Vitalik Buterin Says Cybersecurity Can Shift Toward Defenders

Vitalik Buterin expects cybersecurity to eventually favor defenders, but says the shift will be difficult and will depend on deeper changes to how software is secured.

Finding flaws in released software before attackers do would not, by itself, give defenders an advantage, Buterin said. He pointed to formal verification and active efforts to reduce the trusted computing base (TCB) as part of the needed shift. He said these changes are only beginning to take hold.

Buterin said this distinction is an important reason he continues to support slowing or pausing. He also argued that spending on cybersecurity, biosecurity and physical-world hardening should exceed 1% of gross domestic product.