MIT researchers develop solution to prevent 51% attacks

Monitoring mining pools and hash-rate rental marketplaces could warn of potential attacks on blockchains. The solution was developed by researchers at MIT’s Digital Currency Lab, according to The Block.

The 51% attack remains the most well-known—a vulnerability of blockchains operating on the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm. In this scenario, a malicious actor seizes control over transaction validation and block production.

Owning 51% or more of the network’s hashing power enables a malicious miner to conduct double-spend attacks, collect block rewards and transaction fees, steal coins from a shorter chain, and even delete contracts or transaction histories.

What is a 51% attack?

The proxy server connects to 32 separate pools and collects data on their operation. In the course of the analysis, the researchers identify “unexpected behavior or anomalies.” For example, they determine whether the block added to the chain differs from what is expected.

According to the developers, Pool Detective allows attacks to be identified before they occur. The solution is applicable to hash-rate rental marketplaces, which let market participants not to purchase mining equipment. MIT says that cheap power could be used by adversaries to attack PoW blockchains.

The researchers plan to expand monitoring of mining pools, tracking not just blocks but messages in peer-to-peer networks. Their contents will help better understand what work miners will receive relative to the expected result.

The team also plans a version of Pool Detective that individual miners can run for their own protection.

Earlier in March, MIT researchers, using examples of double-spend attacks on the Bitcoin Gold network, showed that they could do more than merely resist. In February 2020, counter-attacks and restoration of the original chain were recorded.

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