The Importance of Security in Blockchain
By Valery Vavilov, CEO and co-founder of The Bitfury Group
The ability to seamlessly transfer value digitally is creating limitless new opportunities for humankind, and this global transformation across Blockchain-based systems is expanding every day. The enormous potential of the Blockchain has attracted some of the world’s brightest minds, and the substantial results thus far are indisputable.
The Bitcoin Blockchain was created eight years ago and is the first original and largest Blockchain — I call it The TrustNetwork or TrustNet. I call it this because Bitcoin Blockchain technology is built on security and network infrastructure — including the system’s software and hardware — with real-time auditing through consensus.
Since every transaction must be verified and recorded by thousands of nodes, any attempt at fraud, duplication or tampering is detected and the transfer is rejected. The Bitcoin Blockchain has never been hacked thanks to all of the talented core developers who have devoted endless hours building this system to withstand the significant threat posed by malicious actors.
As former US Homeland Security official and current cybersecurity attorney Alan Cohn said, the Bitcoin Blockchain is “the first industrial-scale ecosystem that truly incorporates both security and resilience by design. Because of the cryptographic proofs, because of the encryption, and because of the distributed consensus mechanism, those attributes are built into the system.”
The enthusiastic rush towards a new future of value exchange through a Blockchain-based system is understandable and should be applauded. It is this drive toward innovation that makes the Blockchain ecosystem so exciting, so ground-breaking and so inspiring to me and my Bitfury Group team every day.
It is also important that we take our time as we advance additional Blockchain systems and applications in the coming years. We must come together to ensure that, like the Bitcoin Blockchain, the #1 most important priority is and always will be security. This is especially important given the increased frequency of major transformational political and economic events happening around the world like the recent Brexit vote.
The alleged hacking incident on what is called the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (aka: the DAO) is a reminder that anyone in the Blockchain ecosystem working to expand its potential must double down on security.
I co-founded The Bitfury Group in 2011 and have had a front row seat to Blockchain’s thrilling expansion.
What I have learned is that our community is stronger when we join forces in every possible way through coalitions, consortiums and collectives to support developers and other emerging leaders in our space — from communications, to pilot projects to business inclusion.
That is why The Bitfury Group is actively working with other passionate ecosystem leaders under the leadership of our Chief Global Communications Officer and former White House communicator Jamie Smith to improve how we are telling the broader story of the power Blockchain technology. It is also why The Bitfury Group recently announced the creation of the Blockchain Trust Accelerator and the Global Blockchain Business Council — you can read and learn more about these announcements here and here.
The bottom line is clear: a rising tide lifts all boats in the Blockchain ecosystem and our shared commitment and responsibility to security will serve as the gateway to increased prosperity and opportunity for all.
