Block 23847548, the Block Which Will Live in Infamy
Block 23847548, the Block Which Will Live in Infamy
Yesterday, the blockchain 'stalled' at block 23847548, a block which will live in infamy. The blockchain was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the account @nijeah, when he attempted to submit a transaction that would have resulted in a negative balance. The Blockchain was, at that moment, at peace with @nijeah. Yet, indeed, seven days after @nijeah committed the negative transaction, the blockchain suddenly seized and all subsequent transactions were also unable to be processed.
https://steemit.com/@nijeah/transfers
It is recorded, as the blockchain obviously shows, that the attack was deliberately planned many days ago. During the intervening time, @nijeah has deliberately sought to deceive the Steemit community with his casual business as usual attitude.
The attack yesterday on the STEEM blockchain has caused severe damage to Steemians around the world. Many Steemians have lost confidence in the Steemit platform and the blockchain. In addition, Steemit accounts have been showing powerdowns, due to a loss of confidence. @nijeah has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive, effecting the entire STEEM blockchain. The facts of yesterday speak for themselves. The people in the Steemit communities have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of this Blockchain.
The Steemit development team and several witnesses have directed that measures be taken for our defense. They were able to quickly identify the root cause of the problem and as soon as the cause was identified, a patch was issued.
https://github.com/steemit/steem/releases/tag/v0.19.5
Always, we will remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated attack, the Steemit communities, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory.
I believe I interpret the will of the Witnesses and the Steemian people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our blockchain and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our developers and witnesses, with the unbounded determination of the Steemian population, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God.
(Heavily inspired by the famous "Day of Infamy" speech by FDR)
Who is @nijeah, Why Would he Attack the Blockchain?
We don't know much about @nijeah except that he had a feud with @haejin. If you haven't noticed, @nijeah is @haejin spelled backwards. Perhaps he thought that shutting down the entire blockchain was the only way to prevent @haejin to collect massive daily rewards.
This is one of his last messages on Steemit from about 6 months ago:
Hi there @haejin, I am curious why you feel the need to encourage your followers to attack innocent Steemians. You claim that you do not want money or rewards but it is clearly a lie with your nonsense posts earning thousands. As you have resorted to personal attacks and enciting a #flamewar I cannot stand idly by. President Donald Trump, bless this man, would say that you should stop now or you will be crushed! Absolutely crushed! Your followers ... CRUSHED!
https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@nijeah/super-duper-comment-1514626190475
So @nijeah did not sit idly by. Every Steemian was "crushed" for several hours... no posts, no comments, no browsing, no rewards... nothing. He shut the entire blockchain down with a simple negative powerdown.
Why did you feel the need to attack innocent Steemians?
Never again.
| SmartCash | SXJLtozyeJeCxYMd5ckXU2rGHGjAwUePMa |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 14USVaf7cnCZzMtvFaqGuSXdKcVq4pFHzf |
| Litecoin | LPRHooiVYgvM6Jp7jsDYhcvXeTB2qnBfk9 |
| Ethereum | 0xAd1E93433DD92d07425ADa83d9192d6bD1ee08e0 |
| Bitshares | ir0nshield <----with a "zero" for an "o" |
Bless the Most High!
Do you want to learn how to format your Steemit posts?
Make your steemit posts more appealing! Check out the course by @sumatranate on markdown and learn how to make your Steemit posts stand out. Check it out here.
How do you even power down into the negative....none of this makes sense!
Not sure exactly. I guess he figured powering DOWN a negative would be like powering UP. @ironshield
My point is how flimsy of a blockchain is Steem if this is even possible! That's what scares me about it!!
Actually, I was marveling that the blockchain hasn't ever stalled before in the year I've been interacting with it. That's pretty good, actually. @ironshield
That is a good point, just seems like a silly way to see that streak come to an end...
thing is, it wasnt possible. and the chain code stopped due to the issue happening. imagine how bad things could have been if it DID work, and then they spread the word to ,say, 5 people, who then spread it to 5 people?
Right, I get it. How does one not figure someone might try this! Could've been dealt w/b4 IMO.
Wouldn't it be ironic if the whole "rivalry scenario" was a fabricated hoax and that the two feuding entities were just fictional characters created by one person?
Just saying...
