Identifying Sybil Attacks in Blockchain Networks through Behavioral Analysis and Zero Knowledge Proof implementations
Rahul Reddy, Pushpinder Singh Pateja, Adarsh M. Patel, Gopinath Palaniappan, Balaji Rajendran · 2024
Blockchain technology is significant because it makes data sharing between several parties safe, transparent, and effective. Multi-step transactions that require verification and traceability can benefit from Blockchain technology. However, the Blockchain technology too comes with its own vulnerabilities and often Blockchain networks are attacked by attacks like 51% Attack, Eclipse Attack, Sybil Attack, Time jacking Attack, Selfish Mining Attack, Finney Attack, Race Attack and so on. One among those attacks is the Sybil attacks, which are a big threat to the integrity of Blockchain networks since they assist malicious actors to create several identities, potentially overwhelming the system and defeating the very principle of consensus mechanisms. In this paper, we have captured an approach on designing a multi-layered mechanism for identifying Sybil attacks with the integration of behavioral analysis, Blockchain analysis techniques, Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs), and a robust security architecture for governance and validator selection. The broad idea is to cancel pseudo-anonymity in the Blockchain systems by detecting behavioral patterns, identifying exchange wallets, and mapping inter-wallet relationships. Integration of these approaches with ZKPs assists in improving identity verification while simultaneously maintaining user anonymity. The proposed architecture for security uses community-based governance and adaptive validator selection processes to strengthen the defense against Sybil attacks. Token concentration analysis traces down the distribution of stakes within the network in order to find potential risks due to centralization. Our findings thus conclude that integration of the security framework along with behavior analysis and ZKPs effectively reduces the proliferation of fraudulent identities in the Blockchain networks.