Volume 10 - Issue 3
The Risks of the Blockchain A Review on Current Vulnerabilities and Attacks
- Lukas Konig
Josef Ressel Center BLOCKCHAINS St. Polten University of Applied Sciences, Lower Austria, St. Polten 3100 Austria
is191836@fhstp.ac.at
- Stefan Unger
Josef Ressel Center BLOCKCHAINS St. Polten University of Applied Sciences, Lower Austria, St. Polten 3100 Austria
is191807@fhstp.ac.at
- Peter Kieseberg
Josef Ressel Center BLOCKCHAINS St. Polten University of Applied Sciences, Lower Austria, St. Polten 3100 Austria
peter.kieseberg@fhstp.ac.at
- Simon Tjoa
Josef Ressel Center BLOCKCHAINS St. Polten University of Applied Sciences, Lower Austria, St. Polten 3100 Austria
simon.tjoa@fhstp.ac.at
Keywords: Blockchain, Vulnerabilities, Risks, Security
Abstract
Although the first hype of blockchains is over, subject matter experts are still convinced, that this
technology has potential to enable more groundbreaking innovations in multiple business domains.
However, to develop the full potential of this emerging technology, it is necessary to consider and address
the associated risks. This survey aims at supporting researchers and practitioners to design, implement
and improve their blockchain security and resilience by providing a concise overview on the
subject. In this article, we describe 24 risks, which we structured into the four domains “Blockchain
Structure Vulnerabilities”, “Attacks on the Consensus Mechanism”, “Application Oriented Attacks”
and “Attacks on the Peer-to-Peer System”. For each entry, we outline a precise description of the
vulnerability or attack, the complexity and its prerequisites.