The second revolution in blockchain technology is smart contracts. Smart contracts are used in most of the blockchain applications like cryptocurrency, Health care, banking sectors, supply chain and IOT with different platforms like Fabric, Ethereum, Corda etc. In Ethereum blockchain, due to lack of inefficiency of the knowledge of technical developers and insecure programming languages for smart contracts, the attackers have exploited the smart contracts and the end users have lost millions of dollars like re-entrancy, king of ether throne attack, DoS, forcefully send ethers, multisig wallet, unexpected ether and poly network attack etc. In the year 2016, the attackers have exploited approximately $289 million US dollars with the help of re-entrancy vulnerability. The attackers have also attacked the smart contracts and broke the execution of that particular contracts through king of ether throne attack. In this paper, we propose a novel prevention and detection mechanisms for re-entrancy and king of ether throne attacks using time mechanisms and also implementing the same with proof of concepts for these vulnerabilities.
Open access
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
With the development of 5G and the Internet of things (IoT), the multi-domain access of massive devices brings serious data security and privacy issues. At the same time, most access systems lack the ability to identify network attacks and cannot adopt dynamic and timely defenses against various security threats. To this end, we propose a blockchain-based access control and behavior regulation system for IoT. Relying on the attribute-based access control model, this system deploys smart contracts on the blockchain to achieve distributed and fine-grained access control and ensures that the identity and authority of access users can be trusted. At the same time, an inter-domain communication mechanism is designed based on the locator/identifier separation protocol and ensures the traffic of access users are authorized. A feedback module that combines traffic detection and credit evaluation is proposed, ensuring real-time detection and fast, proactive responses against malicious behavior. Ultimately, all modules are linked together through workflows to form an integrated security model. Experiments and analysis show that the system can effectively provide comprehensive security protection in IoT scenarios.
Ethereum has received increasing attention as the first blockchain platform to support smart contracts. Data mining has become an important tool for analyzing Ethereum transactions. However, existing methods have the disadvantage of covering partial transactions and being vulnerable to privacy-enhancing techniques. In this paper, we propose a scheme for transaction correlation with the node as an entity, which can cover all transactions while being resistant to privacy-enhancing techniques. Utilizing timestamps relayed from N fixed nodes to describe the network properties of transactions, we cluster transactions that enter the network from the same source node. Experimental results show that our method can determine with 97% precision whether two transactions enter the network from the same source node.
We study the problem of simultaneously addressing both ballot stuffing and participation privacy for pollsite voting systems. Ballot stuffing is the attack where fake ballots (not cast by any eligible voter) are inserted into the system. Participation privacy is about hiding which eligible voters have actually cast their vote. So far, the combination of ballot stuffing and participation privacy has been mostly studied for internet voting, where voters are assumed to own trusted computing devices. Such approaches are inapplicable to pollsite voting where voters typically vote bare handed. We present an eligibility audit protocol to detect ballot stuffing in pollsite voting protocols. This is done while protecting participation privacy from a remote observer - one who does not physically observe voters during voting. Our protocol can be instantiated as an additional layer on top of most existing pollsite E2E-V voting protocols. To achieve our guarantees, we develop an efficient zero-knowledge proof (ZKP), that, given a value $v$ and a set $Φ$ of commitments, proves $v$ is committed by some commitment in $Φ$, without revealing which one. We call this a ZKP of reverse set membership because of its relationship to the popular ZKPs of set membership. This ZKP may be of independent interest.
