Blockchain – the shared and binding ledger that records online financial transactions and tracks a business network’s assets – is not as secure as its image suggests, according to researchers from University of Gloucestershire. Sepideh Mollajafari, a blockchain security expert at the University’s School of Computing and Engineering, has found that ‘decentralisation’ – the foundation of Blockchain security which works by shifting control from a central individual or group to a distributed network – is not without its security risks. Mollajafari explains: ’One of the key ideals of Blockchain Technology stems from its decentralised structure that no central authority can control. Blockchain ‘decentralised autonomous organisations,’ or DAOs, should offer near impenetrable security by reducing the level of trust people have to place in a single decision-makers’ ability to control or exert authority over the network. ‘However, by carrying out a detailed examination of smart contracts – the programs stored on a blockchain that automatically execute agreements so all participants are immediately certain of the outcome – we have found a major problem exists.
Read more : Warning on blockchain security risk.
