{"id":137753,"date":"2019-02-06T08:31:10","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T15:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2019\/02\/06\/the-block-chain-gang.html"},"modified":"2019-02-06T08:31:10","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T15:31:10","slug":"the-block-chain-gang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2019\/02\/06\/the-block-chain-gang.html","title":{"rendered":"The Block Chain-gang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Articles like this are a good thing as, per the Gartner Hype Cycle, they are an indicator we're on our way to the Trough of Disillusionment, whence we might eventually come up with some good, solid, non-miraculous uses for block chain and, perhaps, cryptocurrencies.<\/p>\n

Originally shared by +David Newman<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Bruce Schneier argues on Wired that blockchain is a useless fad: https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/theres-no-good-reason-to-trust-blockchain-technology\/<\/a> . His basic argument is that blockchain does not really eliminate the need for trust in the way its advocates claim.<\/p>\n

The recent case in which a blockchain exchange executive died with the only password illustrates this in a way that Schneier didn’t call out explicitly. Customers of this exchange (and presumably every other one) trust that the administrators will not do anything so dumb that it locks the customers out of their bitcoin forever. This exchange seems to have done exactly that by allowing only a single person to know the relevant passwords. https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2019\/feb\/04\/quadrigacx-canada-cryptocurrency-exchange-locked-gerald-cotten<\/a><\/p>\n

Schneier also claims (though without argument) that bitcoin has the most costly consensus algorithm in the world. Perhaps it is the most expensive such algorithm in common use. I bet someone who tried could come up with a more costly one. But I think it illustrates Schneier’s point in another way. Users of a particular blockchain currency trust that the distributed mining required will never be so costly that no one is willing to do it.<\/p>\n

I find myself convinced that blockchain is a fad or perhaps a technology in search of a problem to solve.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\nThere’s No Good Reason to Trust Blockchain Technology | WIRED<\/a><\/span>
\nOpinion: Cryptocurrencies are useless. Blockchain solutions are frequently much worse than the systems they replace. Here’s why.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Original Post<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Articles like this are a good thing as, per the Gartner Hype Cycle, they are an indicator we're on our way to the Trough of Disillusionment, whence we might eventually come up with some good, solid, non-miraculous uses for block chain and, perhaps, cryptocurrencies. Originally shared by +David Newman: Bruce Schneier argues on Wired that … Continue reading “The Block Chain-gang”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":137892,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2019\/02\/21\/blockchain-blues.html","url_meta":{"origin":137753,"position":0},"title":"Blockchain Blues","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 21-Feb-19 7:16pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Nothing is unhackable. But reading about how blockchain currencies are being hacked is kind of fascinating. Once hailed as unhackable, blockchains are now getting hacked - MIT Technology Review More and more security holes are appearing in cryptocurrency and smart contract platforms, and some are fundamental to the way they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38402,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/08\/07\/trust-but-verify-only-works-if-you-can-actually-verify.html","url_meta":{"origin":137753,"position":1},"title":"Trust but verify only works if you can actually verify","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 7-Aug-13 3:41pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Schneier's analysis is all correct so far as it goes, and in its fundamental analysis that society doesn't work without trust and when you get lied to too often, you simply can't trust.The problem is, there is no reliable (trustworthy) mechanism to verify that trust is well-placed in anything resembling\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21003,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/05\/10\/security-101.html","url_meta":{"origin":137753,"position":2},"title":"Security 101","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 10-May-11 5:24pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce Schneier does indeed rock, as he talks about all his basic beliefs and ideas about security at the TED conference last October: The feeling of security and the reality of security don't always match, says computer-security expert Bruce Schneier. At TEDxPSU, he explains why we spend billions addressing news\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Homeland Security"","block_context":{"text":"Homeland Security","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law\/homeland-security"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44241,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/08\/07\/on-those-billion-plus-stolen-passwords.html","url_meta":{"origin":137753,"position":3},"title":"On those billion-plus stolen passwords","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 7-Aug-14 9:13am","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce Schneier is more than skeptical, given that the information about the actual passwords is sparse, and the news was broken by a single company, which nobody's ever heard of, who's now charging a fee to have your security status monitored. \u00a0(The article and comments are both worth a read.)Yeah,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10084,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/09\/07\/patch_managemen.html","url_meta":{"origin":137753,"position":4},"title":"Patch Management and the bottom line","author":"***Dave","date":"Thu 7-Sep-06 9:18am","format":false,"excerpt":"Bruce Schneier asks (rhetorically) why is it that Micro$oft can only bring itself to issue patches once a month to clean up security holes in its operating system, browser, and...","rel":"","context":"In "Big Business"","block_context":{"text":"Big Business","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/big-business"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37768,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/06\/11\/transparency-of-secrecy.html","url_meta":{"origin":137753,"position":5},"title":"Transparency of Secrecy","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 11-Jun-13 9:47am","format":false,"excerpt":"Money graf:_'The U.S. government is on a secrecy binge. It overclassifies more information than ever. And we learn, again and again, that our government regularly classifies things not because they need to be secret, but because their release would be embarrassing.\u00a0Knowing how the government spies on us is important. 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