What is Sybil Attack?
Let's find out Sybil Attack meaning, definition in crypto, what is Sybil Attack, and all other detailed facts.
Interestingly, the name “Sybil” itself came from a medical case study of a woman that had dissociative identity disorder. Sybil attacks take place by weakening an online network by creating numerous IDs, accounts, and nodes.
Sybil attack is not that difficult because it is similar to creating replica accounts on social media. However, it can also be like managing several nodes on a blockchain system, which is a bit more difficult. The main purpose of both of these methods is to hold power and influence a network.
Creating a large number of identities on peer-to-peer networks might ultimately consolidate power over the network. This is the opposite of an eclipse attack, in which a hacker compromises only one node by controlling its activities.
Sybil attacks, on the other hand, employ a large number of nodes to modify data delivered or collected over a network. Given the particular dependence and interconnection of decentralized systems, this can be extremely successful.
Sybil attacks intend to centralize authority in decentralized networks such as:
- Blockchain technology, which is especially vulnerable to these attacks since operations are frequently automated.
- DAOs, which are typically tiny groups of engineers and developers.
Besides that, a malicious user in a blockchain system might also seek to destabilize the network's power structure by obtaining as many node IDs as possible.