Sui Integrates SCION for Enhanced Security

Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, October 2nd, 2024, Chainwire

Sui has become the first blockchain to offer a secure alternative to the outdated Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). This Layer 1 blockchain, known for its performance and infinite horizontal scaling, will provide validators with robust protection against routing attacks that have plagued other networks. Since its mainnet launch, Sui has maintained 100% uptime and is now implementing the SCION networking technology, currently available on its testnet.

The BGP protocol, created in the late 1980s, prioritized scalable routing over security, leaving modern networks vulnerable to attacks. Malicious actors can reroute traffic, resulting in significant financial losses, as seen in the MyEtherWallet incident where attackers stole over $17 million in Ethereum. Attackers have managed to bypass even state-of-the-art security protocols like DNSSEC and TLS by simply redirecting traffic.

No blockchain has previously provided a comprehensive defense against this type of attack. However, Sui’s integration of SCION—developed by a team of Swiss researchers—aims to close this gap. SCION, a next-generation network architecture, offers a security layer that is crucial for the internet.

George Danezis, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Mysten Labs, emphasized, “SCION is the security layer that the Internet desperately needs: it is built from the ground up with security in mind.”

The SCION technology allows Sui to leverage multiple smaller networks and provides cryptographic protections to prevent unauthorized influence. This integration enhances Sui’s resilience against network hijacking attacks.

Benefits of SCION Integration on Sui

1. Resilient Consensus Participation: Validators can switch networks during attacks, maintaining participation and epoch rewards.
2. Improved State-Sync Availability: Better connections between full nodes for efficient data syncing.
3. Robustness Against IP DDoS Attacks: Prioritization of SCION communication renders DDoS attacks ineffective.

Unlike traditional Internet Protocol (IP), SCION-enabled Sui nodes can choose multiple paths to their destinations, further improving performance and reducing latency between nodes by over 10%.

To enable SCION on a Sui node, users need to connect with a SCION-enabled Internet provider and run a SCION appliance. This innovative infrastructure positions Sui as a prime blockchain for critical applications.

SCION infrastructure has been developed with partners including Anapaya Systems, which created the necessary router software, and Cyberlink and InterCloud, responsible for operating the global SCION network connecting Sui validators. Additionally, Karrier One facilitates SCION network connectivity in Canada and beyond, and the SCION Association, which recently welcomed Mysten Labs as a member, promotes this vital technology.

Contact: Sui Foundation [email protected]
This article was originally published on Chainwire.