> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://guide.rhea.finance/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://guide.rhea.finance/developers/guardians.md).

# Guardians

Protocol's pause control procedure

## Problem

When issues arise (performance issue, critical bug, malicious attempts, etc.), it is important that RHEA Finance has a plan to mitigate (i) the risks of contagion and (ii) the impact of such an event (including potential loss of funds).

Often, turning off the frontend/user interface is not good enough because it does not prevent bots from operating, for example.

## Solution

The Guardians can be defined as specific NEAR addresses that have the privilege/ability to pause the main contract (v2.ref-finance.near). They are the key participants of a fail-safe procedure, being able to respond in the event of a specific type of failure.

Guardians can also freeze tokens (Frozen List). See [Contracts](https://guide.rhea.finance/developers/contracts).

Event/situation that can be defined as, but not limited to:

* Ongoing attack and/or exploit
* Critical bug identified in production (not yet exploited)
* Release/Deployment causing a potential security vulnerability

## **Procedure**

### **Prerequisite**

The Guardians MUST know how to handle the NEAR Command-Line Interface (CLI).

### **Process**

Process Owner: The Guardian

1. Identify a situation that justifies pausing the contract (v2.ref-finance.near)
2. Double check the facts/situation
3. Inform the other Guardians
4. Pause the contract (v2.ref-finance.near)
5. Inform the Team and the DAO
6. Inform the Community
7. Identify the steps to reactivate the contract (v2.ref-finance.near)

{% hint style="info" %}
Only the owner of the contract can reactivate it (v2.ref-finance.near)
{% endhint %}

See also: [Incident Response Plan and Escalation Procedures](https://guide.rhea.finance/developers/incident-response-plan-and-escalation-procedures).

## Current list of Guardians

The current list of Guardians is public on-chain: open [v2.ref-finance.near on NearBlocks](https://nearblocks.io/address/v2.ref-finance.near), go to **Contract** → **Read**, and query the `metadata` method (field `guardians`).