Ethereum: IP addresses of validators under surveillance


A wind of concern is blowing over Ethereum – The network Ethereum completed its transition to Proof of Stake last September. However, privacy concerns are emerging. Indeed, the IP addresses of validators would be monitored, raising questions about the protection of the private life.

Ethereum IP addresses scrutinized?

justin drake is a prominent researcher at the Ethereum Foundation. On April 12, he gave an interview to the Bankless podcast, as part of the deployment of the hard fork shanghai.

Interview with Justin Drake at Bankless – Source: YouTube

On this occasion, the researcher revealed that he had learned “in-house” that IP addresses of validators of Ethereum were monitored as part of a larger set of metadata.

According to Drake, this metadata is used to track and monitor various information:

“There is a lot of metadata. You can look at the deposit addresses. You can look at the withdrawal addresses. You can look at the charge recipients. You can look at IP addresses. »

These comments seem to have surprised Ryan Sean Adams, the host of Bankless. Indeed, these metadata put jeopardize the privacy of validators. Although, for the moment, these data are not used for malicious purposes, they could be a boon for governments fond of increased surveillance.

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Concerns and potential solutions around the case

Of course, these revelations didn’t just surprise Ryan Sean Adams. Following the interview, many users expressed their opinion on Twitter. Thus, in turn, Internet users have described Ethereum and its governance as centralized.

However, once the trolls subsided, other netizens tried to come up with solutions. Thus, a user has suggested that Ethereum users take charge their own confidentiality.

Incident Privacy Tips – Source: Twitter

To do this, he recommends installing a Linux operating systemcoupled with the use of a virtual private network (vpn). On the storage side, we avoid MetaMask in favor of hardware walletssuch as Ledger.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Ethereum has been singled out about privacy. Last November, the giant MetaMask and the company Consensys found themselves in the heart of the turmoil after revealing collection of IP addresses wallet users.

Subsequently, Consensys listened to community complaints and improved user data protection in its latest version.

We can also cite the wave of censorship linked to OFAC restrictions at the block validation level. Fortunately, this phenomenon has greatly diminished, with only 26% of OFAC compliant transactions at the time of writing these lines.

In crypto, do not economize on caution! So, to keep your crypto assets safe, the best solution is still a personal hardware wallet. Cherry on the cake, Ledger offers you $30 in BTC for buying a Nano X and $20 for a Nano S Plus. Do not wait to put your capital in safety (commercial link)!





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