Hindawi

Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

Volume 2022, Article ID 7384000, 11 pages
https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/7384000

Review Article
Cybersecurity Challenges in Blockchain Technology: A
Scoping Review

Samreen Mahmood , Mehmood Chadhar , and Selena Firmin

School of Engineering, Information Technology and Physical Sciences, Federation University, Australia

Correspondence should be addressed to Samreen Mahmood; [email protected]

Received 4 January 2022; Revised 14 February 2022; Accepted 12 March 2022; Published 5 April 2022

Academic Editor: Brandon T. McDaniel

Copyright © 2022 Samreen Mahmood et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.

Blockchain technology (BCT) is an emerging technology. Cybersecurity challenges in BCT are being explored to add greater value
to business processes and reshape business operations. This scoping review paper was aimed at exploring the current literature’s
scope and categorizing various types of cybersecurity challenges in BCT. Databases such as Elsevier, ResearchGate, IEEE,
ScienceDirect, and ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest) were searched using a combination of terms, and after rigorous
screening, 51 research studies were found relevant. Data coding was performed following a framework proposed for scoping
review. After careful analysis, thirty different types of cybersecurity challenges in BCT were categorized into six standardized
classes. Our results show that most of the studies disclose cybersecurity challenges in BCT generally without pointing to any
specific industry sector, and to a very little extent, few papers reveal cybersecurity challenges in BCT related to specific industry
sectors. Also, prior studies barely investigated the strategies to minimize cybersecurity challenges in BCT. Based on gap
identification, future research avenues were proposed for scholars.

1. Introduction ing, and trading through private keys provided on the block-
chain [9]. Also, research depicts that blockchain is playing
With the advancement of technology, cybersecurity has an essential role in achieving decentralized information
gained immense importance in research. Cybersecurity technology [10]. BCT is considered one of the most signifi-
issues are growing exponentially across different sectors cant and emerging technology in the recent computing par-
operating in the business world [1]. Big companies are adigm ([11][12]). Similarly, another study highlights that
focusing more on when there will be a cyberattack rather BCT is a new and emerging technology that provides addi-
than if there will be an attack [2]. Companies are urging gov- tional security to information system applications. At the
ernments to combat cybersecurity attacks [3] as these cyber- same time, BCT is facing an increasing number of cyberat-
security issues are causing extreme financial losses [4]. A tack challenges [2]. Blockchain technology is one of the most
study disclosed that cyberattacks had a severe impact on popular technologies allowing transactions to be more trans-
companies [5], and 61% of small and medium enterprises parent than traditional centralized systems. This technology
have suffered cyberattacks [6]. Similarly, another study can help organizations manage and distribute digital data by
revealed that cybersecurity risks, like data breaches and dis- using mutually distributed ledgers. Literature shows that
closure of confidential data, are on the rise due to the blockchain technology has four key components. These
increased use of cloud technologies and online applica- components include nonlocalization (decentralization),
tions [7]. security, auditability [13], and smart execution [14]. This
One of the critical emerging technologies in recent years technology initially focuses on sharing and executing digital
is blockchain technology (BCT) [8]. BCT is a distributed events among given blockchain.
database where all assets (tangible or intangible) are digitally Furthermore, there are many advantages of using BCT.
encoded. This digital encoding helps easy registering, track- However, it still has many associated risks [2]. One of the
2 Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