Miguel Díaz Montiel, Rachid Guerraoui, Pierre-Louis Roman
Blockchain intercommunication systems enable the exchanges of messages between blockchains. This interoperability promotes innovation, unlocks liquidity and access to assets. However, blockchains are isolated systems that originally were not designed for interoperability. This makes cross-chain communication, or bridges for short, insecure by nature. More precisely, cross-chain systems face security challenges in terms of selfish rational players such as maximal extractable value (MEV) and censorship. We propose to solve these challenges using zero knowledge proofs (ZKPs) for cross-chain communication. Securing cross-chain communication is remarkably more complex than securing single-chain events as such a system must preserve user security against both on- and off-chain analysis. To achieve this goal, we propose the following pair of contributions: the DACT protocol and the SurferMonkey infrastructure that supports the DACT protocol. The DACT protocol is a global solution for the anonymity and security challenges of agnostic blockchain intercommunication. DACT breaks on- and off-chain analysis thanks to the use of ZKPs. SurferMonkey is a decentralized infrastructure that implements DACT in practice. Since SurferMonkey works at the blockchain application layer, any decentralized application (dApp) can use SurferMonkey to send any type of message to a dApp on another blockchain. With SurferMonkey, users can neither be censored nor be exposed to MEV. By applying decentralized proactive security, we obtain resilience against selfish rational players, and raise the security bar against cyberattacks. We have implemented a proof of concept (PoC) of SurferMonkey by reverse engineering Tornado Cash and by applying IDEN3 ZKP circuits. SurferMonkey enables new usecases, ranging from anonymous voting and gaming, to a new phase of anonymous decentralized finance (aDeFi).
V Srinadh, Chetan Sai Pyla, Desaraju Sri Rama Ganesh, Borra Kiran Kumar · 5 authors
<strong>Abstract:</strong> Modern digital technology has enhanced the lives of several people. Unlike to the election system, it makes heavy use of printed paper. Elections using the traditional method risk the security aspects and openness. The institution that oversees general elections continues to adopt a centralized approach. With an organization having complete control over the database and system, it is feasible to tamper with the database of significant opportunities. This is one of the issues that might arise in traditional election systems. Because it adopts a decentralized structure and the full database is held by multiple people, blockchain technology has been one of the solutions. The methodology outlined in this work examines the usefulness of hashing algorithms, the construction and sealing of blocks, the accumulation of data, and the declaration of results using an adaptable blockchain approach. Electronic voting or e-voting has fundamental benefits over paper-based systems such as increased efficiency and reduced errors. The electronic voting system tends to maximize user participation, by allowing them to vote from anywhere and from any device that has an internet connection. The blockchain is an emerging, decentralized, and distributed technology with strong cryptographic foundations that promises to improve different aspects of many industries. Expanding e-voting into blockchain technology could be the solution to alleviate the present concerns in e-voting. Here we propose a blockchain-based voting system that will limit the voting fraud and make the voting process simple, secure and efficient. <strong>Keywords:</strong> Blockchain, Online voting, Decentralization, Privacy, Security, Ethereum. <strong>Title:</strong> Online Voting System using Ethereum in Blockchain Technology <strong>Author:</strong> V Srinadh, Chetan Sai Pyla, Desaraju Sri Rama Ganesh, Borra Kiran Kumar, Bheemerasetty Divya Sai <strong>International Journal of Recent Research in Mathematics Computer Science and Information Technology</strong> <strong>ISSN 2350-1022</strong> <strong>Vol. 9, Issue 2, October 2022 - March 2023</strong> <strong>Page No: 1-10</strong> <strong>Paper Publications</strong> <strong>Website: www.paperpublications.org</strong> <strong>Published Date: 21-October-2022</strong> <strong>DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7233830</strong> <strong>Paper Download Link (Source)</strong> <strong>https://www.paperpublications.org/upload/book/Online%20Voting%20System%20using%20Ethereum-21102022-2.pdf</strong>
Suzana Mesquita de Borba Maranhao Moreno, Jean-Marc Seigneur
The traditional way to prove someone’s address using formal documents like utility bills may not be feasible for some people, like those living in very poor neighborhoods, because they do not have these documents. In this paper, we propose an alternative way to prove someone’s address using a decentralized social trust solution. Because our design choices, this solution is able to work offline and does not need a logically centralized repository of all issued proof-of-address, in oppose to what would be achieved by using existing accretionary ID solutions. We validated this proposal by building a mobile application, using it in a real experiment in a Brazilian favela, and collecting mobile data. We also interviewed 20 people to complement our validation and help to guide the next steps of this work. The experiment showed that the solution is viable and easy to use. It is possible to adopt an approach like the one proposed to prove other facts, like gender, sex and income. These proofs may be used for different initiatives, like social programs, purpose-driven lending or other decentralized finance services.
