Prosecutor: An efficient BFT consensus algorithm with behavior-aware penalization against Byzantine attacks

Gengrui Zhang, Hans Arno Jacobsen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Current leader-based Byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) protocols aim to improve the efficiency for achieving consensus while tolerating failures; however, Byzantine servers are able to repeatedly impair BFT systems as faulty servers launch attacks without costs. In this paper, leveraging Proof-of-Work and Raft, we propose a new BFT consensus protocol called Prosecutor that dynamically penalizes suspected faulty behavior and suppresses Byzantine servers over time. Prosecutor obstructs Byzantine servers from being elected in leader election by imposing hash computation on new election campaigns. Furthermore, Prosecutor applies message authentication to achieve secure log replication and maintains a similar message-passing scheme as Raft. The evaluation results show that the penalization mechanism progressively suppresses and marginalizes Byzantine servers if they repeatedly launch malicious attacks.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationMiddleware 2021 - Proceedings of the 22nd International Middleware Conference
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages52-63
Number of pages12
ISBN (Electronic)9781450385343
DOIs
StatePublished - 22 Nov 2021
Externally publishedYes
Event22nd International Middleware Conference, Middleware 2021 - Virtual, Online, Canada
Duration: 6 Dec 202110 Dec 2021

Publication series

NameMiddleware 2021 - Proceedings of the 22nd International Middleware Conference

Conference

Conference22nd International Middleware Conference, Middleware 2021
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityVirtual, Online
Period6/12/2110/12/21

Keywords

  • Byzantine fault tolerance
  • blockchains
  • consensus protocols

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Prosecutor: An efficient BFT consensus algorithm with behavior-aware penalization against Byzantine attacks'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this