Exploring the Infamous 51% Attack: A Comprehensive Analysis of Blockchain Vulnerabilities
Understanding the Working Principle, Exploitation Techniques, Preventions, and Mitigation Strategies | Karthikeyan Nagaraj
3 min readMay 28, 2023
Introduction:
- In the world of blockchain technology, security is of paramount importance.
- However, no system is entirely immune to vulnerabilities. One such well-known vulnerability is the 51% attack, which has garnered significant attention due to its potential to compromise the integrity of blockchain networks.
- This article aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the 51% attack, including its working principle, exploitation techniques, prevention measures, and mitigation strategies.
Working Principle of Blockchain:
- Blockchain is a decentralized ledger that records transactions across multiple computers, known as nodes.
- Consensus algorithms, such as Proof of Work (PoW) or Proof of Stake (PoS), are employed to validate and add new blocks to the blockchain.
- The fundamental principle of blockchain is the distributed nature of the ledger, ensuring that a majority of nodes agree on the…