24 ways to kill the Bitcoin network

[Ottoman1]

I read this blog post where the author lists 24 potential hacker threats to the BTC network.
http://www.quora.com/How-can-Bitcoin-be-hacked There might be many incentives for powerful entities to realize such hacks against BTC. In fact, I would consider it one of, if not the most likely event that could harm BTC and thereby potentially all crypto/e-currencies (in the short run).

Thoughts from the community on this?

/O-man

[lassdas]

Since I don’t have complete knowledge of the Bitcoin platform some of them [attack scenarios] might not be feasible in practice.

None of them are.

/thread

[Ottoman1]

So, are there other ways then?

[buddhacoiner]

the only way would be to shut down the entire internet structure.

even if a single country like Iran shuts its people out from the rest of the world, they'll still be able to exist in their own isolated bitcoin world and the rest of us in ours.

it ain't gonna happen unless civil wars in all countries due to massive global fiat collapses

[MoonShadow]

I can't see the article.

EDIT: Nevermind.

Not one of the attacks is a threat.  This guy doesn't know what he is talking about.  Even the 51% attack that he references wouldn't give the attacker arbitrary access to any coins that he didn't recently possess.  These aren't hacks, they are, at best, attempts at defrauding a limited set of users via a convoluted set of double-spending.   While double spending isn't entirely impossible with bitcoin, it's damn difficult due to timing requirements.  The 51% attack basicly gives the attacker more time to do the double spend attack, so long as he is willing and able to maintain the 51% attack.  Considering that the current hashrate of the honest network is roughly 30 times faster than the world's fastest supercomputer, that's not chump change anymore.  There isn't a whole lot that nation-state resources could do to bitcoin at this point, IMHO, since the rate of increases outpaces the normal construction time for such supercomputers.

[MoonShadow]

the only way would be to shut down the entire internet structure.

Even that wouldn't actually break the network.  It'd just pick up where it left off once the internet was back up, or an alternative connection could be established.  The Internet would have to go down, stay down, and no one be able to rebuild a network with more than 1 meg per minute transfer rates between nodes.  Basicly nothing short of a nuclear EMP, in which case most of us are going to have greater problems than our bitcoin balances.

[Ottoman1]

So, to confirm my understanding of this;

Anyone single person/entity who has downloaded the BTC client and the complete blockchain will ensure that the network can be revived if catastrophies occur?

[Ottoman1]

And ensure that no Bitcoins are lost(?)

[manfred]

And ensure that no Bitcoins are lost(?)

yes.
Good old fashioned GREED will kill Bitcoin. The current price is only the beginning it will rise to enormous heights because it has been hijacked (infected) by the fool finding bigger fool tulip mania. when the bubble burst it will be a bigger fail than any previous bubble (tulip mania, south sea bubble, dot com bubble, real estate bubble.......).
I bought my first coin almost 2 years ago, recent abnormal events made me re-evaluate bitcoin. As it stands everyone is just hoarding it or taking out loans to buy into it at ANY price. After the grandmother and the last pair of shoes is sold and the loans need paying back the great run to get out will start. Relax its a long way to go before it tops out.
Its sad bitcoin was once upon a  good concept.

[greyhawk]

Its sad bitcoin was once upon a  good concept.

It still is. It just doesn't work in the context of humanity. Like communism. And anarchy. And libertarian utopias.

[Ottoman1]

Good old fashioned GREED will kill Bitcoin. The current price is only the beginning it will rise to enormous heights because it has been hijacked (infected) by the fool finding bigger fool tulip mania. when the bubble burst it will be a bigger fail than all previous bubbles combined (tulip mania, south sea bubble, dot com bubble, real estate bubble.......).

Honestly, if Bitcoin will ever reach the heights of the bubbles you have mentioned then why would it ever pop? Everyone noteworthy (in economic terms) will be in on it and use it for trade.

Therefore, if it is a classic bubble then it will pop much sooner as the investors/hoarders/traders want to get out for whatever reason.