Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum , Chia an idea on the X platform aimed at enhancing personal security and protecting civil liberties at low cost, especially in the context of increasing attacks targeting cryptocurrency holders.
According to Buterin, each individual should have a simple and discreet "deniable alarm" mechanism. Specifically, users could pre-set a number of Private Key/Secret Key keywords; when personal devices such as smartwatches, phones, or home IoT devices hear these words, the system would automatically trigger an emergency call to authorities, such as 911 in the US, while simultaneously transmitting real-time location information to the police.
Buterin argues that this mechanism could be particularly useful for holders of digital assets, as they are often targets of robberies or kidnappings aimed at forcing them to transfer crypto. In such situations, the ability to discreetly trigger an alert without the attacker noticing could significantly increase the chances of receiving timely assistance.
He argued that if the security environment could ensure that at least 20% of robberies would result in immediate police arrival, while the attacker wouldn't know whether the victim had triggered an alarm, then the risk to criminals would increase significantly. Many attacks would then become less feasible in terms of risk-benefit ratio, thereby reducing the incentive to commit the crime.
Buterin also emphasized that this system minimizes the risk of being abused by the government for widespread surveillance, because the alarm mechanism is only triggered when the user actively uses pre-set keywords. This makes the system different from automated surveillance technologies , which can be exploited for mass monitoring purposes.
