DROPS

Document

DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.AFT.2024.11

Bribe & Fork: Cheap PCN Bribing Attacks via Forking Threat

Authors: Zeta Avarikioti, Paweł Kędzior, Tomasz Lizurej, and Tomasz Michalak

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 316, 6th Conference on Advances in Financial Technologies (AFT 2024)

Abstract

In this work, we reexamine the vulnerability of Payment Channel Networks (PCNs) to bribing attacks, where an adversary incentivizes blockchain miners to deliberately ignore a specific transaction to undermine the punishment mechanism of PCNs. While previous studies have posited a prohibitive cost for such attacks, we show that this cost can be dramatically reduced (to approximately $125), thereby increasing the likelihood of these attacks. To this end, we introduce Bribe & Fork, a modified bribing attack that leverages the threat of a so-called feather fork which we analyze with a novel formal model for the mining game with forking. We empirically analyze historical data of some real-world blockchain implementations to evaluate the scale of this cost reduction. Our findings shed more light on the potential vulnerability of PCNs and highlight the need for robust solutions.

Cite as

Zeta Avarikioti, Paweł Kędzior, Tomasz Lizurej, and Tomasz Michalak. Bribe & Fork: Cheap PCN Bribing Attacks via Forking Threat. In 6th Conference on Advances in Financial Technologies (AFT 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 316, pp. 11:1-11:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{avarikioti_et_al:LIPIcs.AFT.2024.11,
  author =	{Avarikioti, Zeta and K\k{e}dzior, Pawe{\l} and Lizurej, Tomasz and Michalak, Tomasz},
  title =	{{Bribe \& Fork: Cheap PCN Bribing Attacks via Forking Threat}},
  booktitle =	{6th Conference on Advances in Financial Technologies (AFT 2024)},
  pages =	{11:1--11:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-345-4},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{316},
  editor =	{B\"{o}hme, Rainer and Kiffer, Lucianna},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.AFT.2024.11},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-209473},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.AFT.2024.11},
  annote =	{Keywords: Blockchain, Payment Channels Networks, Timelock Bribing, Feather Forking}
}

Search Results

Documents authored by Michalak, Tomasz

Bribe & Fork: Cheap PCN Bribing Attacks via Forking Threat

Abstract

Cite as

Thanks for your feedback!

Could not send message