Avalanche blockchain protocol for distributed computing security

Abstract

Platforms for distributed computing are able to solve complex problems such as radio telescope signal analysis or protein design. However, the distributed computing systems are also vulnerable to attacks, especially considering the fact that some distributed projects reward their participants, so cybercriminals have incentive to sabotage the project for their own gain. The article considers question of distributed computing security. We propose to use metastable blockchain protocol to ensure that integrity of data is preserved. We also discuss advantages of metastable blockchain protocol over regular one for the task of mass distributed computing. Prototype distributed data processing program was designed for the task of calculating checksums. The program was tested in a controlled virtual machine environment with different checksum algorithms and different number of computing units.