Cyber-Resilient Protocols for Blockchain Nodes in Decentralized Webs

Abstract

Blockchain technology has rapidly evolved into a foundational element of decentralized systems, enabling peer‑to‑peer transactions, smart contracts, and novel economic models without centralized intermediaries. Yet, as these networks proliferate, so do sophisticated cyber threats targeting the very nodes that maintain consensus and data integrity. This manuscript presents a comprehensive, multi‑layered framework of cyber‑resilient protocols specifically designed to safeguard blockchain nodes within decentralized webs against Eclipse, Sybil, and Distributed Denial‑of‑Service (DDoS) attacks. Central to our approach is an Adaptive Consensus Controller (ACC) that dynamically tunes consensus parameters based on real‑time network health metrics; a Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) that employs anomaly detection on peer‑to‑peer traffic; and a Peer‑Behavior Validator (PBV) leveraging lightweight zero‑knowledge proofs to cryptographically assess node compliance without compromising privacy. We implement this framework as extensions to a Hyperledger Fabric v2.2 prototype and evaluate its resilience across a 50‑node test network under controlled attack scenarios. Experimental results demonstrate a 45 % reduction in successful isolation (Eclipse) attacks, a 62.5 % decrease in consensus skew under Sybil conditions, sustained transaction throughput at 70 %–85 % of baseline during DDoS flooding, and overall node uptime improvements from 75 % to over 92 %.