Ethereum Merge makes network more vulnerable to attack — Security expert

cointelegraph.com:

Despite the Ethereum Merge being touted as a major upgrade to the blockchain network, its transition to proof-of-stake theoretically makes it more vulnerable to exploit.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, the security researcher explained that unlike proof-of-work (PoW) systems, a proof-of-stake (PoS) system informs node validators in advance what blocks they will validate, thus enabling them to plan attacks.

The security expert, who asked not to be named, is a blockchain developer and security researcher working on a proof-of-stake layer-2 blockchain.

The researcher explained that an exploit could theoretically occur on the post-Merge Ethereum blockchain if validators manage to line up two consecutive blocks to validate.

“From an economic security standpoint, [this vulnerability] makes these attacks relatively easier to pull off.”

The expert said that while it’s also possible for miners to validate consecutive blocks in PoW networks — that comes down to “pure luck” and gives the miner no time to plan an attack.

As a result, the security researcher argues that Ethereum will be forgoing some strength in security when the Merge takes effect:

“But that being said [...] proof-of-stake [still] has sufficient practical security [and] it doesn't really matter that it's theoretically not as secure as proof-of-work. It's still a very secure system,” he added.

Related: Buterin and Armstrong reflect on proof-of-stake shift as Ethereum Merge nears

The security expert added that “Ethereum is working on fixing [the consecutive block issue].

It is a hard problem to solve, but if that gets done, then proof-of-stake security will [further] increase [as] they’ll have protection against those attack vectors.”

Ethereum validators are subject to slashing