Tag: security

A Question of Trust: An Analysis of Ethereum Classic’s Foundational Security and Its Place on Premier Exchanges
David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

Introduction: The Chasm Between Perceived Legitimacy and Proven Fragility

A “51% attack” occurs when a single entity seizes control of a blockchain’s computational power. This is not a distant, theoretical risk. Between 2019 and 2020 alone, researchers at the MIT Digital Currency Initiative documented over 40 such attacks on various cryptocurrencies.¹ These events represent a recurring and tangible danger to the integrity of many networks.

When a digital asset is listed on a prominent, regulated exchange like Coinbase, Kraken, or Gemini, it sends a powerful signal to the market.² This listing acts as an implicit endorsement. It suggests the asset has passed a rigorous vetting process and meets a baseline standard for technical soundness.³ This report contends that in the case of Ethereum Classic (ETC), this perception of security is dangerously misaligned with its documented history of catastrophic, fundamental breaches.

This analysis will demonstrate a critical flaw in ETC’s security narrative. While protocol changes were implemented after these failures, a key defense mechanism was later deliberately rolled back. This action signals a return to a security posture that has already proven inadequate.

The core of this investigation is not a philosophical debate over blockchain immutability. Instead, it is a critical risk assessment grounded in empirical evidence. The central thesis is this: a profound dissonance exists between the implied security of a premier exchange listing and the proven fragility of the underlying asset. This gap represents a significant, underappreciated risk to market participants.

The case of Ethereum Classic in August 2020 stands as a glaring example of this vulnerability. The network suffered three successful 51% attacks in a single month.⁴ This report will proceed in a structured manner to build a comprehensive case:
- First, it will establish the foundational principles of Proof-of-Work (PoW) security, focusing on the direct relationship between computational power (hash rate) and network integrity.
- Second, it will present a detailed forensic analysis of the 2020 attacks.
- Third, it will scrutinize the primary response from exchanges—imposing extreme transaction confirmation times—and argue this is a localized tactic, not a fundamental solution.
- Fourth, it will systematically deconstruct and refute the common counterarguments defending ETC’s security.
- Finally, the conclusion will synthesize these findings, offer a forward-looking analysis, and provide specific recommendations for exchanges, regulators, and investors.
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June 20, 2025
The Sentinel Initiative: A Non-Invasive Technological Moonshot to Secure America’s Health Against Airborne Threats
This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional.

David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

Executive Summary

The resurgence of measles in the United States signals a critical failure in our national public health strategy. We face a highly contagious airborne virus and an environment of deep public distrust. Because of this, traditional methods that rely on universal compliance are no longer sufficient.

This report proposes the Sentinel Initiative. It is a national “moonshot” project to develop and deploy a nationwide, non-invasive early warning system for airborne pathogens.

The proposed solution is a two-pronged technological strategy. It focuses on situational awareness, not surveillance.
- The first pillar is an Atmospheric Surveillance Grid. This network of advanced biosensors in critical public infrastructure (e.g., transit hubs, schools) will detect airborne threats in real time.
- The second is the development of Personal Early Warning Systems. These wearable devices would function as personal “Geiger counters” for viruses.
Crucially, this initiative is founded on the principle of empowerment through information. It is fundamentally non-invasive: it detects pathogens in the air, not people. It does not track individuals, collect personal data, or mandate behavior. By providing objective, real-time alerts, it empowers individuals and public health officials to make informed decisions. This complements—not replaces—vaccination efforts.

The Sentinel Initiative represents a strategic investment in national resilience. It offers a new layer of defense that protects public health, ensures economic stability, and enhances individual liberty in the face of 21st-century biological threats.
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June 20, 2025
The TikTok Paradox: National Security, Digital Sovereignty, and the Forging of U.S. Tech Policy
David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a landmark law that forces the sale of TikTok, a platform used by over 170 million Americans, or face a nationwide ban.¹ This decision highlighted a central paradox in modern American policy. TikTok is at once a legislative target, condemned as a grave national security threat, and an indispensable campaign tool, actively leveraged by the political actors who seek to regulate it.

This paper argues that this apparent contradiction is not a sign of policy incoherence. Instead, it reveals an evolving and deliberate strategy to confront a novel threat to the nation’s digital sovereignty. Digital sovereignty is a nation’s ability to control its own digital destiny—the data, hardware, and software it relies upon.³ In this context, it means securing the digital infrastructure and information environment within its borders from the control of a strategic adversary.⁴

The core of this argument is that the threat posed by TikTok is fundamentally structural. It is rooted in the legal and operational subordination of its parent company, ByteDance, to the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This structural risk is distinct from the commercial data practices of domestic social media companies. It has compelled the U.S. to forge a new national security doctrine for the digital age.

To develop this thesis, this paper will proceed in four parts.
- Section I will establish that TikTok represents a structural national security threat due to its data collection capabilities under PRC law and its potential for algorithmic manipulation.
- Section II will trace the evolution of U.S. legal strategy, from the failure of broad executive orders to the crafting of a targeted, constitutionally-sound legislative solution.
- Section III will systematically deconstruct the primary counterarguments against this policy, including those based on the First Amendment, economic disruption, and false equivalencies with U.S. tech firms.
- Section IV will analyze the political realities that create the central paradox, examining how electoral pragmatism and divided public opinion coexist with the national security consensus.
Ultimately, this analysis will demonstrate that the TikTok dilemma is a landmark case in how a liberal democracy is adapting its legal and political tools to defend its sovereignty in an era of weaponized information.
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June 20, 2025
An Unmitigated Threat: The National Security Case for the Prohibition of TikTok in the United States

David’s Note: This article was substantially revised on October 10, 2025 to incorporate new research and provide a more comprehensive analysis.

With over 170 million users in the United States, TikTok is more than a social media phenomenon; it is a deeply embedded component of American digital life and commerce.¹ This ubiquity, however, masks a critical vulnerability. This report presents a comprehensive analysis of the national security threat posed by the social media application TikTok, operated by its parent company, ByteDance Ltd. It argues that due to ByteDance’s inextricable links to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the application functions as a dual-threat vector for sophisticated data espionage and algorithmic influence operations against the United States.

Executive Summary

This report analyzes the national security threat from TikTok, an application operated by ByteDance Ltd. The company’s deep connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allow the app to function as a tool for data espionage and algorithmic influence against the United States.

This report’s central thesis is that mitigation efforts cannot neutralize this threat. The application’s core architecture, corporate governance, and legal obligations are inextricably linked to the CCP, a designated foreign adversary. Therefore, a complete prohibition on its operation within the United States is the only effective policy solution.

The report deconstructs ByteDance’s opaque corporate structure. It highlights the CCP’s control mechanisms, such as the “golden share” held by a state-backed entity, which make any claims of operational independence untenable. It also details warnings from top U.S. intelligence officials, including the FBI Director and the Director of National Intelligence, who define TikTok as a tool that a foreign adversary can leverage.

Furthermore, the report dismisses mitigation efforts like the $1.5 billion “Project Texas” as flawed security theater. Evidence shows this project failed to sever data flows to Beijing or neutralize the threat of algorithmic manipulation. The core issue of adversarial ownership remained unaddressed.

After refuting key counterarguments—related to the First Amendment, economic impacts, and false equivalencies with U.S. tech firms—the report concludes that partial measures are insufficient. The unique nature of the threat, rooted in ByteDance’s subservience to the CCP, demands a structural solution. The only policy that fully addresses these inherent risks is the swift enforcement of a ban on TikTok and any successor applications, as provided by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA).
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June 20, 2025