major advantages of using BCT is a decentralized system. A et al. [21]. This framework is adopted to ensure the study
decentralized system works without involving any third party follows high precision, consistency, and reliability [22].
or core administrator [15]. Also, any data entered in the BCT There are different phases to be followed in a scoping review.
system cannot be altered or deleted which helps in ensuring However, conducting a scoping review is completely differ-
transparency and immutability [15]. Furthermore, BCT sys- ent from traditional systematic literature reviews. The sys-
tem processing is much faster as compared to traditional sys- tematic literature review focuses on previous empirical
tems. BCT system reduces processing time from 3 days to study findings on an already mature topic to answer ques-
approximately several minutes or even seconds [16]. tions like what is best for this research area, whereas, in a
However, despite these advantages, BCT has many asso- scoping review, the researcher focuses on an emerging topic
ciated risks and disadvantages. BCT systems consume high to report the initial literature size, identify gaps, and propose
energy as a substantial amount of computer power is research agendas accordingly for future implications [23]. As
required to keep a real-time ledger and ensure transparency. literature states that BCT is an emerging topic [2, 11], a
Also, BCT systems have a significant amount of initial capi- scoping review has been chosen for studying this topic rather
tal costs [16]. Most importantly, the BCT system has a high than a systematic review methodology. The five-phase scop-
risk of external cybersecurity threats including 51% attacks, ing review methodology which will be followed for this study
double-spending attacks, and Sybil’s attacks [15]. A recent is shown in Figure 1.
study claims that BCT is prone to multiple cybersecurity
attacks [17]. Cyberattack is a critical challenge in all business 2.1. Developing a Review Protocol. An extensive review pro-
sectors and is increasing day by day [3]. In other words, tocol is developed in the first phase and followed throughout
without a good understanding of these multiple cybersecu- the scoping review stages. In scoping review, protocol serves
rity challenges in BCT, companies cannot adopt BCT suc- more like a guiding tool than a rigid process and can be
cessfully. A study reported many different cyberattacks, modified according to the study fit. This phase involves
resulting in system breakdowns like data losses, password identifying the research question, search criteria, overall
hacks, and information stealing through emails [2, 3]. Sev- scope of the study, inclusion and exclusion criteria, concep-
eral cyberattacks have been reported when adopting BCT tual framework, data extraction, defining each team mem-
([4]; Martin Fleischmann, Bjoern S Ivens, & Bhaskar Krish- ber’s roles and responsibilities, data analysis methods, and
namachari, 2020; Martin Fleischmann, Bjoern S. Ivens, & work plans. The research question includes the following:
Bhaskar Krishnamachari, 2020; [17, 19, 67]). (1) What cybersecurity issues in BCT have been investigated
Although BCT adoption is increasing due to its unique fea- in the current literature? (2) What significant gaps are iden-
tures, most of the existing literature still reveals concerns about tified in this current literature? and (3) What are the exam-
cybersecurity in adopting this system [1, 4, 17]. Also, BCT is still ples of future implications for cybersecurity challenges in
considered a new and emerging area of research in literature. In BCT?
this regard, we suggest that many questions regarding cyberse- The scope of the paper is threefold: (1) to provide an up-
curity challenges and their classification in BCT must be to-date literature review of the existing research, contribut-
addressed so that research scholars and practitioners under- ing to the development of a standard body of knowledge,
stand not only cybersecurity challenges in BCT in general but (2) to report the research gaps identified from the findings
also specifically prioritize the major types of cybersecurity chal- based on previous literature, and (3) to reveal future research
lenges that can be proven too fatal for the BCT system. avenues for research scholars. Furthermore, from a practi-
Also, as the cybersecurity challenges literature in BCT is tioner viewpoint, the paper is of significant value for compa-
rapidly increasing, we found it the right time to grab this nies, especially for companies planning to adopt BCT, also
novel research opportunity to conduct a scoping review on for information systems practitioners seeking to implement
this topic, identify research gaps through analysis of current BCT in their business operations.
research literature, and suggest future implications. More
precisely, this scoping review focuses on providing a deeper 2.2. Searching the Literature. Major databases were searched
understanding of current literature and the gaps regarding and reviewed for this study to reveal complete literature
key cybersecurity challenges reported in BCT literature and work. The databases included Elsevier, ResearchGate, IEEE,
then suggesting future opportunities for research scholars ScienceDirect, and ABI/INFORM Collection (ProQuest).
working in this area. Citations and publications from these databases were sorted
This paper is structured as follows: The next section dis- from the years 2017-2022 to identify the most recent litera-
cusses the scoping review methodology used for this ture for inclusion. Final keywords were selected for the
research study to ensure rigor and reliability. The following review after each team member carried out a pilot test using
section discloses our analysis and findings based on the these databases independently. The frequently used key-
review. The last section of the paper discusses results and words after multiple discussions and test rounds among
identifies gaps and future implications. team members include “Cybersecurity”, “Cyber-security”,
“Cyber security”, “Blockchain technology”, and “Chal-
2. Methodology lenges”. There was no time restriction for searching key-
words to ensure more literature coverage and selecting
In the scoping review methodology, we followed the frame- accurate keywords. After searching the keywords mentioned
work provided by Arksey and O’Malley [20] and Levac above using Boolean operators, 31 papers were acquired
Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies 3

