CD-TMS: a combinatorial design-based token management system to enhance security and performance in blockchain

• Published in: Cluster computing Vol. 27; no. 4; pp. 4515 - 4536
• Main Authors: Hadian, Mohammad, Erfani, Seyed Hossein, Deypir, Mahmood, Mirabi, Meghdad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-07-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Access control; Accessibility; Algorithms; Blockchain; Combinatorial analysis; Communication; Communications systems; Computer architecture; Computer Communication Networks; Computer Science; Consortia; Cybersecurity; Denial of service attacks; Digital currencies; Efficiency; Operating Systems; Performance evaluation; Privacy; Processor Architectures; Reliability; Combinatorial design; DDoS prevention; Clustered access control; Leader selection; Blockchain
• ISSN: 1386-7857; 1573-7543
• DOI: 10.1007/s10586-023-04184-7

Blockchain networks are consistently challenged with security and accessibility issues, and technological developments call for the need for their security and integrity more than ever. Security vulnerabilities such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and Eclipse attacks influence public and private blockchains imposing significant losses to the network. Considering the key distribution and management service as a major part of the blockchain architecture, the present study proposes a combinatorial design-based token management system (CD-TMS) while offering optimum accessibility for the blockchain network. Our combinatorial design-based, clustered tokenization system enables the blockchain to prevent DDoS attacks. We also offer a leader selection mechanism relying on a probabilistic tokenization system that reduces communication overhead compared to voting-based systems. In this regard, CD-TMS integrates Balanced incomplete block designs and transversal designs (TD), as well as Eschenauer and Gligor (EG) designs, to distribute tokens on a public blockchain framework (i.e., Bitcoin), though it focuses mainly on DDoS and Eclipse attacks. The performance function, evaluated in terms of security, resiliency, communication overhead, connectivity, reliability, availability, and scalability, has shown the proposed architecture's superiority over conventional methods.