Connect with us

What is an eclipse attack?

Blockchain

What is an eclipse attack?

Eclipse attacks are a sort of cyberattack in which an attacker creates a fake environment around a single node or user, allowing the attacker to manipulate the node into doing a malicious action.

In an eclipse attack, a malicious actor isolates a specific user or node within a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.

The attacker’s goal is to obscure a user’s view of the P2P network in preparation for more complex attacks or to cause general disruption. Eclipse attacks share similarities with Sybil attacks, however, their end goals are different. 

They are similar in the sense that a certain network is flooded with fake peers. The difference, however, is that in an eclipse attack, a single node is attacked. In a Sybil attack, the entire network is attacked. 

Moreover, attackers can start an eclipse attack by constructing many ostensibly independent overlay nodes via a Sybil attack. Attackers may use the overlay maintenance mechanism to mount an eclipse assault; hence, safeguards against Sybil attacks do not prevent eclipse attacks.

Eclipse attacks are discussed comprehensively in the 2015 paper authored by researchers from Boston University and Hebrew University entitled ‘Eclipse Attacks on Bitcoin’s Peer-to-Peer Network.’ In the said paper, the authors discussed their findings from launching eclipse attacks, as well as possible countermeasures. 

In an eclipse attack, an attacker tries to redirect the target network participant’s inbound and outbound connections from legitimate nodes to the attacker’s nodes. By doing so, the target is sealed off from the actual network. 

Since the target is disconnected from the blockchain ledger, the isolated node can then be manipulated by the attacker. An eclipse attack can lead to block mining disruptions as well as illegitimate transaction confirmations. 

How easily blockchain attacks can be executed depends on the target blockchain network’s underlying structure.

Continue Reading

More in Blockchain

To Top