How hackers can be stopped from Splitting Bitcoin Into 2 with SABRE Tech
If hackers felt like it, they could split bitcoin in two.
It wouldn’t even be that hard, according to research from 2017. Thanks to insecure technology underpinning the internet, someone with the right credentials could exploit the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) by faking their identity and confusing the network into sending floods of data somewhere it shouldn’t. “The internet’s biggest security hole,” as it’s been called, has been used for everything from snooping on government emails to stealing cryptocurrency.
As far as splitting bitcoin, the attack is as bad as it sounds. If executed successfully, one chunk of the network would be completely sliced off from the other. No one could communicate and send transactions to people who are a part of the “other” network.
That’s where researchers from the prestigious Swiss university ETH Zurich hope to help. As described in a new white paper, they’ve invented a relay network called SABRE that they hope will one day be built on top of bitcoin.
With the same name as the curved blade common in the Napoleonic era, SABRE sounds like it would be used to slice bitcoin in half. Instead, it hopes to do the opposite. Rather, the planned network would (metaphorically) wield a saber against impending attackers, stopping them in their tracks.
Eth Zurich computer network researcher Maria Apostolaki told CoinDesk:
“SABRE is a small relay network whose nodes are strategically located such that they remain connected to each other and connected to as many regular nodes as possible, even in the presence of a AS-level adversary that hijacks traffic.”
This network would “render the partition ineffective,” she said.
When SABRE is used, the risk of a split goes down, the researchers claim. Without SABRE, it’s possible for an ISP to attack and partition bitcoin with only a “small” routing attack. But, according to the researchers’ simulations on a group of five nodes, there’s only a 3.1 percent chance probability of the attacker could hijack the network and partition it. The probability also decreases as the number of nodes increases.
To be presented at The Network and Distributed System Security Symposium this month, the proposed layer is the result of years of research. Apostolaki has been researching this specific issue since 2016 since “blockchain applications are very common nowadays making research on their routing characteristics very impactful.”
The attack
The attack strikes at the root of the internet.
Every time you click a webpage, you’re unknowingly using BGP, an internet protocol that helps get data from Point A to Point B. Say you want to get to CoinDesk.com. Your...
City of Zug Named Fastest Growing Tech Hub in Europe
The city of Zug, home of the Swiss Crypto Valley, has been named the fastest growing technology community in Europe. Zug ranked atop the “State of European Tech” report by London-based global investment firm Atomico last week, on the strength of its year-on-year growth of attendees to tech-related meetup events.
Also read: Malaysian Financial Regulators to Intensify Scrutiny of ICOs, Cryptocurrencies
Zug Tech Ecosystem Grows
According to the report, Zug recorded a 177 percent increase in the number of tech meetups in 2018, compared to last year. The city’s crypto activity has been warmly supported by the Swiss government, which is fine-tuning its legislation and policies to improve financial innovation, with particular emphasis on virtual currencies.
“There is a huge geographic diversity among the top 20 fastest-growing tech hubs in Europe, as measured by the annual growth in attendees to tech-related meetup events in those cities. Zug in Switzerland, home to a growing crypto community, ranked number one as the fastest-growing community overall,” the report said.
Novosibirsk in Russia follows Zug with 173 percent increase in tech meetups, while Ghent (Belgium), The Hague (Netherlands) and Katowice (Poland) complete the top 5 of the fastest-growing tech communities.
Novosibirsk has reported startup activity in its science and technology hub, Akademgorodok, also known as the Siberian Silicon Valley. Success stories out of the suburb include nanotechnology firm Ocsial, precision laser manufacturer Tekhnoscan and banking software company CFT.
The Atomico report emphasized community-building, measured by the meetups of technological talent, as necessary for attracting investment to cities. This year, the density of meetups in Europe equated around 200 events per day throughout the year.
Progressive Switzerland
Switzerland has taken a progressive stance towards cryptocurrency, legalizing its...
Why BCIO Is Not Just Another Utility Token
2019 will be a decisive year for the Blockchain industry as the world moves towards a friendlier Crypto environment with governments such as Korea, Singapore, and Switzerland paving the way for appropriate regulatory measures. Likewise, France is aiming to become a blockchain hub for entrepreneurs and investors alike, with a 30% flat tax regime possibly in the works. Blockchain.io aims to become the new European cryptocurrency exchange of trust for individual and institutional investors alike. At the center of the Internet of Value, we provide users with an augmented trading experience in a thriving ecosystem.
A new wave and generation of tokens is upon us, and Blockchain.io intends to be a leading player in this field. As such, we have conceived the BCIO token to do just that, and more importantly, we envisioned and conceptualized it as a pipeline to the Internet of Value. For the first time, transactions can be performed without any counterparty risk, which is a crucial advancement as well as a guarantee of safety. This brings us to the essence of CEO Pierre Noizat’s vision of digital assets as a platform for applications, as well as a marketing mechanism.
Proprietary exchange tokens are still fairly uncommon in the cryptosphere, even though a handful of major platforms...
Switzerland's cryptocurrency regulations and standards
Switzerland, according to its Federal Council report, classifies cryptocurrency as a "digital representation of a value which can be traded on the Internet but not accepted as legal tender anywhere”. Therefore, Switzerland regards cryptocurrency as assets (property), and cryptocurrency and related exchanges are legal in Switzerland, subject to regulations.
There are currently no cryptocurrency-specific regulations in relation to trading and offering in Switzerland, but cryptocurrency remains subjected to relevant existing regulations such as tax, money laundering and securities regulation.
Recognizing the barriers of the existing regulatory framework to new financial technology such as cryptocurrency, regulatory amendments were made by the Switzerland government to create “regulatory sandbox” in support of the development of such technology.
Overall, Switzerland is one of the countries that adopts a progressive approach towards cryptocurrency and its blockchain technology, and has relaxed its regulatory framework to balance the technological development and protection of the public from the associated risks.
Securities in Switzerland is governed by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (“FINMA”) under the Financial Market Infrastructure Act (“FMIA”).
FMIA defines securities as “standardised certificated or uncertificated securities, derivatives and intermediated securities which are suitable for mass standardised trading, meaning they are publicly offered for sale to more than 20 investors".
Essentially, assets that represent debt or equity claim on the issuer with investment purposes are securities. Accordingly, whether a cryptocurrency is deemed as securities depends on its categorization as a Payment Token, Utility Token, or Asset Token as per guidelines published by FINMA:
- Payment Tokens are tokens which are intended to be used, now or in the future, as a means of payment for acquiring goods or services or as a means of money or value transfer. Payment Tokens give rise to no claims on their issuer. Examples include Bitcoin and Ether which FINMA does not perceive as securities.
- Utility Tokens are tokens which sole purpose is intended to provide access digitally to an application or service by means of a blockchain-based...
Tezos Foundation Engages ‘Big Four’ Firm PwC for Independent Audit
Major auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Switzerland has agreed to conduct an independent audit of the Tezos Foundation’s finances and operations, the foundation announced on Monday.
PwC, considered one of the “Big Four” auditing firms, will review the finances of the Tezos Foundation, which is holding hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies and other assets raised from the project’s then-record initial coin offering (ICO) in summer 2017.
In a statement, the foundation — which underwent a major reshuffle earlier this year following months of infighting between Tezos creators Arthur and Kathleen Breitman and former foundation President Johann Gevers — stated that the audit is indicative of its commitment to operate with the “highest degree of integrity.”
“The Foundation is committed to operating with the highest degree of integrity in the service of our mission to support the Tezos protocol, ecosystem, and community. Engaging a top-tier independent external auditor ensures that the Tezos community and its observers can trust our operations...
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