Author: Harald Schilly 2013-05-14 19:39:46
Published on: 2013-05-14T19:39:46+00:00
In an email conversation from 2013, Melvin Carvalho asked if PGP key servers could suffer from a 51% attack similar to the Bitcoin network. The answer is both no and yes. Unlike Bitcoin, PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) keyservers are not reliant on mining power, so a 51% attack would not be possible in that sense. However, PGP keyservers are vulnerable to spamming, which can cause clients to become unresponsive or crash. One solution to this problem is to store your PGP key as a TXT entry on your own domain and use it automatically. This can be done by running the command "dig +short harald._pka.schil.ly. TXT" and then using the key with GPG by running "gpg … --auto-key-locate pka -r email at address.domain". This method helps to avoid relying on PGP keyservers altogether and reduces the risk of spamming attacks.
Updated on: 2023-06-06T16:56:27.924673+00:00