Blockchain This Week: Security Risks Can Persist With Blockchain-Based Voting Systems, Says MIT Study

Security risks can persist in the internet and blockchain-based voting systems, a study by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found. 

In a time when manipulation of election results continues to make the news, with speculations about the interference of foreign countries in elections, booth capturing and tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs), blockchain-based voting systems were believed to be a relatively safer tool for conducting elections, immune to the risks associated with other methods. 

The MIT paper is titled, “Going from Bad to Worse: From Internet Voting to Blockchain Voting”. 

The calls for blockchain-based voting grew stronger after media outlets in the US waited to announce the winner of the presidential poll until the Saturday following the election day.

“More importantly: given the current state of computer security, any turnout increase derived from the Internet or blockchain-based voting would come at the cost of losing meaningful assurance that votes have been counted as they were cast, and not undetectably altered or discarded,” the researchers wrote.

Blockchain technology is a structure that stores transactional records, also known as the block, of the public in several databases, known as the “chain,” in a network connected through peer-to-peer nodes. It is touted to be a more secure and transparent method of storing data and information.

Other News 

Vietnam’s Ministry Of Education To Record Certifications On Blockchain

Vietnam’s Ministry of Education and Training, or MOET, is planning to implement blockchain technology for issuing diplomas in 2021. The MOET has partnered with Singapore-based startup TomoChain to put national student certifications on TomoChain’s proprietary blockchain platform. The new blockchain-based certification system is for enabling transparent and immutable verification of student qualifications. You can read the full Cointelegraph story here. 

Airbnb Plays Blockchain Buzz-Word Bingo In $1B IPO Filing With SEC

This week, the online booking platform for short-term accommodation Airbnb has filed a prospectus, stretching for more than 350 pages, for a $1 Bn Initial Public Offering (IPO) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The prospectus sees the company talk about the risks of not being able to adapt to technological advancements such as cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. “Our future success will also depend on our ability to adapt to emerging technologies such as tokenization, cryptocurrencies, new authentication technologies, such as biometrics, distributed ledger and blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, and cloud technologies.” Read the full Cointelegraph story here. 

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