Abstract

A Sybil attack is a class of attacks where an attacker may create multiple identities and thus influence the system as if there were multiple attackers. For example, an attacker may create multiple pseudonyms in a peer-to-peer network and manipulate the reputation system to its advantage. Sybil attack is possible in many distributed systems, and potentially a bigger threat in an environment without strong identity management, such as peer-to-peer systems.

This talk will introduce the concept of a Sybil attack, how it is similar and yet different from traditional collusion attacks, and the previous work in countermeasures. The current status of my research and some open research questions will be also presented.