Book Image

Advanced Blockchain Development

By : Imran Bashir, Narayan Prusty
Book Image

Advanced Blockchain Development

By: Imran Bashir, Narayan Prusty

Overview of this book

Blockchain technology is a distributed ledger with applications in industries such as finance, government, and media. This Learning Path is your guide to building blockchain networks using Ethereum, JavaScript, and Solidity. You will get started by understanding the technical foundations of blockchain technology, including distributed systems, cryptography and how this digital ledger keeps data secure. Further into the chapters, you’ll gain insights into developing applications using Ethereum and Hyperledger. As you build on your knowledge of Ether security, mining, smart contracts, and Solidity, you’ll learn how to create robust and secure applications that run exactly as programmed without being affected by fraud, censorship, or third-party interference. Toward the concluding chapters, you’ll explore how blockchain solutions can be implemented in applications such as IoT apps, in addition to its use in currencies. This Learning Path also highlights how you can increase blockchain scalability, and discusses the future scope of this fascinating and powerful technology. By the end of this Learning Path, you'll be equipped with the skills you need to tackle pain points encountered in the blockchain life cycle and confidently design and deploy decentralized applications.
Table of Contents (25 chapters)
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
About Packt
Contributors
Preface
15
Blockchain - Outside of Currencies
16
Scalability and Other Challenges
Index

Weaknesses


Every system has some weaknesses. Similarly, Ethereum also has some weaknesses. Obviously, just like any other application, Ethereum source code can have bugs. And also just like any other network-based application, Ethereum is also exposed to DoS attacks. But let's see the unique and most important weaknesses of Ethereum.

Sybil attack

An attacker can attempt to fill the network with regular nodes controlled by him; you would then be very likely to connect only to the attacker nodes. Once you have connected to the attacker nodes, the attacker can refuse to relay blocks and transactions from everyone, thereby disconnecting you from the network. The attacker can relay only blocks that he creates, thereby putting you on a separate network, and so on.

51% attack

If the attacker controls more than half of the network hashrate, the attacker can generate blocks faster than the rest of the network. The attacker can simply preserve his private fork until it becomes longer than the branch built...