Flood & Loot: A Systemic Attack On The Lightning Network
Overview
Paper Summary
This paper describes a "Flood & Loot" attack on Bitcoin's Lightning Network where attackers overload the system to steal funds. The attacker opens channels with victims, floods the network with transactions, and then exploits the delay in transaction confirmation to steal the victims' funds. Several mitigation strategies are proposed, including reducing the maximum number of unresolved transactions and improving reputation-based behavior.
Explain Like I'm Five
The Lightning Network, a system built on top of Bitcoin, has a vulnerability that could allow attackers to steal money by flooding the system with transactions and exploiting the delay in processing them.
Possible Conflicts of Interest
None identified
Identified Limitations
Rating Explanation
This paper presents a novel attack vector against the Lightning Network, which is a significant contribution to the field. The methodology is sound, and the evaluation, although limited to a regnet, demonstrates the feasibility of the attack. The paper also proposes potential mitigation strategies, which is valuable for improving the security of the Lightning Network. However, the reliance on blockchain congestion and assumptions about victim behavior are limitations that need to be considered.
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