A long range attack is a sophisticated form of attack against Proof-of-Stake blockchains where an attacker attempts to rewrite a significant portion of the chain’s history from an early point. This is achieved by compromising old private keys of validators who are no longer active on the chain. The attacker then uses these keys to forge an alternative, longer chain that originates from a point far back in time. Such an attack exploits the fact that old stakes are no longer economically active, making it potentially cheaper to acquire historical validator keys.
Context
Long range attacks are a theoretical but serious security concern for Proof-of-Stake blockchains, frequently highlighted in academic research and protocol design discussions. News articles might mention these attacks when discussing the security models of various PoS protocols and the mechanisms designed to mitigate them, such as checkpointing or withdrawal delays. The ongoing challenge for PoS systems is to devise methods that prevent such historical rewrites without sacrificing decentralization or introducing excessive complexity.
A new protocol anchors Proof-of-Stake history to Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work, providing an external trust source to cryptoeconomically secure PoS against long-range attacks.
We use cookies to personalize content and marketing, and to analyze our traffic. This helps us maintain the quality of our free resources. manage your preferences below.
Detailed Cookie Preferences
This helps support our free resources through personalized marketing efforts and promotions.
Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website, improving user experience and website performance.
Personalization cookies enable us to customize the content and features of our site based on your interactions, offering a more tailored experience.
