Security of Block Chain Technology: A Comprehensive Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of block chain security, examining its principles, applications, and potential vulnerabilities. The paper delves into the core concepts of block chain technology, including distributed ledgers, proof-of-work mechanisms, and the role of cryptographic techniq...Read More

SECURITY OF BLOCK CHAIN TECHNOLOGY
A. Author
ITC595 MIT, School of Computing & Mathematics, Charles Sturt University
[e-mail]
ABSTRACT – The block chain security is related with the
security of the crypto currency. The use of block chain is
considered both alluring and the complex in the context of
security and application. However, the block chain security is
used in many domains of the application of technology.
Some of such fields are Internet of Things and cloud
computing. Some of the terms are important in the
application of block chain security such as proof of work,
distributed digital ledger, and changeable public key. These
terms will be discussed by the papers in order to analysis
their importance in maintaining the security. The overall
structure of the block chain security has certain advantages
along with the possible risks. The main objective of the paper
is to understand the effectiveness of the block chain in
security purpose. In order to do this the paper reviews the
different application of the block chain to understand the
certain risks and opportunities regarding this technology.
Block chain is also used in non-monetary systems such as
health care system, decentralized voting system and
distributed system. The paper aims to evaluate the specific
opportunities those will enhance the security of the block
chain. Apart from that it also indentifies the possible threats
associated with the block chain and the recommendations
for the mitigation of those threats.
Keywords— Biometric, block chain, proof of work
INTRODUCTION
The goal of this paper is to review different sources those
demonstrate different application of the block chain in the
security purpose apart from its usage in the block chain. In
order to identify the security in the block chain , it is needed to
understand the working principal of block chain.
Block chain can be regarded as the records of blocks which
are secured and linked together using different cryptography
technique. Each of the blocks contains the cryptographic has
function of the previous block [5]. The block chain is primarily
used for the securing the transaction between two parties. There
are few terms related to the block chain technology.
Distributed ledger: Distributes ledger can be compared as a
database which is distributed across the nodes. Each node of
the system saves the original copy of the ledger. The main
feature of this ledger is that it is not controlled in a centralized
way. Update of the ledger is done independently for each node.
Proof –of-work: Block chain technology uses proof of work
which ensures the security of the digital ledger maintained in
the block chain mechanism [3]. The proof of work is a
mathematical puzzle that makes every transaction of the ledger
unalterable.
Changeable public key: The changeable public key is used to
store the user’s information making the system more secure by
giving extra layer of privacy.
Working principal of the block chain: The fundamental
technologies behind the block chain mechanism are-
 Transaction: Transaction in the block chain is the
action triggered by the participants in the transactions.
 Block: The block chain block collects the data
recordings and other transaction details.
The block chain can be of two types- public and private. The
public block chain gives access to all the users to read and
write in the system or to make modification in the system [7].
On the other hand private block chain limits the access of the
data and system to the specific number of participants and
keep the data of the transaction confidential.
A. Research Problem
The use of block chain is used in the various technologies. It
provides the high level of the security in the system. The
complex structure of the block chain and the decentralized
nature of the block chain structure has raises some security
issues [6]. The paper aims to find the security overviews of the
block chain system which includes elimination of the breaching
of security and double spending problem in the block chain
technology The paper discusses about-
 The working of the block chain technology.
 Possible fields where the block chain can be used as
the security implementation of the system.
 Current issues in the block chain technology.
 Possible ways to eliminate those security issues.
 The proposed model for the block chain that will help
to eliminate those issues.
.
B. Research Justification
The use of block chain technology in the security purpose is
becoming popular so some of its advantages-
 The data is not stored in the block chain system ,
rather the data is distributed among the participants.
 The transactions are not controlled by anyone and
there is no certain rules and regulations regarding the
transaction.
 Only new blocks can be appended. Previous blocks
cannot be altered or distributed.
These are the reasons of using the block chain in crypto
currency along with other non-monetary systems. However,
there are some security risks involved in the block chain
security system. Some of these risks are associate with the
decentralized nature of managing the data in block chain.
Although the advanced technology provides the efficient
service, there is a lack of security in the systems [4]. The block
chain provides the peer to peer mechanism which brings the
revolution in the security of the system.
The research deals with the investigation of the security in
block chain. The purpose of the research is justified as block
chain is currently using in the various system applications.
There is n authority of control, in case of block chain which can
consider as a security flaw . Other than this there are certain
parameters that can be considered to raise the security issues.

