Security Theater and the Blockchain Project

ConclusionsImproving the security of sensitive scientific data is a worthwhile goal. Hash-based audit trails like the one proposed in the UCSF paper might offer some benefit in very limited cases. But claims of immutable and tamper proof data protection should be viewed with great skepticism. Bitcoin solved a very specific problem through a brilliant combination of existing technologies and economic incentives. Cherry picking Bitcoin's technologies neutralizes its hard-won security guarantees.Before committing valuable resources to a block chain project, consider discussing these questions with your team:What specific security threats will the use of a block chain defend against?What alternatives exist for countering these threats?How will block rewriting attacks be addressed?How will legitimate modification of data be distinguished from attacks?In what specific ways will security be compromised by eliminating the block chain from this project?What trusted third parties does this block chain protocol require?
Source: Depth-First - Category: Chemistry Authors: Source Type: blogs