Eclipse Attacks: How Nodes Are Isolated and Misled
An eclipse attack controls all peer connections of a blockchain node, allowing it to receive only information filtered by the attacker. It may be used to conceal transactions, fabricate a view of the network, and facilitate double-spending; therefore, node connection strategy is an important line of defense.
Attack Principles
Blockchain nodes typically connect to only a small number of peers rather than directly connecting to the entire network. An eclipse attack exploits this limitation by filling the target's connection slots with malicious nodes, isolating the victim from honest participants and causing it to mistakenly believe that it is still normally syncing with the real network.
Methods of Control and Impact
Attackers can deploy nodes from multiple IP addresses and take over the target's inbound and outbound connections through large numbers of connection requests or by waiting for the target to restart. Once successfully surrounded, attackers can delay new blocks, withhold transactions, and even present the victim node with filtered or replaced on-chain information.
Risks and Protection Strategies
An isolated merchant node may confirm a payment that has not been broadcast to the real network, giving the attacker an opportunity to spend the same funds again. Clients can reduce the likelihood of being completely surrounded by increasing the number of connections, selecting peers randomly, and reserving connection slots for trusted nodes.
Original Tutorial
https://www.binance.com/zh-CN/academy/glossary/eclipse-attack
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