How To Avoid 5 Nagging Security Issues With Blockchain

Consensus, decentralization, and cryptography are used to guarantee transaction confidence in the blockchain. However, a number of blockchain security vulnerabilities have occurred owing to a lack of proper implementation of the underlying technology.

Without a doubt, interest in blockchain technology has increased recently. In addition to its current uses in healthcare, real estate, smart contacts, and other fields, cryptocurrency was its original application. With the help of blockchain technology, data is gathered and stored in groups called “blocks,” and each block has a maximum data capacity.

The brilliantly chosen name “blockchain” refers to the fact that when a block is full, it is chained to the previous full block, forming a data chain. The technology has been a great illustration of how security principles in money transfers and information transmission are changing.

It offers a unique data structure in addition to integrated security measures. Consensus, decentralization, and cryptography—which ensures the trust of transactions—are the foundations of the blockchain. However, poor technology implementation has led to a number of blockchain security issues.

Security For Each Type of Blockchain

Understanding the distinction between public and private blockchain security is necessary before going any further with the discussion of blockchain security. Blockchain networks can have a variety of effects in terms of participation and data access abilities. As a result, blockchain networks can be classified in two ways.

Depending on the rights needed for membership, blockchain networks can be either private or public. On the other hand, whether a blockchain network is permissioned or permissionless determines how participants can gain access to it.

• Any user may join public blockchain networks, which are open and maintain participant anonymity.
• Identity is used in private blockchain networks to validate membership and access rights. Additionally, they restrict participation to well-known organizations only.

What You Can Do About The Top Five Blockchain Security Issues

Many individuals are correct in believing that blockchain is intrinsically safe. Blockchain is undeniably useful to businesses, but it also has substantial limitations owing to particular security concerns. Here are the top five blockchain security concerns, as well as their remedies.

1. What are 51% of Attacks, and How Can You Prevent Them

Miners play an essential role in confirming blockchain transactions, enabling them to grow even further. A 51% assault is perhaps the greatest feared danger in the blockchain industry. These assaults are more probable in the early stages of the chain, and a 51% attack does not apply to commercial or private blockchains.

A 51% attack happens when a single person or group (malicious hackers) accumulates more than 50% of the hash power and obtains control of the whole system, which may be devastating. Hackers may change the sequence of transactions to prevent them from it being confirmed. They may even reverse previously performed transactions, leading in double-spending.

3 tips to avoid 51% attacks:

• Make sure the hash rate is greater.
• Enhance pool monitoring for mining.
• Avoid using consensus methods that require proof-of-work (PoW).

2. How Can You Handle Phishing Against Blockchain Networks

Attacks on blockchain networks by phishers are on the rise, and this is generating significant problems. In most cases, phishing efforts are made to target individuals or members of a corporation.

In a phishing attack, the hacker’s aim is to get the user’s login credentials. They have the ability to send emails to the owner of the wallet key that seems to be real. The user is prompted to submit their login information through a phony URL that is linked to the email.

For both the user and the blockchain network, having access to a user’s credentials and other sensitive information might result in harm to both parties. Follow-up assaults are often a problem for them.

7 tips to prevent phishing attacks:

• Install a certified add-on to warn you about dangerous websites to increase your browser’s security.
• If you get an email asking for login information related to the problem, check with your software partner.
• When doing critical financial transactions, such as utilizing an electronic wallet, stay away from public Wi-Fi networks.
• Take a moment to verify whether your hardware and software are current.
• You shouldn’t click on the link unless you’ve read it all the way through completion. Try typing the website’s URL into your browser rather than clicking on any links in the article.
• Malicious link detection software and reliable antivirus software should be installed on a computer to enhance its security.
• Educate yourself and your staff on the risks of phishing

3. What are Routing Attacks and How Can You Mitigate Them

Next in line for blockchain security and privacy concerns is the emergence of new types of routing attacks.

You can access some of the latest research stats on routing attacks here in Maria Apostalaki’s paper “Hijacking Bitcoin: Routing Attacks on Cryptocurrencies”.

Massive volumes of data must be moved in real time over a blockchain network in order for it to function. Using an account’s anonymity, hackers may snoop on data as it travels via the internet.

Blockchain participants are often ignorant of a routing attack since data transfer and activities continue as normal in the event of an attack. Many times, these assaults will reveal private information or steal money without the user’s awareness.

4 tips to prevent routing attacks:

• Encrypt data at rest, transit, and in use using current data encryption protocols.
• Prepare yourself and your staff for the dangers of data security breaches.
• Regularly change your passwords and use secure passwords.
• Using certificates, implement secure routing systems.

4. What are Blockchain Endpoint Vulnerabilities? How Can You Prevent Them

Another major issue in blockchain security is the vulnerability of blockchain endpoints.

A user’s computer or mobile phone is the endpoint of the blockchain network, where they interact with it. To obtain a person’s key, hackers may watch how they behave and then target certain gadgets. Blockchain security is plagued by a number of concerns, including this one.

3 tips to prevent endpoint vulnerabilities:

• Do not keep your blockchain keys as text files on your PC or mobile device.
• Review the system on a regular basis, noting when, where, and what devices were used.
• Take the time to install anti-virus software on all of your personal computers and other electronic devices.

5. What is Sybil Attack, What Can You Do To Prevent It

In a Sybil attack, hackers create a large number of phony network nodes. Using these nodes, the hacker is able to gain majority agreement and interrupt the chain’s transactions. As a consequence, a large-scale Sybil attack is just a 51% attack.

2 tips to prevent Sybil attacks:

• Be on the lookout for additional nodes that are only forwarding blocks from a single user, and keep an eye out for them.
• Make sure you’re using the right algorithms for consensus.

These algorithms may not stop all Sybil attacks, but they certainly make it more difficult for the bad guys to carry them out.

In Closing

Even though blockchain has several security flaws, cybersecurity experts can do a great deal to address them. Blockchain deployments will be most secure if supervising IT personnel has polished their analytical and technical skills.

What are your experiences with Blockchain security? Leave me a comment below or message [email protected] and let me know!