Explore a comprehensive analysis of eclipse attacks on Bitcoin's peer-to-peer network in this 27-minute conference talk from USENIX Security '15. Discover how adversaries can monopolize connections to victim nodes and exploit them for various attacks on Bitcoin's mining and consensus system. Delve into the intricacies of Bitcoin's network architecture through probabilistic analysis, simulations, and live experiments. Learn about proposed countermeasures inspired by botnet architectures, designed to enhance security while maintaining Bitcoin's open and decentralized nature. Gain insights into topics such as N-confirmation double spending, selfish mining, and adversarial forks in the blockchain, as well as the effectiveness of potential defense mechanisms like random selection and deterministic random eviction.
Overview
Syllabus
Introduction
Bitcoin's Peer-to-Peer Network
Example 1: 51% attack with 40% mining power
Example 2: N-Confirmation Double Spending
How easy are restartsy
How to eclipse with a limited number of Ps?
Exploiting Bucket Eviction by investing Time
Results: Live experiment
Countermeasures: Random Selection
Countermeasures: Deterministic Random Eviction
Countermeasures: Deployment
Countermeasures: How effective?
Summary
Taught by
USENIX
