Blockchain is a powerful tool, but everything of power can be used for both good and bad. We often talk about how blockchain can be a force for good, but what about the possibility of using blockchain for evil purposes? In this article I'd like to explore the potential risks that I have identified.
DECENTRALIZATION
Decentralization is the main value proposition of blockchain and it is important because it creates something that exists 'seperate' from governments and institutions, so to speak. The decentralized nature of blockchain makes it highly secure from outside influences which makes it valuable, but precisely because this robustness blockchain might also be the perfect tool for evil-doers: the perfect and eternal digital wild west.
Of course there are the obvious problems such as money laundering, dark markets, uncensorable transactions between rogue/evil states. These involve mainly financial transactions of value between two parties, but let's not forget the other use-cases of blockchain such as illegal content like child pornography, or by giving terrorist/criminal organizations such as ISIS an untouchable platform to communicate, transact or spread propaganda. As Andreas Antonopoulos pointed out, censorship-resistance matters the most to those things that people want to censor, and illegal activity inherently ranks at the top of that list.
Do not only think about how censorship affects you personally, but also consider that there exist some things which you too might consider censorship-worthy.
USING THE COMPUTATIONAL POWER OF BLOCKCHAIN FOR CYBERATTACKS
This is something I hardly ever see anybody write about, and I lack the technical knowledge to know whether this really is possible or not on most projects that currently exist: using the blockchain network to commit a cyberattack. Regardless, if it is not possible currently in a project that does not mean blockchain cannot be used for it. Just like the Golem Network uses computational power to compute 3D rendering, I believe it is very possible to create a DApp or blockchain which utilizes the network to perform a DDoS attack on a target.
The way I envision this would be that it would almost function like Kickstarter crowdfunding: You create the DApp, point it at a target, and when it is funded enough the attack is unleashed. Perhaps the thought of it sounds laughable to you now, but I find myself asking the question: How much would Trump/Hillary supporters pay to decentrally/anonymously attack the other side? Or what about Russian intelligence? Would they like an untouchable, unstoppable, untraceable and anonymous cyber-attack-machine? As long as you keep it funded with cryptocurrency the nodes will continue the attack. It could be the monetization of DDoS attacks.
On one hand it could take more serious, political forms. On the other hand, I would not be surprised to see this kind of attack emerge someday as a joke. For example: a website where you can 'donate' crypto, in order to DDoS your favorite-hated-celebrity. I can almost see the threads on social media already: "Hey guys, let's attack Whit Wheaton's website, lol!" or "Hey guys, did you hear Kanye West is a Trump supporter? I'm totally sending $5 to the attack-Kanye-fund now!"
Perhaps it could be the emergence of community-crowdfunded cyberattacks. Something like an inverted Steemit, where you upvote not to give somebody something but rather to attack. The line to cross could potentially be very grey and where to draw it could be very subjective. For example: do you think there are enough people in the Bitcoin community who would be willing to spend crypto in order to attack the Bitcoin.com website? I think a DApp which would perform such an attack would quickly get funded.
PRIVACY VIOLATIONS & IDENTITY THEFT
Digital identities are often touted as one of the major use cases for cryptocurrencies, but there are immense dangers involving privacy and identity that come with blockchain as well. First, the blockchain is immutable. Of course we know that everything you put on the internet, never truly leaves the internet, but this becomes doubly true in the world of blockchain. If someone should ever violate your privacy in some way - an ex-boyfriend posting your nude pictures online out of spite for example, it becomes impossible to remove from the blockchain.
A nude picture of yourself forever lingering on the blockchain for all eternity is bad enough, imagine what this could mean for people in even more vulnerable situations. Not only is the blockchain immutable, it could make your personal history impossible to erase as well. Think about victims of human trafficking or child pornography, former sexworkers, or anyone else who would prefer (parts of) their history to be forgotten. Blockchain privacy violations could destroy lives.
Secondly, although digital identity solves a lot of problems including identity theft and misuse, it actually does introduce a whole new dimension and seriousness to real identity theft. If everything is connected to your digital identity on the blockchain, imagine how terrible it would be if your digital identity got hijacked.
While the blockchain is extremely secure from the outside, there are real dangers involved with centralizing all your identity information into one single 'account'. This creates one single point of attack for an identity thief and once they have access to your digital identity it could be a bigger problem than it is today, and it could be extremely difficult for you to regain access to your digital identity.
After all, the blockchain is secured by a simple private key - and lots of people have gotten hacked and lost their crypto already. But it's just money now, not identities. Currently the private key is not that safe, because it involves humans keeping it safe. I don't think people are responsible enough yet with cybersecurity to be able to adequately safeguard something as important as their recorded identity on their own.
SPAMMING THE NETWORK
Another way to use the blockchain for evil would be if one were motivated to make the entire blockchain in question come to a screeching halt. This would most likely be politically motivated.It would work as follows: Your competitor/enemy is transacting a large sum of money through the blockchain. You spot this in time or know in advance, and as a result you 'freeze' the entire blockchain to stop the transaction in it's tracks by spamming the network with more transactions than it can handle. Think CryptoKitties clogging Ethereum, but on purpose. There would be a high cost involved, but this cost is perhaps justifiable in some cases. Sometimes winning is not about how much you gain, but also how much you can prevent the other from gaining anything. Money is not an issue for the powerful elite.
This would be especially useful and powerful if the competitor/enemy relies heavily on a specific blockchain. It would be an extremely powerful tool for nation-states to be able to freeze the economy of another, even if only temporarily. Failing that, it is also useful to be able to simply clog it, make it inefficient and expensive - which would strain the economy if it relied significantly enough on said blockchain.
These are the main ways I could imagine on how one would be able to abuse blockchain technology for evil, rather than good. In no way is this list conclusive of course. Do you know of any other way in which blockchain could potentially be used for heinous things? Please do share! I love to philosophize about these things.
