▶What You Will Learn
- Understand blockchain consensus algorithms and security assumptions
- Design secure distributed applications and smart contracts
- Understand how blockchains manage transactions and help to protect wallets and private keys
- Prevent potential security threats that can affect distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) and blockchains
- Use pentesting tools for assessing potential flaws in Dapps and smart contracts
- Assess privacy compliance issues and manage sensitive data with blockchain
▶Key Features
- Explore blockchain concepts such as cryptography, consensus algorithms, and security assumptions
- Architect network security for mission-critical decentralized apps (Dapps) using design security considerations
- Consider various deployment and operational aspects while building a blockchain network
▶Who This Book Is For
This book is for blockchain developers, security professionals, and Ethereum and Hyperledger developers who are looking to implement security in blockchain platforms and ensure secure data management using an example-driven approach. Basic knowledge of blockchain concepts will be beneficial.
▶What this book covers
- Chapter 1, Introducing Blockchain Security and Attack Vectors, illustrates the core concepts
and fundamental elements of blockchain technology, such as distributed ledgers, peer-topeer
network topology, and consensus protocols.
- Chapter 2, Cryptography Essentials, introduces cryptography primitives and their use in
blockchain, looking at the differences between cryptography algorithms and hashing
algorithms and how cryptography primitives fit into blockchain architecture.
- Chapter 3, Blockchain Security Assumptions, focuses on the assumptions made about
blockchain security and potential threats related to centralized and decentralized models.
We will analyze different types of blockchains and distributed ledger technologies, such as
permissioned and permissionless architectures.
- Chapter 4, Trustless Blockchain Networks, looks at trustless blockchain networks, analyzing
how blockchains achieve decentralization by leveraging peer-to-peer networking. We will
also see how blockchains manage transactions and show how to protect wallets and private
keys.
- Chapter 5, Securing Hyperledger Fabric, is where we analyze the security aspects relating to
Hyperledger Fabric, showing how Hyperledger provides protection against the most
common security threats.
- Chapter 6, Decentralized Apps and Smart Contracts, explores decentralized applications and
the core concepts of smart contracts, dealing with central aspects such as developing,
creating, and executing decentralized apps and smart contracts in the Ethereum
environment.
- Chapter 7, Preventing Threats for DApps and Smart Contracts, goes into the security aspects of
decentralized applications and smart contracts, showing security best practices to prevent
potential threats and attacks. We will also learn how to leverage pentesting tools to assess
decentralized applications and potential flaws in smart contracts.
- Chapter 8, Exploiting Blockchain as an Attack Vector, looks into how a blockchain can become
an attack vector for data integrity compromises, identity theft, and malware.
- Chapter 9, Analyzing Privacy and GDPR Compliance Issues, analyzes potential privacy issues
for blockchain technology, particularly in terms of EU privacy law (GDPR) compliance.