Namaste, JaiChai
Oooh, sounds like the plot of a digital suspense thriller. @ironshield
That would be funny, but then it is kind of weird how they did their best to downvote each other. Even the super wealthy would probably not just throw away money like that :P
worth it to create "sympathy" for haejin… he's pretty dumb actually.
THAT is my take on it Exactly... haejin and anti-haejin. yin and yang, from the same mother :P
even if just seperate identities... twins ;)
hmmm... imma have to do some research. back down the rabbithole i go
Woah....I didn't know that happened!
Yeah, the entire blockchain was down between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM or so. Not just Steemit, but busy, dlive, dtube, d.audio, etc. Very different than Steemit.com complications! @ironshield
BLOCKCHAIN = STEEM
Steemit, DLive, DTube, Busy, etc = User Interfaces
Adding Clarity ;)
yes. a lot of people forget that steemit etc, are just shells over the top. like windows to dos
Right, I should have said, "with the STEEM Blockchain down, all the user interfaces could not function such as Steemit, dlive, dtube, busy, etc." @ironshield
resteemed also
Thank you! @ironshield
You will be rewarded 1 SMARTCASH for using this resteem service
ABASINKANGA RESTEEM SERVICE
How To Use SmartCash?
Ditto on your statement:
Excellent article that lets us know what was happening. I just want steemit life to go on as usual. Down with hostilities!Thank you, I was curious myself. This is the first Blockchain down situation I've experienced! @ironshield
Good Post, @ironshield!
I resteemed it and put it in the Boot Camp post promo and the
"Enlisted Minnows Club" ;)
Thank you! I appreciate getting this promoted. @ironshield
Nice to know the back ground info.
I was shocked to discover the actual BLOCKCHAIN was down for a while. Unthinkable! @ironshield
Yup I agree that was insane but I have no doubts that back door has been fixed!
howdy there @ironshield..very impressive speech and thanks for more explanation of what happened. Question is are they going to do anything to this guy for causing so much damage?
I have to give credit to FDR... not my favorite president, but it's a good speech. Seems appropriate.
I don't think Steemit Inc will do anything, they really can't. Some say he did Steemit a service by exploiting this so it could be patched! I don't think his intentions were benevolent. @ironshield
howdy back to ya @ironshield, yes I know the speech was FDR's I'm familiar with it and I agree that this guy was trying to damage Steemit.
thank you sir, my vote is shot so I'm recharging.
What bugs me is that so many people spoke about a video for weeks on end, that obviously wasn't considered to be "tasteful" or "funny" yet my gut feeling says that this one shall fly over in a less than a week.
I'm no fan of the author of that video, he and I have only exchanged a few words to date, not enough for me to say anything for not against him the person. But seriously, when I see the lack of LOGIC in the "complaining" and the "jump on the bandwagon" approach, it does upset me.
This here is more important than any "video" made by anyone to date, yet like I said, I can see it "gone with the wind".
I think I know which video you're referring to, a filthy comedy skit by a well known Steemit witness. Yes, that silly video caused a buzz for weeks. This is a serious event and it will be forgotten in a few days. Gone with the wind. Maybe it's for the best, since we don't want people to loose confidence in the blockchain over a simple bug like this. Better to fix it now, before it goes main-stream. I'd rather Steemit be known for a stupid video than being known for being down for hours. @ironshield
Not the point, in fact, after a deliberate malicious attack by someone who obviously knows our code all too well and the EOS code all too well and which caused a temporary "freeze" was taken care of in a matter of no time.
Actions necessary to ensure the top20 were all made available and ready to take the necessary actions were done in record speed.
So this isn't a "bad PR" thing, in fact it shows how our ecosystem and governance model can work when put to the test in such drastic situations.
However, the fact of the matter is, that it was an inside job, no doubt about it. A fellow Steemian did it and this needs to be addressed and actions taken.
Question is, was it an inside job by accident, or inside job with intentions of causing damage. A disgruntled Steemian? Or a "Let's see what happens if I power down negative one trillion... oops" @ironshield
"Block 23847548 was an inside job." Hmm... maybe another post coming.
Either way, it was an inside job, done by a registered Steemian.
Take into consideration that this scenario was/is incorporated into the EOS code.
Life has taught me:
"Coincidences are most often NOT COINCIDENTAL"
;)
many will reference back to it though in future days. at least i know i probably will