Photo From left, Simon and Christoph Jentzsch of the Decentralized Autonomous Organization. Christoph Jentzsch wrote the basic code for the organization. “Of course this venture is fraught with risks,” he said in an email earlier this month. But he also predicted, “This technology represents the future of the Internet.” A group of computer scientists released a paper on Friday describing a number of security vulnerabilities in a novel cryptocurrency crowdfunding project that has raised more than $100 million.
The authors of the paper argue that the money that has been put into the project, known as the Decentralized Autonomous Organization , could be frozen or stolen by attackers as a result of flaws in the way that the venture, known as the D.A.O., was set up. The money is all in a digital currency called Ether, which is a newer alternative to Bitcoin and exists entirely online.
The threats emerged on the eve of the organization’s move from fund-raising to operational mode, in which it will evaluate proposals to fund experimental digital projects.
The D.A.O. is a sort of venture capital fund that will pick investments based on direct voting from investors. The entire operation is computerized, with no humans in charge.
The authors of the new paper are calling for the D.A.O.’s investors to hold off on considering any potential investments until the vulnerabilities are fixed.
“The current implementation can enable attacks with severe consequences,” according to the paper, written by the computer scientists Dino Mark, Vlad Zamfir and Emin Gün Sirer.
Mr. Gün Sirer, an associate professor of computer science at Cornell University, has particular authority in the area because he previously was an author of a paper pointing out a serious vulnerability in the structure of Bitcoin , the most popular virtual currency.
Mr. Gün Sirer said in an email on Friday that […]