Developing a
review Searching Screening Charting the
the literature papers data Data analysis
protocol

Figure 1: Phases for scoping review methodology [20, 21].

from Elsevier, 48 from ResearchGate, 40 from IEEE, 59 from of 30 cybersecurity challenges were identified from all
ScienceDirect, and 27 from ABI/INFORM Collection (Pro- selected papers. Our main goal is to report all BCT cyberse-
Quest). Boolean operators AND and OR were used as shown curity challenges based on the selected papers’ current liter-
in Figure 2. A total of 202 papers were initially considered. ature. All team members worked together on all selected
papers coding and thematic analysis to ensure similar under-
2.3. Screening Papers. After initially identifying papers for standing and avoid bias and error in the scoping review pro-
the review, all team members schedule a meeting and cess. We adopted a framework at this stage for this review
applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria on six out of [24]. In this framework, the data is structured by dividing
205 papers for training purposes. The six papers were cho- it into themes and significant categories. We used this
sen randomly. This step was done to ensure that all team framework and adopted the main heading proposed by Sal-
members have a common understanding of the inclusion vato and Corbetta [24] named as follows: (1) 1st-order data:
and exclusion criteria, and no significant paper has been this includes the descriptive summarised explanation of each
removed from the review. To continue for further analysis of the cybersecurity challenges in BCT reported in the
in this phase, each team member ensured that the paper selected papers from the core information sheet developed
should answer one of the above-stated research questions by team members, (2) 2nd-order themes: this includes the
in phase one. For inclusion and exclusion from the research cybersecurity challenges themes in BCT identified from
studies revealed after searching the above keywords, we 1st-order data, and (3) aggregated 2nd-order data dimen-
followed the recommendation provided in the literature sions: this includes the standardized classification of all 30
[21] as selecting studies after refining is critical for the scop- cybersecurity challenges themes identified in the 2nd-order
ing review study. All 205 research papers were screened by data as shown in Figures 4 and 5. A separate third informa-
two team members independently. After filtering papers, tion sheet was developed for this framework to avoid any
both members compared and confirmed the results. Then, errors in classifying cybersecurity challenges in BCT. How-
the third member reviewed these papers and made the final ever, all papers were coded independently by each team
decision. This cross-checking of documents helps in ensur- member, and all disagreements were discussed and reviewed
ing validity for the review process. During this screening of to make a final decision regarding theme development and
papers, the whole team met, discussed, and refined the standardized classification.
search criteria multiple times. At the above point, after some
screening of the studies by each of the authors indepen-
dently and working in teams, an in-depth analysis of pri- 2.5. Data Analysis. All team members shared and worked
mary studies was carried out after exploring the literature together to develop the coding sheets and perform the the-
review’s relevance; conclusive studies are selected for the matic analysis. Like other scoping review papers, descriptive
research study. This cross-checking of papers among team standardized classification of similar cybersecurity chal-
members helps in adding more reliability to this phase. Dur- lenges was conducted under one central theme to depict
ing the paper screening, we found duplicate research papers. the nature and scope of the current review. After conducting
Then, after thorough research and considering limitations, a rigorous scoping review by following recommendations
including the availability of papers in the English language, given by [23], our significant findings are given in the fol-
same studies, and topic-based exclusion, research studies lowing section of the paper.
were screened as illustrated in Figure 3. Finally, at this step,
the investigation continued with a total of 51 papers.
3. Findings and Results
2.4. Charting the Data. A coding sheet was created to extract
relevant data from all selected papers in this phase. The cod- 3.1. Publication Year. Papers included for the scoping review
ing sheet was created in excel with columns consisting of were published between 2017 and 2022 to inform the trends
information about each selected paper. The first simple from the most recent literature. Also, BCT is new, and cyber-
information sheet includes the name of publication, year of security issues in BCT gained fame recently after organiza-
publication, the paper’s title, author name, and type of tion’s interest was found in the adoption and
paper. Another core information sheet was developed con- implementation of BCT. To report exact percentage, 6% of
sisting of research questions, names, and summarised expla- papers were published in 2017, 10% of papers were pub-
nations of each of the cybersecurity challenges reported, and lished in 2018, 27% of papers were published in 2019, 22%
ideas for future implications were collected. Then, similar of papers were published in 2020, and 24% and 12% of
cybersecurity challenges reported in all 51 selected research papers were published in 2021 and 2022, respectively. A pic-
papers were highlighted with one specific color to make it torial representation of primary studies found from each
easier for team members to code and develop themes. A total year is shown in Figure 6.
4 Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

