Feedback control for distributed ledgers: An attack mitigation policy for DAG-based DLTs

TL;DR

This paper introduces a feedback control method to mitigate Tips Inflation Attacks in DAG-based distributed ledgers, combining theoretical stability analysis with extensive simulations.

Contribution

It develops a novel control strategy for attack mitigation in DAG-based ledgers, supported by theoretical proofs and simulation results.

Findings

The control strategy stabilizes the ledger against Tips Inflation Attacks.

Theoretical theorems demonstrate the stability properties with and without control.

Simulations confirm the effectiveness of the proposed mitigation policy.

Abstract

In this paper we present a feedback approach to the design of an attack mitigation policy for DAG-based Distributed Ledgers. We develop a model to analyse the behaviour of the ledger under the so called Tips Inflation Attack and we design a control strategy to counteract this attack strategy. The efficacy of this approach is showcased through a theoretical analysis, in the form of two theorems about the stability properties of the ledger with and without the controller, and extensive Monte Carlo simulations of an agent-based model of the distributed ledger.