Both bitcoin and blockchain are vulnerable to attack. Here's what you need to know to protect yourself and why blockchain is becoming a foundational technology.
Some of the biggest hacks have been ascribed to unscrupulous operators who run away with millions in ill-gotten gains. Make sure if you do business with a crypto-currency web site that the site is well secured and trustworthy. The FDIC is not going to bail you out if you lose your deposits, at least not yet.Large, public blockchains are inherently more secureOne key concept to understand regarding blockchain security is that public, distributed blockchains are inherently more secure than private blockchains. To compromise a blockchain, an attacker must compromise over 50 percent of the participants or blocks, and do so faster than new blocks are created.Because of that, large, public blockchains are inherently more secure than smaller, private blockchains. Small blockchains can be faster and easier to compromise, especially if all the related “secrets” are stored in one place or company. In fact, many security experts question if single-company blockchains are even needed. They say that blockchain's advantages only occur when they are distributed past a single security boundary. Still, you’re likely to see many private, small blockchains, simply because blockchains have the potential so solve complex financial transactions in seconds, and because smaller blockchains are likely to become components of far larger hybrid and public blockchains.Every security professional should understand blockchaining and what it means to their current and future career. Even though they are based on very secure crypto, they are going to be hacked just like everything else.