Blockchain AND Challenges

(a)

AND Cyber-security
Blockchain Cybersecurity OR Cyber security OR

(b)

Figure 2: Boolean operators. (a) Both keywords should be present. (b) Any of the first and second keyword or third keyword or fourth
keyword should be present.

ABI/INFORM Collection
Elsevier (ProQuest)N=27 IEEE
N=31 N=40

ScienceDirect ResearchGate
N=59 N=48
Initial Research Papers
N=205

Other than English Duplicate

Language N=1 Studies N= 27

Abstract Based Topic Based

Exclusions N=31 Exclusions N=95
Final Selected Papers
N=51

Figure 3: Paper selection process flowchart.

3.2. Publication Type. The publication type of selected ernment, supply chain, and energy sectors. In other words,
research papers for this review depicts that 84% of the paper specialized studies highlighting cybersecurity challenges in
sample are included from peer-reviewed journals, whereas BCT focusing on specific industry types are lacking in the
16% of paper samples are from conference proceedings as literature.
shown in Figure 7. Based on publication year and publica-
tion type, it can be said here that there is a gradual increase 3.4. Cybersecurity Challenges in BCT. A thematic analysis
in journal papers publications regarding this topic after the using a framework adapted from Salvato and Cobetta [24]
year 2017. Hence, it can be predicted that the topic is of was done. Summarised explanations of each of the cyberse-
interest to practitioners and has potentials for future curity challenges were written as 1st-order data, and then,
researchers to work in this emerging research area. themes for each of these descriptions for cybersecurity chal-
lenges in BCT were developed as 2nd-order themes. This
3.3. Nature of Industry Types. Figure 8 depicts the nature of was done after careful considerations and repeated indepen-
the type of industry in which cybersecurity security chal- dent analysis by each group member, as discussed in Meth-
lenges in BCT have been explored. It shows that 57% of odology, to ensure the rigor and validity of the review. The
the sample studies have explored cybersecurity challenges final results reveal a total of six standardized cybersecurity
in BCT generally without specifying the nature of industry attacks, which are reported as the most common and fatal
type, whereas 24% of the studies have focused on healthcare while implementing and adopting BCT depicted named as
and smart cities. 6% of the studies have chosen to study aggregated 2nd-order dimensions. Figures 4 and 5 show
energy sector, and 8% of the studies have chosen supply the detailed description of the thematic analysis of
chain and energy sectors. Others include oil and gas, cybersecurity challenges in BCT. Table 1 represents an over-
accounting and finance, and the agriculture sector. Based view of these thematic findings, relating the literature refer-
on the above facts and figures, it can be predicted here that ences within each cyberattack category. The left column
there is a need for research on cybersecurity challenges in represents the six standardized classes of cyberattacks in
BCT in oil and gas, accounting and finance, agriculture, gov- BCT. The middle column shows all themes developed using
Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies 5

1storder data 2ndorder themes Aggregated 2 ndorder

dimensions

Hacker has control of more than 50% Controlling network's

network mining has rate mining hash rate
51%
The attacker changes 51 per cent of attacks
Goldfinger
ledgers in blockchain concurrently

blockchain system by the hackers

Stealing extra sensitive information Hacking user

by breaching wallet security passwords

User credentials are stolen through

Phishing
fake emails and apps

Hacker steals private unique keys and Wallet

Private key security security
use it to carry out illegal transactions
attacks attacks
in the system

