diff --git a/network/p2p/libp2pNode.go b/network/p2p/libp2pNode.go
index f1a1b3b51ef..e0aaaf88aaf 100644
--- a/network/p2p/libp2pNode.go
+++ b/network/p2p/libp2pNode.go
@@ -56,10 +56,10 @@ func DefaultLibP2PNodeFactory(ctx context.Context, log zerolog.Logger, me flow.I
 
 	// create PubSub options for libp2p to use
 	psOptions := []pubsub.Option{
-		// skip message signing
-		pubsub.WithMessageSigning(false),
-		// skip message signature
-		pubsub.WithStrictSignatureVerification(false),
+		// Use message signing
+		pubsub.WithMessageSigning(true),
+		// Use message signature
+		pubsub.WithStrictSignatureVerification(true),
 		// set max message size limit for 1-k PubSub messaging
 		pubsub.WithMaxMessageSize(maxPubSubMsgSize),
 		// no discovery
diff --git a/network/test/testUtil.go b/network/test/testUtil.go
index 0d96ab755a9..d1116df46e4 100644
--- a/network/test/testUtil.go
+++ b/network/test/testUtil.go
@@ -247,10 +247,10 @@ func generateLibP2PNode(t *testing.T,
 
 	// create PubSub options for libp2p to use
 	psOptions := []pubsub.Option{
-		// skip message signing
-		pubsub.WithMessageSigning(false),
-		// skip message signature
-		pubsub.WithStrictSignatureVerification(false),
+		// with message signing
+		pubsub.WithMessageSigning(true),
+		// with no message signature verification
+		pubsub.WithStrictSignatureVerification(true),
 		// set max message size limit for 1-k PubSub messaging
 		pubsub.WithMaxMessageSize(p2p.DefaultMaxPubSubMsgSize),
 	}