Security Analysis for Applying the Proof-of-Stake Consensus Algorithm to IoET Network in Antarctica

Abstract

In Antarctica, many studies in various fields are conducted every year. Some of these studies use sensors to collect relevant data for scientific research. However, Antarctica's lack of communication resources makes it difficult to automate this data collection. In most cases, this collection is done manually and the time and space of the study are limited. Over the past few years, several alternatives for deploying remote wireless sensor networks in Antarctica have been explored. Therefore, in this paper, the analysis of the delay-tolerant network was performed based on the partial Δ-synchronized proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain model. 82% (=1-1/(2e)) of active honest nodes must satisfy the quorum to ensure the security of the proof-of-stake blockchain. If the adversary has less than 18% of the total stake and sets the overall growth rate low, the longest chain protocol is secure. However, as Nakamoto argues in proof-of-stake blockchain protocols, an adversary cannot secure the longest-chain protocol at less than 50% of total stake. In this study, we analyzed how this network delay and balance attack could affect the proof-of-stake consensus protocol in order to find a way for an adversary to secure the longest-chain protocol at less than 50% of the total stake.