Information stealing,
Attacker targets the information store
date breaches and
in the wallet and steals it
losses

Attacker changes or manipulates the Information

information stored in the system and manipulation and
perform illegal activities authentication issues

Poor access management on Smart Poor access

Contracts in blockchain is big management on smart
challenges contract

Simple coding inaccuracies and

Smart contract code
common programming errors in Smart
error/ application
system can cause smart contract code contract
vulnerability
error and vulnerabilities in the system loopholes
attacks
Smart contract
can be challenging for the blockchain

revealing smart contract codes to

Code-based attacks
hackers can cause severe issues

Lack of integration
issues can also serve as issue for and maintenance
running system smoothly systems
System
lack of standards in the system can error
Interoperability issues attacks
lead to interoperability issues

transaction delays specially for time Delays in time

sensitive transactions is a big issue sensitive transactions

Figure 4: Thematic analysis for cybersecurity challenges in BCT.

literature descriptions for that cyberattack. The right column 33% each, respectively. The other significant cybersecurity
shows the literature references for each of the themes and attacks reported in BCT in our sample are smart contract
standardized class. loophole attacks, double-spending attacks, and system errors
attacks. A pictorial representation of sample studies report-
3.5. Nature of Cybersecurity Attacks. 80% of the research ing cybersecurity challenges in BCT for each of the themes
studies included in our sample reveal malleability attacks is shown in Figure 9.
as the most common cybersecurity challenge in BCT. Fol-
lowing this are the wallet security attacks and 51% attacks 3.6. Solutions for Cybersecurity Challenges. Our analysis
as the most common cybersecurity challenges in BCT with found that only 18% of the sample studies have explored
6 Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

1storder data 2ndorder themes Aggregated 2nd

Order Dimensions

controlling or exploiting a computer system Network hacks and

without permission Server breaches

illegal access to service provider cloud

platforms Cloud platform hacks

system conducting transactions without

permission Illegal transactions

ineligibility of blockchain system to track an

activity being performed Tracking issues

fluctuations in system characteristics without Changing system

authorisation parameters

spending more time for a specific step in a

Lacking computation
calculation being performed on the blockchain
efficiency
system Malleability
attacks
System refusal to process valid transactions Censorship and
due to attack by the outsiders criminal attacks

taking control of the delegating authoritative

control in a blockchain which forms a Proof of Authority
collective consensus based on most of the (POA attacks)
votes to form new blocks

Modification or intercepting of data while

transportation Wiretapping

Temporarily stopping or interrupting into the

DoS and DDoS attacks
network service of the BCT system

attacker interrupting an ongoing data or Man in the Middle

financial transaction in blockchain system (MitM) or Sybil

attacker can cause collapsing of the whole

blockchain system Selfish mining

hackers access system by double spending Double

Stolen cryptocurrency
attack and steals the cryptocurrency Spending
Attacks

attackers have non-broadcasting marketing Finney attacks

sending two conflicting transactions in the

Race attacks
blockchain system network

Figure 5: Thematic analysis for cybersecurity challenges in BCT.

solutions for various cybersecurity challenges in BCT research studies exploring solutions to these wide ranges of
reported in their research papers, whereas 82% of the sample cybersecurity challenges reported in BCT in several research
studies do not provide any solutions for these reported papers.
cybersecurity challenges in BCT. The studies reported
multiple-signature technique, oyente, smart check, routine 4. Discussion
audits, automation of blockchain incident response, use of
hot wallets and cold wallets, end-to-end product life cycle The results of this scoping review reveal the current litera-
reviews, regulatory compliance, and blockchain providers ture on cybersecurity challenges in BCT and highlight the
selection as few solutions for these above-reported cyberse- most reported cybersecurity attacks in the BCT. The study’s
curity challenges in BCT. However, still, there is a need to findings reveal that there is still a need for in-depth and
explore more practical solutions for these challenges. Based extensive research studies to be explored in this area. Most
on this finding, it can be said here that there is a need for of the research currently reports cybersecurity challenges in
Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies 7

