ETC Labs CEO Terry Culver: 51% Attacks Are A “Universal Problem”

The ETC Labs CEO Terry Culver discussed the recent attack on the Ethereum classic network and confirmed that “security is an issue on Ethereum Classic.” As we reported previously in our ethereum classic news, the ETC blockchain suffered three 51% attacks in August so now let’s see what Culver had to say.

The threat of 51% attacks on the proof of work blockchains are a universal problem according to ETC Labs CEO. The company has enlisted the help of the law firm Kobre and Kim to pursue the individuals responsible for the attacks. The repeated 51% attacks on the Ethereum Classic network are a source of increasing frustration according to Culver as he said:

 “Three attacks in one month will tell you that security is an issue on Ethereum Classic. Increasing frustration is definitely the best way to describe it.”

Presenting the #EthereumClassic Network Security Plan. It outlines immediate actions we’re taking to prevent attacks, and changes in development over the next 3-6 months. Thanks to cooperation between @ETCCooperative @etc_core @etclabs @EthereumClassic https://t.co/euAVMAnP9J

— Terry Culver (@realetclassic) August 19, 2020

The threat of 51% attacks on the proof of work blockchain is a universal problem and ETC labs believe that other blockchains get attacked regularly with less visibility. Terry Culver added that the threat of attacks is a shared problem for everyone that is working in the proof of work blockchain world:

“It’s a vulnerability that all Proof of Work blockchains have, even Bitcoin and Ethereum. We think that they’re secure because of the cost to attack those networks, but the truth is that cost is subjective. The cost to attack one of those networks for a state actor, or even a non-state actor, is trivial—in fact, I think those attacks will come.”

Today another large 51% attack occurred on the #ETC network which caused a reorganization of over 7000 blocks which corresponds to approximately 2 days of mining. All lost blocks will be removed from the immature balance and we will check all payouts for dropped txs.

— Bitfly (@etherchain_org) August 29, 2020

The first 51% attack in August was made possible because of the rented mining hashpower thus allowing the hackers to “double-spend” an estimated $5.6 million of ETC. Double spending involves overwriting the entries in the blockchain ledger or it changes the destination of transactions or reversing it. In the second attack, the hackers netted about $1.7 million after employing the same method as the first attack which rented hashpower from NiceHash provider daggerhashimoto, according to the Bitquery analysis. Before the attacks, Ethereum Classic was hit with a similar 51% attack in 2019.

After the first two hacks, ETC Labs announced they will create a new security plan for the Ethereum Classic network. The plan includes a series of “defensive mining measures to try and alert ourselves to impending attacks and deploy hashpower to prevent them” as Culver explained. Ethereum Classic Labs is now working with exchanges to increase their confirmation times as well.