, Telegram, SMS,
+Twitter, or just checking your DMs on forums or social networks, attackers have
+a [plethora of opportunities][opportunities] to gain foothold in your digital
+life in effort to separate you from valuable information and assets that you
+most definitely don’t want to lose.
+
+While the prospect of having to deal with a malicious actor plotting against
+you may seem daunting, there are many things that you can do to protect
+yourself from all kinds of social engineering schemes. In terms of preparing
+for mainnet launch, this should require training your instincts to successfully
+detect and avoid security risks, curating resources to serve as a source of
+truth for verifying information, and going through a few technical steps to
+reduce or eliminate the risk of key or credential theft.
+
+**Here are few rules of engagement to keep in mind when you’re preparing for
+Cosmos mainnet launch:**
+
+- Download software directly from official sources, and make sure that you’re
+  always using the latest, most secure version of gaiacli when you’re doing
+  anything that involves your 12 words. The latest versions of Tendermint, the
+  Cosmos-SDK, and gaiacli will always be available from our official GitHub
+  repositories, and downloading them from there ensures that you will not be
+  tricked into using a maliciously modified version of software.
+
+- Do not share your 12 words with anyone. The only person who should ever need
+  to know them is you. This is especially important if you’re ever approached
+  by someone attempting to offer custodial services for your Atom: to avoid
+  losing control of your tokens, you should store them offline to minimize the
+  risk of theft and have a strong backup strategy in place. And never, ever
+  share them with anyone else.
+
+- Be skeptical of unexpected attachments or emails that ask you to visit a
+  suspicious or unfamiliar website in the context of blockchains or
+  cryptocurrency. An attacker may attempt to lure you to a [compromised site]
+  designed to steal sensitive information from your computer. If you’re a Gmail
+  user, test your resilience against the latest email-based phishing tactics
+  [here][quiz].
+
+- Do your due diligence before purchasing Atoms. Atoms will not be transferable
+  at launch, so they *cannot* be bought or sold until a hard fork enables them
+  to be. If and when they become transferable, make sure that you’ve researched
+  the seller or exchange to confirm that the Atoms are coming from a
+  trustworthy source.
+
+- Neither the Tendermint team nor the Interchain Foundation will be selling
+  Atoms, so if you see social media posts or emails advertising a token sale
+  from us, they’re not real and should be avoided.  Enable 2-factor
+  authentication, and be mindful of recovery methods used to regain access to
+  your most important accounts. Unprotected accounts like email, social media,
+  your GitHub account, the Cosmos Forum and anything in between could give an
+  attacker opportunities to gain foothold in your online life. If you haven’t
+  done so yet, start using an authenticator app or a hardware key immediately
+  wherever you manage your tokens. This is a simple, effective, and proven way
+  to reduce the risk of account theft.
+
+- Be skeptical of technical advice, especially advice that comes from people
+  you do not know in forums and on group chat channels. Familiarize yourself
+  with important commands, especially those that will help you carry out
+  high-risk actions, and consult our official documentation to make sure that
+  you’re not being tricked into doing something that will harm you or your
+  validator. And remember that the Cosmos forum, Riot channels, and Telegram
+  are not sources of official information or news about Cosmos.
+
+- Verify transactions before hitting send. Yes, those address strings are long,
+  but visually comparing them in blocks of 4 characters at a time may be the
+  difference between sending them to the right place or sending them into
+  oblivion.
+
+*If a deal pops up that [sounds too good to be true][good], or a message shows
+up asking for information that should never, ever be shared with someone else,
+you can always work to verify it before engaging with it by navigating to a
+website or official Cosmos communication channel on your own. No one from
+Cosmos, the Tendermint team or the Interchain Foundation will ever send an
+email that asks for you to share any kind of account credentials or your 12
+words with us, and we will always use our official blog, Twitter and GitHub
+accounts to communicate important news directly to the Cosmos community.*
+
+[whitepaper]: https://cosmos.network/resources/whitepaper
+[fundraiser]: https://fundraiser.cosmos.network/
+[releases]: https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/releases
+[cosmos]: https://cosmos.network/launch
+[social]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_%28security%29
+[phishing]: https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/how-avoid-phishing-attacks
+[spearphishing]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing#Spear_phishing
+[inbox]: https://www.umass.edu/it/security/phishing-fraudulent-emails-text-messages-phone-calls
+[opportunities]: https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/weaponization-social-media-spear-phishing-and-cyberattacks-democracy
+[cli]: https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/blob/develop/docs/gaia/delegator-guide-cli.md
+[webinar]: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5028753165739687691
+[terms]: https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos/blob/master/fundraiser/Interchain%20Cosmos%20Contribution%20Terms%20-%20FINAL.pdf
+[apache]: https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+[gos]: https://blog.cosmos.network/announcing-incentivized-testnet-game-efe64e0956f6
+[scoring]: https://github.com/cosmos/game-of-stakes/blob/master/README.md#scoring
+[file]: https://forum.cosmos.network/t/genesis-files-network-starts-vs-upgrades/1464
+[forum]: https://forum.cosmos.network/
+[riot]: https://riot.im/app/#/group/+cosmos:matrix.org
+[telegram]: http://t.me/cosmosproject
+[good]: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mind-in-the-machine/201712/how-fear-is-being-used-manipulate-cryptocurrency-markets
+[rc]: https://github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/projects/27
+[compromised site]: https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/2013/02/tools-of-the-trade-exploit-kits/
+[quiz]: https://phishingquiz.withgoogle.com/