Furthermore, based on the above analysis, there are

many research gaps in the current literature on cybersecu-
rity challenges in BCT. We will reveal a few significant
gaps identified from the results of our current sample.
Firstly, based on our analysis, 80% of the sample studies
have pointed out malleability attacks as a significant cyber-
security challenge in BCT. Also, the literature points out
that malleability attacks are harmful and can hinder a
blockchain system’s performance [4, 48]. For instance,
Accenture [66] reported that a $2.4 million loss could
occur due to these malicious attacks. There are no avail-
able preventative strategies in place to address this issue.
Therefore, we strongly encourage researchers to investigate
2020 and design strategies to minimize malicious attacks when
2017
2021
adopting and implementing BCT based on empirical stud-
2018
ies. This will enrich our collective understanding and
2019 2022
knowledge about coping with malicious attacks in BCT.
Figure 6: Research paper sample taken from each year.
Also, these strategies will be of great benefit for practi-
tioners in various sectors who desire to adopt and imple-
ment BCT. Furthermore, analysis reveals that more than
60% of studies reported 51% attacks and wallet security
attacks as fatal cybersecurity challenges in BCT adoption.
Therefore, it is a timely opportunity for researchers to
design strategies exclusively for each of these attacks iden-
tified in BCT to help fill the current research gap.
Secondly, there is also a lack of industry focus studies
examining the cybersecurity challenges in BCT. Our anal-
ysis depicts that half of the current literature sample
points out cybersecurity challenges in BCT without speci-
fying any industry. Therefore, knowledge about cybersecu-
rity issues in BCT in specific industry sectors is rather
insufficient. Results reveal that only 6% of sample studies
focused on agriculture, accounting and finance, and oil
Journal paper
and gas sectors. Therefore, we suggest that future studies
Conference paper
should exclusively investigate cybersecurity challenges in
Figure 7: Type of paper publication. BCT associated with each industry sector. This will help
enrich the current literature by fulfilling this research gap
but will also be helpful for practitioners who are searching
Agriculture for cybersecurity challenges in BCT related to their specific
Accounting and finance industry type.
Oil and gas Finally, there is a need for more research studies pro-
Smart city
viding solutions to these identified cybersecurity challenges
in BCT adoption. Indeed, the challenges have been
Energy
explored by most of the authors. However, solutions for
Supply chain these cybersecurity challenges have not been investigated
Government extensively. We posit the need for more empirical research
Healthcare studies at this stage of knowledge development in the field
of cybersecurity challenges in BCT. Proposing solutions
General
for cybersecurity challenges in BCT based on scientific
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
investigations is an interesting research opportunity and
%
significant and relevant in BCT adoption. Novel research
Figure 8: Sector diversity (N = 51). studies might help the researchers to develop better solu-
tions for these reported cybersecurity challenges in BCT
adoption.
We analysed and interpreted the scoping review with
BCT based on conceptual reviews instead of empirical con- great caution. However, the study has few limitations.
siderations, for example, research studies by Hasanova Firstly, the study search strategy is only limited to English
et al. [19], Abdelwahab et al. [4], Zamani et al. [54], Taylor language papers. After an independent search by each team
et al. [1], Vacca et al. [51], and Wylde et al. [53]. member, we only found one paper in a language other than
8 Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

Table 1: Classification of cybersecurity attacks in BCT.

