Category Archives: blockchain

State of Security Podcast Episode 17 is Out!

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In this episode (~45 minutes), I answer questions from the audience around blockchain and smart contract security considerations. I cover some of the reasons why I think these technologies are important, what their potential impacts are likely to be and how information security teams should prepare. Some of the questions drift into changes around store of value, investment insights and other closely related topics.

This episode is sponsored by MachineTruth™ – a new passive, analytics-based solution for network inventory, traffic analysis and security baselining. Learn more at  http://www.machinetruth.net.

 

Using Blockchain? Better Have Good Key Management

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Algorithms, step-by-step processes designed to tell a computer what to do and how to do it, are used to encipher data. Passwords and crypto keys are strings of characters needed to decrypt enciphered data. If these strings are not properly managed, you can lose the ability to decrypt this data forever. That is why proper key management is so important any time you are using cryptography on your systems. When using Blockchain, it can be especially important.

The most notable use of Blockchain to date is in Cryptocurrency. Last December, the 30-year-old founder of the Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX reportedly died abroad. Unfortunately, he went to his reward without telling anyone the password for his storage wallet, causing the loss of up to 190 million dollars. What a mess! The exchange is now out of business and the court has appointed a monitor (Ernst & Young) and law firms to represent QuadrigaCX customers. An object lesson indeed for employing proper key management.

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Bitcoin “Proof of Work”: 51% of Accountants Agree!

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Bitcoin “Proof of Work”: 51% of Accountants Agree!

Source: Fox Photos/Getty Images

Those are the “accountants”, all working independently to validate bitcoin transactions.

I’ve read the original white-paper that is often cited as the foundation of the cryptocurrency, and particularly the “bitcoin“, phenomenon.

See: https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-paper

The author is the mysterious “Satoshi Nakomoto“, who may be Japanese, or may be a collection of people, or may be (my take) some blockchain instance from the future that has developed self-awareness and has traveled back through time, using the identity of Satoshi to create itself.

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