On the Security and Performance of Proof-based Consensus Protocols

Author(s)

Rebello, Gabriel Antonio F. ; Camilo, Gustavo F. ; Guimaraes, Lucas C. B. ; de Souza, Lucas Airam C. ; Duarte, Otto Carlos M. B.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: 2020 4TH CONFERENCE ON CLOUD AND INTERNET OF THINGS, CIOT; v. N/A, p. 8-pg., 2020-01-01.

Abstract

Blockchain is a disruptive technology that will revolutionize the Internet and our way of living, working, and trading. Despite the innovation, current blockchain-based public systems such as Bitcoin and Ethereum present significant security and performance limitations and consume excessive energy due to their proof-of-work consensus protocols. This paper presents and compares the main proof-based alternatives to proof-of-work, focusing on the security and performance of each consensus protocol. Proof-based protocols use the probabilistic consensus model and are more suitable for public environments with many participants, such as the Internet of Things (IoT). We highlight the centralization tendency and the main vulnerabilities of proof of work and proof of stake, as well as their countermeasures. We also analyze the IOTA consensus protocol, a DAG-based platform suited for the IoT environment.(1) (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/24485-9 - Future internet for smart cities
• Grantee: Fabio Kon
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/50937-1 - INCT 2014: on the Internet of the Future
• Grantee: Fabio Kon
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/23292-0 - ACCRUE-SFI project: advanced collaborative research infrastructure for secure future internet
• Grantee: Otto Carlos Muniz Bandeira Duarte
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/24514-9 - Stream project: security in real-time with elasticity, analytic, and monitoring
• Grantee: Otto Carlos Muniz Bandeira Duarte
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants