Cutting-Edge Blockchain Security Mechanisms (Coursera)

The course also delves into threats like denial-of-service attacks and race conditions and strategies to address them.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Explore architectural and cryptographic security measures designed to safeguard cryptographic systems and smart contracts.
2. Explain various security vulnerabilities, threats in smart contract development, reentrancy, unchecked return values, and phishing attacks.
3. Identify and mitigate common security threats, such as denial of service attacks, race conditions, and frontrunning, among others.

This course is best suited for individuals interested in blockchain security and cybersecurity, and it is suitable for both coding and non-coding professionals.
This course is part of the Certified Blockchain Security Professional (CBSP) Exam Prep Specialization.

What you'll learn

• Explore architectural and cryptographic security measures designed to safeguard cryptographic systems and smart contracts.
• Explain various security vulnerabilities, threats in smart contract development, reentrancy, unchecked return values, and phishing attacks.
• Identify and mitigate common security threats, such as denial of service attacks, race conditions, and frontrunning, among others.

Syllabus

Advanced strategies for blockchain security
In this module, you will gain insight into the architectural security measures implemented in blockchain technology for secure communication. You will also learn about various cryptographic security measures to enhance the security of blockchain. Further, you will also explore advanced privacy-enhancing features in blockchain along with the concepts of confidential transactions that protect your data. Finally, you will learn about cryptographic techniques, such as homomorphic encryption and threshold cryptography to enable security and privacy.

Smart contract vulnerabilities: Part 1
In this module, you will discover smart contract security by exploring various vulnerabilities and threats that have the potential to compromise the integrity of blockchain-based applications. You will discover the concepts of reentrancy in smart contract security and the risks associated with arithmetic operations. You will also gain insight into the significance of validating return values from external function calls. Furthermore, you will explore phishing attacks that attack tx.origin variable. Finally, you will learn about the role of oracles in the blockchain ecosystem, and the common mistakes committed during the deployment of smart contracts.

Smart contract vulnerabilities: Part 2
In this module, you will learn the importance of implementing robust security mechanisms in blockchain systems to prevent blockchain from potential exploits. You will explore various security implications related to denial-of-service attacks, timestamp dependence, and short addresses, among others. Additionally, you will gain insights into the concepts of race conditions vulnerabilities and front-running attacks that compromise the security of smart contracts. Finally, you will also learn the techniques for preventing the risks associated with race conditions, front-running, and shadowing variables and explore some real-life examples of security attacks and the techniques used by attackers to compromise blockchain systems.

Peer review assignment
This is a peer-review assignment that explores different aspects of blockchain security, covering tools like multi-signatures and techniques like zero-knowledge proofs. From safeguarding against reentrancy to addressing real-world threats like denial-of-service, learners delve into practical challenges. The study encourages proposing solutions, fostering a robust understanding of securing blockchain systems.