LITEERATURE REVIEW
In order to investigate the different security aspects of
the block chain the review of some articles are done. The
conclusion can be drawn from the discussion of the articles.
The block chain can be used to ensure data integrity in
the cloud architecture [17]. The selection of the block chain
as the security back bone of the cloud architecture has
provided significant effectiveness in managing the data and
protecting the security of the structure.However, there are
certain limitations of the block chains. The limitation of the
block chain has discussed in this paper. Some of the issues
regarding block chain is also quality centric [14]. Such
issues are throughput issues, latency issues, size and
bandwidth issues, scalability issues double spending
attacks, cost issues, authentication issues and privacy issues.
Throughput issue: The throughput issues has been
mentioned as one of the limitations or drawbacks of the
block chain technology. The problem can be discussed on
the basis of the use of bit coin. The bit coin processes 3 to 20
transaction per second. The maximum possible theoretical
throughput is 7 transaction per second.
Latency issues: In the block chain implementation, time
factor is the critical issue. The requests are done frequently
and randomly and thus it is become hard to response for
the system [1]. In order to provide the security and safety in
the bit coin block required time is needed to complete one
transaction at a time.
Size and bandwidth issue: in 216, the size of block chain
was over 50,000MB which was permitted to grow 214 PB
each year. The block chain size at present is 1 MB and
every 10 minutes new block is created. This issue created a
problem as the block chain needs to handle more
transaction.
Scalability issues: Scalability is one of the major issues
regarding the block chain technology. The scalability are
the limits which includes latency of the transmission of
data, size of data connected to the block chain, processing
rate of the transaction. Latency of the transmission and
confirmation of the transaction is affected by the number of
security protocols.
Cost issues: The use of block chain technology is not free.
The users and the participants in the transaction has to pay
for the use of block chain technology.
Authentication issues: The another problem if the block
chain is the authentication issue. One of the examples can
be presented in this context where the problem raises form
the lack of authentication on the system- The user’s private
key were attacked and stolen from the Mt.Gox.
Privacy issue: One of the problem regarding the privacy
of the of the block chain system is that it has multiple
address. The user of the block chain technology can create
many number of addresses and can try to cluster all the
addresses which belong to the same user [18]. In this case,
there is a chance that the block chain address can be
mapped into the IP address through analysis of the
transaction of the traffic.
Double spending attack: The double spending attack can
be happened while using the block chain technology
specially in the case of use of bit coin [15]. The attackers
can keep his or her bit coin while receiving the service and
can reuse that bitcoin by reverting the ledger transaction.
However, the founder of the bitcoin Nakamoto claims that
the mechanism of block chain and bitcoin prevents the
double spending attack, but it has not been proven that
decentralized nature of the block chain will not generate
this kind of attack.
Security issues: The security issue about the block chain
ledger is that, it is highly speculative in nature and there is
51% possibility that the block chain ledger can face attack,
In case, if the block chain ledge is under the security threat
or attack, all the transaction information along with the
information about the participants will be disclosed.
Use of block chain in cloud architecture:
Block chain has drawn the attention of the next
generation technology [16]. The main feature of the block
chain is to provide security through peer to peer
architecture and help to share virtual cash and generation
of hash values. Hash values are used for the mining purpose
[2]. The block chain technology can be used in the internet
of things and cloud architecture. The paper discusses about
the implementation of block chain technology in the cloud
computing along with its advantages and disadvantages in
the system. Along with it this paper also provide the
secured structure of the block chain implementation in the
cloud computing.
Use of block chain in Internet of Things (IoT):
The IoT has growing impact on the use of technology.
Conventional security system is incapable to provide the
security in case of IoT , as IoT has decentralized structure.
The new way of implementation of the security system in
IoT is done by using block chain method. The main aim of
this papers to provide structure for the lightweight security
framework based on the block chain technology for the
Internet of Things [8]. The proposed framework will
eliminate the overhead of the block chain technology and
will provide the security of the system in a cost effective
way [19]. The proposed method is experimented on the
smart home technology, which is implemented through IoT
[13]. The proposed system uses different types of block
chain technology as per requirement in the different level of
hierarchy and it uses distributed trust method to maintain
decentralized topology in the system. The threats and
opportunities of using block chain in the IoT is also
described in the article.
Use of block chain in bit coin:
This paper focuses mainly on the concept of the bit coin
and the major security issues regarding the use of bit coin.
The paper discussed about the security problems faced by
the block chain technology which is implemented in the bit
coin. The information of the transaction of the bit coin is
stored in the public log which is known as the block chain.
The distributed protocol of the block chain maintains the
security of the transaction of the bitcoin. The block chain is
run by the miners [10]. Block chain is known as the largest
distributed project in the world. However, the security of
the block chain technology is under the researches. The
current article is mainly focused on the protocols used in
the bit coin which indicates that the currency is not fully
secured against the groups of threats. The paper concludes
that the block chain will provide the better security in the
transaction of the bit coin. However, the security
implications of the block chain in the crypto currency like
bit coin is still at initial stage.
C. Figures and Tables

Figure 1:Peer to Peer Network in Block Chain
(Source: [11])
PROPOSED DESIGN
The proposed design has presented the block chain based
wallet in the cloud computing. In this method , the block chain
is used to remove the information used by the users in the
cloud. This system , the block chain used to add the electronic
wallet when it needed and can remove it after the use of the
wallet. The deletion of the e-wallet can prevent the
information breach of the information of the user. There are
various methods of using block chain protocol, however, the
removal of the e-wallet is apparently new idea of ensuring the
protection of the information.
The design is effective for the implementation of any
system like cloud computing and managing the distributed
system. However, the proposed design may not be helpful in
bit coin implementation as the security system may not be
robust to support the complex working process of bit coin or
crypto currency technology.
CONCLUSION
A block chain is a system that exclude the server’s
centralized authority and ensures the transaction through
though the participants and approves the transaction through
peer to peer network technology [9]. The block chain is a
distributed structure which uses peer network for the
computing resource. The security measure of the block chain
technology is complex and effective. However, there are some
security issues in the implementation of the block chain. In this
article the block chain technology is discussed[12] . There are
various issues that have to be taken into account while
implementing the block chain technology in the crypto
currency and cloud computing. Block chain that raises various
issues such as security in e-wallet, breaches of the information
stored in the block chain [20]. Protecting the information of the
users is the major concern issue in the block chain technology.
This article has provided a method of implementation of the
block chain technology where the security is the main concern.
The implementation of the security has been maintained by the
removing of the e-wallet of the users. The users can use the e-
wallet when it is needed and after the use e-wallet is removed.
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