Classification of cybersecurity challenges

Themes identified Literature references from sample research studies
in BCT
Network hacks
Server breaches
Cloud platform hacks
Illegal transactions
Tracking issues
Changing system parameters
Malleability attacks Lacking computation efficiency [1–6, 11, 17–19, 25–55]
Censorship and criminal attacks
Proof of authority (POA attacks)
Wiretapping
Denial of service (DoS attacks)
Distributed denial of service (DDoS attacks)
Man in the middle (MitM) or Sybil attack
Selfish mining
Double-spending attacks Stolen cryptocurrency [4, 17–19, 26, 39, 42, 46, 47, 49, 56, 57]
Race attacks
Controlling network’s mining hash rate
51% attacks [4, 17–19, 26, 28, 35, 39, 46–49, 55, 56, 58–60]
Goldfinger
Hacking user passwords and software bugs
Phishing
Private key security attacks
[2, 4, 18, 19, 26, 27, 32, 34, 35, 40, 43, 46, 51, 52, 56,
Wallet security attacks Information stealing, date breaches, and 61, 62]
losses
Information manipulation and
authentication issues
Poor access management on smart contract
Smart contract code error/application
vulnerability [2, 4, 18, 19, 29–31, 39, 40, 42, 47, 48, 51, 54, 57,
Smart contract loophole attacks
63]
Smart contract manipulation and flaws
Code-based attacks
Lack of integration and maintenance
systems
System error attacks [1, 5, 6, 26–28, 37, 43, 60, 63–65]
Interoperability issues
Delays in time-sensitive transactions

System error attacks

Smart contract loophole attacks
Wallet security attacks
51% attacks
Double spending attacks
Malleability attacks
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Figure 9: Cybersecurity challenges in BCT reported by sample studies.

English considering our keyword search and databases. Sec- ferent databases which are commonly used, there are still
ondly, selection bias can also be a limitation for the current chances that we missed some research papers on this topic
scoping review. Although we searched for papers from dif- published in other databases.
Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies 9

5. Conclusion ings of the 19th Annual International Conference on Digital

Government Research: Governance in the Data Age, Delft,
The main goal of this scoping review was to determine the The Netherlands, 2018.
size, scope, and gaps in the current literature on cybersecu- [6] N. M. Kumar and P. K. Mallick, “Blockchain technology for
rity challenges in BCT. Our results show that most of the security issues and challenges in IoT,” Procedia Computer Sci-
study sample reveals cybersecurity challenges in BCT gener- ence, vol. 132, pp. 1815–1823, 2018.
ally without pointing to any specific industry sector. Few [7] A. Sadiq, M. Anwar, R. A. Butt et al., “A review of phishing
sample papers reveal cybersecurity challenges in BCT related attacks and countermeasures for internet of things-based
to specific industry sectors to a very small extent. Also, most smart business applications in industry 4.0.,” Human behav-
of the prior literature was conceptual review-based studies ior and emerging technologies, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 854–864,
and lacked extensive empirical research on this topic. Fur- 2021.
thermore, prior studies barely investigated the strategies [8] E. Mbunge, B. Akinnuwesi, S. G. Fashoto, A. S. Metfula, and
and solutions to minimize cybersecurity challenges in BCT P. Mashwama, “A critical review of emerging technologies
adoption. The majority of the sample study points out that for tackling COVID-19 pandemic,” Human behavior and
malleability attacks, 51% attacks, and wallet security attacks emerging technologies, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 25–39, 2021.
are the most common attacks while adopting BCT. How- [9] K. Francisco and D. Swanson, “The supply chain has no
ever, the literature lacks an answer to what types of strategies clothes: technology adoption of blockchain for supply chain
can be implemented to avoid malleability attacks, 51% transparency,” Logistics MDPI, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 2–13, 2018.
attacks, and wallet security attacks while adopting BCT in [10] S. A. Abeyratne and R. P. Monfared, “Blockchain ready
an organization. manufacturing supply chain using distributed ledger,” Inter-
national Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology,
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some future implications on this topic. Future research
scholars should focus on how and what types of questions [11] T. Hewa, M. Ylianttila, and M. Liyanage, “Survey on block-
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to enhance current literature understanding on this topic.
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attacks revealed in this review could be tackled while adopt-
[12] A. Pal, C. K. Tiwari, and N. Haldar, “Blockchain for business
ing BCT should be researched further to minimize the management: applications, challenges and potentials,” The
impacts of these challenges while adopting BCT. Overall, it Journal of High Technology Management Research, vol. 32,
can be recommended based on this review that both no. 2, article 100414, 2021.
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vantages of the blockchain technology,” in Paper presented
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. at the 2018 IEEE 6th workshop on advances in information,
electronic and electrical engineering (AIEEE), Vilnius, Lithu-
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