feat: update 119 (#180)

* update 119

* Apply suggestions from code review

---------

Co-authored-by: Cayle Sharrock <CjS77@users.noreply.github.com>

_updates/2023-10-04-update-119.md

@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+---
+layout: update
+tag: Developer Update
+date: 2023-10-04
+author: SW van Heerden
+thumbnail: update-background.jpg
+title: Base layer development update
+subtitle: 
+class: subpage
+---
+
+
+The core team has been diligently focusing on two key areas: ChatFFI and Core security. 
+
+### ChatFFI
+
+One of the biggest pieces of the Tari tech stack is our comms layer. This is an overlay network on top of TCP/IP and lets participants in the Tari network find each other, communicate with and even store messages for peers on the Tari network. All this is managed without a single centralising server, and all communication is E2E encrypted and authenticated. 
+
+Obviously, the primary use case for the Tari comms layer is Tari transaction and block broadcasting. However, the comms layer is actually a general purpose communications protocol. 
+
+You could very easily, say, play [peer to peer chess](https://www.tari.com/privacy-chess/) using the Tari Comms layer. Equally, one could run the world's most private and secure chat application. No phone numbers, not a single server, just 100% peer-to-peer messaging. This is the thinking behind the development of the ChatFFI library: an independent library for facilitating the development of peer-to-peer chat across the Tari network. 
+
+It's still in an alpha state, but steady progress is being made, and the functionality will be included into Aurora in the coming months.
+
+
+### Core Security
+
+On the security front, the team has dedicated itself to an exhaustive code audit process, inspecting every line for potential vulnerabilities. In conjunction with the [diagrams](https://github.com/tari-project/tari/tree/development/docs/src/diagrams), we meticulously examine the logic of the code to verify that it operates correctly and as intended. Rust, our language of choice, provides a solid foundation for crafting secure code. We are continually working to eradicate all occurrences of "unsafe" code, such as `unwrap()` and unchecked arithmetic, from the codebase. Additionally, we have initiated a proactive campaign to subject Tari and its dependent libraries, including Monero-rs, to extensive fuzzing tests, thereby ensuring their security and vulnerability-free status.
+
+For a comprehensive list of the security enhancements accomplished thus far, please refer to the [github page](https://github.com/tari-project/tari/pulls?q=is%3Apr+is%3Aclosed).