The team here at MEDIA Protocol are deeply committed to creating a more direct, transparent and secure ecosystem for content creators, publishers, and consumers through the revolutionary application of blockchain technology. We’re here to connect the worlds of marketing and technology for everyone’s benefit.

We’ve got love for both worlds, but from our own experience we know that they can sometimes feel, literally, worlds apart. So we’re committed, not just to connecting them, but to creating a common understanding between them.

This series of articles aims to explain the ins and outs of blockchain security to help everyone — the marketeers, the technologists, and the content consumers — understand the principles behind this game-changing technology.

We want to help educate by demystifying the potential applications of blockchain technology. Most importantly, we feel it’s vital to highlight and clarify the security elements of blockchain; how it safeguards data, enables open and transparent record-keeping and ensures secure digital transactions.

Strap in, and welcome to the MEDIA Protocol Blockchain Education Programme.

Part 6 — What Sybil Attacks Are And Possible Mitigations

All networks will be subject to attack from bad actors at some point in their existence. Blockchain, however, has a number of security measures and protections built into its very design that insulate users from the worst of these.

What Is A Sybil Attack?

Named after the titular main character of the definitive book on dissociative identity disorder, this attack is made by creating fake accounts, or profiles for users who simply don’t exist. This allows one person to create multiple accounts to access rewards or other benefits supposed to be available on a single-use basis.

On blockchain this means the user may try to flood the network with nodes they control.

Doing so allows a number of different assaults to be launched, including disconnecting other users by refusing to transmit or receive blocks from them, or double-spending using the same blocks of currency.

How Would This Affect MEDIA Protocol?

Due to the rewards-based system that MEDIA Protocol operates, the use of Sybil attacks could have two major effects on how the exchange of information and tokens operates.

The sheer number of fake accounts would mean that one user is claiming multiple rewards (perhaps even all of the available rewards), for certain offers or transactions. If successful, this could diminish the incentive for regular users of the content reward system. With multiple false identities, the user is likely to be using some kind of bot to control it all. This means the bots can compete much quicker for every new reward, crowding legitimate users out altogether.

Both of these tactics mean that the interactions with tokens and content does not reflect an accurate usage by actual customers.

How Does MEDIA Protocol Fight This?

There are two main defences to these types of attacks:

Validation techniques:

Signed digital identities, meaning the users either have to verify their identity, or that users who choose to stay anonymous are excluded because they don’t identify themselves.

Signed digital identities, meaning the users either have to verify their identity, or that users who choose to stay anonymous are excluded because they don’t identify themselves. Proof-of-work systems:

These are based on hash cryptography, built from the combination of private and public keys. This is a crucial component of blockchain technology, which MEDIA Protocol is built on.

Are We Safe From Sybil Attacks On MEDIA Protocol?

Yes, thanks to the underlying blockchain that powers the system.

This gives protection such as only allowing a limited number of accounts to be created in a set time from one particular IP address. The facility to create verifiable, digitally-signed identities using hash cryptographic methods, is another level of defence.

It’s also possible to verify the nodes themselves, though this can require a lot of network resources to do so.

Additionally, there can be limits placed on the creation of new blocks, meaning the user with multiple accounts can only create according to their computing power, which cannot be faked like the Sybil identities could be.

For further explanation of these security methods, please check out our previous posts on blockchain security, here:

Part 1 — Blockchain: Is It Secure?

Part 2 — How Does Blockchain Apply To Cyber Security?

Part 3 — How Does Blockchain Create Transparency?

Part 4 — How Blockchain Ensures That No-One Can Impersonate The Owner Of An Address

Part 5 — Different Ways Of Handling Real-world Identity On The Blockchain

Part 6 — What Sybil Attacks Are And Possible Mitigations (This article above)

Part 7 — Coming Soon

For more information regarding MEDIA Protocol find us on our social channels below:

Website: www.mediaprotocol.org

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/media-protocol/

Telegram: https://t.me/Media_Protocol_Community and https://t.me/MP_Announcements

Medium: https://medium.com/@mediaprotocolsm

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