- type of attacks in which a single adversary controls multiple fake identities in a network
- this term is commonly used in the context of
- peer-to-peer networks
- social networks
- and distributed systems
- key points
- multiple identities
- the attacker creates and uses multiple fake identities
- to gain a disproportionate influence over the network.
- manipulation
- these fake identities can be used to manipulate network operations
- such as voting in consensus protocols
- disrupting routing, or spreading misinformation
- target networks
- particularly problematic in decentralized systems
- where trust and identity verification are challenging
- such as in blockchain networks, peer-to-peer file sharing, and social media platforms
- detection and prevention:
- mitigating sybil attacks often involves methods such as
- identity verification
- reputation systems
- proof of work
- and network topology analysis
- to identify and limit the influence of sybil nodes
- example scenario
- in a peer-to-peer network
- an attacker could create multiple fake nodes
- to outvote honest nodes in a decision-making process
- thereby controlling the outcome
- and potentially disrupting the network’s functionality
- pose significant challenges to maintaining security and trust in distributed systems
- requiring robust strategies to detect and prevent malicious activities