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Evaluating blockchain systems: a comprehensive study of security and dependability attributes

Evaluating blockchain systems: a comprehensive study of security and dependability attributes
Evaluating blockchain systems: a comprehensive study of security and dependability attributes
Blockchain is the enabling technology behind decentralised, fully peer-to-peer, systems. It distributes trust across a network of autonomous entities without the need for centralised trusted authority. It is therefore easier for an attacker to add malicious nodes that remain undetected. The absence of trust results in a more vulnerable system, where adversaries may come both from the inside and outside. Inthis context, security guarantees become crucial to ensure blockchains’ reliability and trust.In this work, we propose a comprehensive evaluation of security attributes for blockchains. We refer to the well-established concepts of security and dependability, broadly used in distributed systems, to identify the most relevant properties for blockchains. Thus, we use such properties to evaluate five of the most prominent, platforms, such as three permissionless blockchains -Bitcoin, Ethereum 2.0, and Algorand- and two permissioned blockchains -Ethereum-private and Hyperledger Fabric. We assess security over three dimensions, i.e. the consensus, infrastructure, and smart contracts.
18-32
CEUR Workshop Proceedings
De Angelis, Stefano
1b1ef350-6cf0-4419-bd82-9c0a4b5509f9
Zanfino, Gilberto
217a9d53-2b04-4df5-9b0e-21758f5556b8
Aniello, Leonardo
9846e2e4-1303-4b8b-9092-5d8e9bb514c3
Lombardi, Federico
78e41297-64c9-4c1e-9515-8eb59334a795
Sassone, Vladimiro
df7d3c83-2aa0-4571-be94-9473b07b03e7
Pizzonia, Maurizio
Vitaletti, Andrea
De Angelis, Stefano
1b1ef350-6cf0-4419-bd82-9c0a4b5509f9
Zanfino, Gilberto
217a9d53-2b04-4df5-9b0e-21758f5556b8
Aniello, Leonardo
9846e2e4-1303-4b8b-9092-5d8e9bb514c3
Lombardi, Federico
78e41297-64c9-4c1e-9515-8eb59334a795
Sassone, Vladimiro
df7d3c83-2aa0-4571-be94-9473b07b03e7
Pizzonia, Maurizio
Vitaletti, Andrea

De Angelis, Stefano, Zanfino, Gilberto, Aniello, Leonardo, Lombardi, Federico and Sassone, Vladimiro (2022) Evaluating blockchain systems: a comprehensive study of security and dependability attributes. Pizzonia, Maurizio and Vitaletti, Andrea (eds.) In 4th Distributed Ledger Technology Workshop. vol. 3166, CEUR Workshop Proceedings. pp. 18-32 .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Blockchain is the enabling technology behind decentralised, fully peer-to-peer, systems. It distributes trust across a network of autonomous entities without the need for centralised trusted authority. It is therefore easier for an attacker to add malicious nodes that remain undetected. The absence of trust results in a more vulnerable system, where adversaries may come both from the inside and outside. Inthis context, security guarantees become crucial to ensure blockchains’ reliability and trust.In this work, we propose a comprehensive evaluation of security attributes for blockchains. We refer to the well-established concepts of security and dependability, broadly used in distributed systems, to identify the most relevant properties for blockchains. Thus, we use such properties to evaluate five of the most prominent, platforms, such as three permissionless blockchains -Bitcoin, Ethereum 2.0, and Algorand- and two permissioned blockchains -Ethereum-private and Hyperledger Fabric. We assess security over three dimensions, i.e. the consensus, infrastructure, and smart contracts.

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Published date: 20 June 2022

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Local EPrints ID: 503464
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503464
PURE UUID: a3488a65-35ef-403a-8ec0-68453a1b318b
ORCID for Stefano De Angelis: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1168-9064
ORCID for Leonardo Aniello: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2886-8445
ORCID for Federico Lombardi: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6463-8722
ORCID for Vladimiro Sassone: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6432-1482

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Date deposited: 01 Aug 2025 16:44
Last modified: 02 Aug 2025 02:21

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Contributors

Author: Stefano De Angelis ORCID iD
Author: Gilberto Zanfino
Author: Leonardo Aniello ORCID iD
Author: Federico Lombardi ORCID iD
Author: Vladimiro Sassone ORCID iD
Editor: Maurizio Pizzonia
Editor: Andrea Vitaletti

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