When cryptocurrency meets networksecurity: layers, attacks, and the defenses

🛡️ When Cryptocurrency Meets Network Security: The Layers, the Attacks, and the Defenses
🗓️ Date & Time: 10:30 - 11:55
📍 Location: 1537, Germund Dahlquist @ KTH.
💻 Also on Zoom: https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/66490806343

Abstract:
Cryptocurrencies, built on blockchain technology, have attracted significant attention in recent years, both in research and practice. They’ve also become prime attack targets, especially at the network layer, which fundamentally enables consensus and application innovations at higher layers. This talk explores the security of blockchain networks from both offensive and defensive perspectives. We’ll look at two stealthy attacks, namely Erebus attacks, which partition peer-to-peer networks, and Erosion attacks, which disrupt proof-of-work mining pools. We’ll then discuss why defending against such threats is challenging, largely due to the insecure nature of the Internet. Finally, we’ll briefly discuss security issues beyond the network layer, including consensus and applications.

About the Speaker:
Muoi Tran is an assistant professor at Chalmers University of Technology, working at the intersection of networking and cybersecurity with a strong interest in distributed systems like blockchains or distributed AI. Muoi received his PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2022 and spent 2.5 years working at ETH Zurich as a postdoc. He was a 2019 Microsoft Research Asia fellow, a 2022 Dean’s Research Excellence awardee at NUS, and a 2024 ACM CCS Top reviewer.

We hope to see you there!