Awarded the 10th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies, Silvio Micali warns in this interview that Bitcoin and other current cryptocurrencies are not secure against potential cyberattacks. Drawing on his background in cryptography and information theory, he explains why traditional consensus systems have structural vulnerabilities and how the arrival of new computational capabilities could compromise the integrity of existing blockchains. Micali also describes the principles that inspire more secure, efficient, and scalable alternatives, emphasizing the need to rethink the architecture of decentralized technologies to guarantee their future. His analysis offers a critical and deeply technical perspective on digital security within the blockchain ecosystem.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Information and Communication Technol
Awarded the 10th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies, Silvio Micali warns in this interview that Bitcoin and other current cryptocurrencies are not secure against potential cyberattacks. Drawing on his background in cryptography and information theory, he explains why traditional consensus systems have structural vulnerabilities and how the arrival of new computational capabilities could compromise the integrity of existing blockchains. Micali also describes the principles that inspire more secure, efficient, and scalable alternatives, emphasizing the need to rethink the architecture of decentralized technologies to guarantee their future. His analysis offers a critical and deeply technical perspective on digital security within the blockchain ecosystem.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Information and Communication Technologies category goes, in this tenth edition, to Shafi Goldwasser, Silvio Micali, Ronald Rivest and Adi Shamir for their “fundamental contributions to modern cryptology, an area of a tremendous impact on our everyday life,” in the words of the jury’s citation. “Their advanced crypto-protocols enable the safe and secure transmission of electronic data, ranging from e-mail to financial transactions. In addition, their work provides the underpinning for digital signatures, blockchains and crypto-currencies,” like Bitcoin.
00:00 Introduction
00:05 Could you explain how your work on cryptographic innovations such as probabilistic encryption and interactive zero-knowledge proofs has contributed to more secure digital communications and transactions?
02:40 Based on your research, to what extent do you consider the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to be secure? What are the greatest risks in such transactions, and to what extent can current cryptographic technologies guarantee their security?
05:13 To what extent would you say that our digital society is vulnerable to cybercrime or cyberterrorism? What are the major security challenges currently facing the field of cryptography?
