Instantaneous and limiting behavior of an n-node blockchain under cyber attacks from a single hacker

TL;DR

This paper models the behavior of an n-node blockchain under continuous cyber attacks, deriving probabilities and times related to its functionality, and shows that increasing nodes enhances security.

Contribution

It introduces a mathematical framework for analyzing blockchain resilience under cyber attacks, providing explicit formulas for key probabilities and times.

Findings

Increasing the number of nodes improves blockchain security.

Derived explicit formulas for functional probability and mean functional time.

All key quantities increase with the number of nodes.

Abstract

We investigate the instantaneous and limiting behavior of an n-node blockchain which is under continuous monitoring of the IT department of a company but faces non-stop cyber attacks from a single hacker. The blockchain is functional as far as no data stored on it has been changed, deleted, or locked. Once the IT department detects the attack from the hacker, it will immediately re-set the blockchain, rendering all previous efforts of the hacker in vain. The hacker will not stop until the blockchain is dysfunctional. For arbitrary distributions of the hacking times and detecting times, we derive the limiting functional probability, instantaneous functional probability, and mean functional time of the blockchain. We also show that all these quantities are increasing functions of the number of nodes, substantiating the intuition that the more nodes a blockchain has, the harder it is for a hacker to succeed in a cyber attack.