Byzantine Fault

Definition ∞ A Byzantine fault is a failure in a distributed computer system where components may exhibit arbitrary or malicious behavior. This means nodes can send conflicting information to different parts of the system or fail to respond altogether. Systems must be designed to tolerate such faults to maintain overall operation and data consistency.
Context ∞ Discussions of Byzantine faults are critical when evaluating the security and resilience of blockchain networks, particularly those employing Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus mechanisms. News might report on how a network withstands or succumbs to such faults, impacting transaction finality and security. Understanding this concept is key to assessing the robustness of decentralized systems against adversarial actions.