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RE: Dawn v0.1.2 Whitepaper

in #beyondbitcoin8 years ago (edited)

Well written and a very good start to what looks like an ambitious and worthy project.

Open solutions evolve faster than closed solutions, and we’re going to study the conditions under which they evolve best, and constantly push them forward. You deserve to own what you buy.

One thing I haven't seen addressed is the issue of contributions to open source projects. I'm referring to the standards of reviewing contributed code, not just new code but even the libraries and underlying building blocks, even the OS the code runs on and yes even the tools used to build software - all are potential security holes from which "back doors" could be implanted or propogated. Think of how difficult it would be to validate with an extremely high degree of confidence that a given OS or platform does not have any such security holes.

The review process can slow progress, especially since it requires humans to conduct (I don't think any AI tools yet exist to determine the benevolence or malevolence of software or components). The rapid pace of development fueled by demand also hinders thorough reviews. It's a big challenge.

Despite the potential for such "embedded" security flaws, it would be a mistake not to proceed with development of projects using the tools and components available. Let not fear hinder our efforts, but let us be cognizant and diligent to discover existing flaws and prohibit new ones from entering into production.