Blockchain attracts users for its high level of security, especially in the financial industry. But that security depends on the honesty of more than half of the network, which can change with various factors.
Ning Zhang, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Washington University in St. Louis’ McKelvey School of Engineering, plans to develop new defense tactics for blockchain with a four-year $360,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Specifically, Zhang and his lab will investigate how group power in large mining pools, heterogeneous network connectivity and malicious manipulation of peer-to-peer network links can affect the security of the underlying blockchain, as well as the challenge of reliable external data feeds.
