GlossaryAdvanced
Sybil Attack
Creating many fake identities to gain disproportionate influence over a network.
A Sybil attack involves creating a large number of fake or pseudonymous identities to gain disproportionate influence over a network's decision-making, voting, or resource allocation.
Consensus mechanisms like proof of work and proof of stake are specifically designed to make Sybil attacks costly, by tying influence to a genuinely scarce resource (computational power or staked capital) rather than the number of identities alone.
Examples
- An airdrop program might implement anti-Sybil measures to prevent one person claiming many times via fake accounts.
- Proof of work and proof of stake both make Sybil attacks economically costly, not merely difficult to attempt.