All human creations are subject to imperfection. And since blockchains are also man-made systems, they are of no exemption to the statement. The following are the most like threats that blockchain developers must deal with seriously.
The 51% Threat
As what’s mentioned already in the previous pages, the risk of a blockchain hacker attack could happen if there are more than 50% of the participants of the network who are willing to orchestrate such a malicious step. Even the most gifted group of hackers couldn’t possibly breach a thriving blockchain.
However, if there are other willing participants who don’t need to be brilliant programmers that are willing to do exactly what a hacker team-leader instructs to do, a blockchain could be brought down to its knees. Such a concept is mentioned prominently in most blockchain whitepapers.
The good thing about this though is that the 51% figure is not really a feasible event that could take place anytime soon. This is because people within a blockchain community are more interested in making revenue within the system instead of poking into the privacy of others.
This is not really too big of a problem, the more serious threats to Blockchain would be these next keypoints.
High Energy Consumption
Here’s something that you should know, computers that process blockchain transactions are super-fast digital machines. And in order to perform those tasks at blinding speeds, they need to consume large amounts of electrical power.
Although laptops and desktop PCs consume only relatively low power, they only play very small roles in existing blockchains. The major hardware key players are mainframes and supercomputers which are no small devices. They often look like high-tech bookshelves with complex microcircuitry.
While the mainframes themselves don’t actually consume huge electrical power, the cooling systems that need to run 24/7 along with those machines are the real power-eaters. If they don’t give enough ventilation and heat regulation, the powerful computers would malfunction due to overheating – it is where the real high-power consumption stems from.
Scarcity of Proficient Personnel
Any complex mechanism requires skillful people to manage, maintain, and develop. And since blockchains are by all means one of the most complex devices ever made by human hands, it requires proficient personnel that can keep them running smoothly for extended periods.
Because blockchains are powered by database systems and computer programs, there have to be computer programmers, system analysts, and computer engineers that must be commissioned to handle and maintain them. But here’s the problem: such tasks require the most disciplined minds, and not to mention, the most gifted ones.
The problem with minds like that is that they are rare, and finding committed people who happen to own them doesn’t happen very often. It’s one thing to find a brilliant mind, it’s another to find a brilliant mind that resides on a hardworking body.
While we can almost always find people who can operate computers fairly well, it’s really hard to find programmers and coding experts that can handle the very stressful task of analyzing systems and building computer programs just for them.
The best solution for this problem seems to be that software development tools that are easier to use and faster to learn about should be built and promoted. That way, more and more people will be motivated to learn computer programming. If they are convinced that coding is not as difficult as it appears, we could have a greater number of programmers who will work with blockchains in the future.
Usage of Blockchain for Criminal Purposes
Going back to the mentioning of Silkroad on the first pages, blockchains are in fact, used by cyber-criminals, as well as real-world criminals to participate in shady, illegal transactions. Since banks and various other middle-entities are no longer needed in blockchain communities, there are no more governing authorities that could watch over those who conduct illegal trades within the internet.
If you haven’t visited the dark web yet, or if you haven’t done some research about it, then you must have not known about the portals within it in which you can look for hackers, drug dealers, white slavery agents, and even hitmen.
Such people are openly announcing their services on dark web social media platforms. All you need to do is send them a message, set up a virtual meeting, send an initial payment, and the transaction could proceed in accordance with the outcome details you may provide.
Although there are certain limitations to the services that these cyber-criminals can offer, the kinds are very real. And because they are paid with digital cash, the transactions that make them earn a living can’t be investigated clearly and directly by the government.
Those are the scenarios in which blockchains are used for wicked purposes. This is something that blockchain developers and promoters must think about deeply if they have high hopes for blockchains as crucial elements for the future of humanity.
Blockchain Ignorance
Of all the threats Blockchain is facing, no threat is absolutely bigger than this. It is the most massive of all threats and sadly, the most overlooked one. Although blockchains are taking both the digital and the real world by storm, many people are still unaware of the benefits they’re able to render. To make matters worse, there are even more people who are not willing to open their minds about how wonderful blockchains can be in revolutionizing the way we live.
The fact that a great percentage of people still believe that digital cash can never be as good as real physical cash makes it even harder for cryptocurrency loyalists to convince people to join the digital-cash movement. As a move to spread blockchain knowledge, some sites are conceived on the internet that are purely devoted to the awareness of the benefits of cryptocurrencies.
Online platforms such as Steemit, Publish0x, and Read.Cash are among the most well-known blogging portals that are centered only on educating readers about digital money and blockchain technology. Furthermore, there also countless YouTube channels that are launched only for the purpose of encouraging people to learn about the likes of Bitcoin, and how they can start investing in them.
Blockchain ignorance is a very serious threat that must be addressed vigorously. This is a call to action to all profitable cryptocurrency investors out there to prove to the world that there can be serious revenue that can be derived out of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and other top-rating digital currencies.
