Researchers have found cyber threats are bringing blockchain security into doubt on critical infrastructure
Miners who use computations to validate transactions through blockchain technology could be at risk, according to joint-research from Australia and Iran.
A study by Charles Darwin University (CDU) and the University of Tehran found cyber criminals are deceiving miners, who use the blockchain to power cryptocurrencies.
Miners who are given cryptocurrency as payment could be under attack by criminals who want to steal some of their computational power.
Professor Mamoun Alazab said this new attack method on blockchain was concerning because its high rates of success, particularly when the blockchain technology is used in critical infrastructure.
“The misleading attack is orchestrated by someone who redirects some miners computational power to a different chain, so that it (the attacker) can outrun the main chain and thus make its fork the dominant one,” he said.
Miners typically receive compensation for using their computational power to verify transactions on a specific blockchain.
“The chain, that miners are being misdirected to, is engineered to lose in the competition, and so is the main chain. All is for the attacker’s chain to win and become dominant.
“This vulnerability can also boost the success of other types of blockchain attacks,” Professor Alazab explained.