Xiaotong Sun, Xi Chen, Charalampos Stasinakis, Georgios Sermpinis
Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) provides a decentralized governance solution through blockchain, where decision-making process relies on on-chain voting and follows majority rule. This paper focuses on MakerDAO, and we find three voter coalitions after applying clustering algorithm to voting history. The emergence of a dominant voter coalition is a signal of governance centralization in DAO, and voter coalitions have complicated influence on Maker protocol, which is governed by MakerDAO. This paper presents empirical evidence of multicoalition democracy in DAO and further contributes to the contemporary debate on whether decentralized governance is possible.
Robin Singh Bhadoria, Arka Prabha Das, Abul Bashar, Mohammed Zikria
A democratic election is a crucial event in any country. Therefore, the government of the country is concerned with creating more competitive and fairer elections. This paper discusses the survey and scope of Blockchain technology adoptions in conducting elections. A distributed digital ledger is used in the Blockchain technology that is utilized for recording transactions happening between two parties. Ledger conducts this processing in an efficient and effective manner with latest secure mechanism of encryption algorithms. Therefore, the data stored in several blocks in each transaction is secure, transparent, and tamper-proof, which ultimately improves the transparency and voter confidentiality. This paper demonstrates how the benefits of the Blockchain technology such as immutability, transparency and end-to-end verifiability can be utilized by the national governments around the world to ensure fair democratic elections. In short, we aim to present a rigorous mechanism of a Blockchain based e-voting system, its efficiency based on different consensus algorithms and the overall progress and analysis based on some critical parameters to anticipate the feasibility of the successful implementation of the proposed e-voting system.
In today’s society, voting is crucial to choosing the representatives of the people. The current voting process is filled with a vast array of disputes and manipulations. The leader must be selected in a precise manner without any malpractices. In addition, the people and authorities are not happy with the election results and label them unpredictable. We offer a better solution to the current problems, such as tampering, non-residents voting outside of the polling place, quick results analysis, quick counting, and reduced use of staff and funds during the electoral franchise process. In this offer, blockchain technology is used to create the distributed application (dApp) framework that will be used for the proposed e-voting system. Additionally, it offers unique characteristics such as immutability, transparency, privacy, and reception freedom that reduce crimes involving the processing of sensitive data in the electoral process. Ganache, MetaMask, and specified dagger hashing algorithm are used to develop the dApp. A key strength of this paper is the statistical analysis of transactions on the blockchain. Moreover, it also provides security to voters’ identity and leads to immediate acceptable counting results with more accuracy.
Open access
2 source records
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
Privacy preservation is highly expected in the Bitcoin Network. However, only applying pseudonyms cannot completely ensure anonymity/unlinkability between payers and payees. Current approaches mainly depend on a mixer service, which obfuscates payer-payee relationships of transactions. While the mixer service improves transaction privacy, it still suffers from some severe security threats (e.g., DoS attack and collusion attack), and does not support effective and reliable off-chain payment in a parallel mode. In this article, we propose a mixing protocol for the Bitcoin Network based on zero-knowledge proof, called SofitMix. It is the first mixing protocol that can effectively resist both the DoS attack and the collusion attack. It can also support a set of parallel off-chain payments in a reliable way no matter whether some payers abort a transaction. We analyze and prove SofitMix security following the Universal Composability model with regard to fair exchange, unlinkability, collusion-resistance, DoS-resistance and Sybil-resistance. Through a proof-of-concept implementation, we demonstrate its validity and fairness. We also show its advance on off-chain payment reliability and DoS attack resistance, compared to TumbleBit.
Uzma Jafar, Mohd Juzaiddin Ab Aziz, Zarina Shukur, Hafiz Adnan Hussain
Electronic voting systems must find solutions to various issues with authentication, data privacy and integrity, transparency, and verifiability. On the other hand, Blockchain technology offers an innovative solution to many of these problems. The scalability of Blockchain has arisen as a fundamental barrier to realizing the promise of this technology, especially in electronic voting. This study seeks to highlight the solutions regarding scalable Blockchain-based electronic voting systems and the issues linked with them while also attempting to foresee future developments. A systematic literature review (SLR) was used to complete the task, leading to the selection of 76 articles in the English language from 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2022 from the famous databases. This SLR was conducted to identify well-known proposals, their implementations, verification methods, various cryptographic solutions in previous research to evaluate cost and time. It also identifies performance parameters, the primary advantages and obstacles presented by different systems, and the most common approaches for Blockchain scalability. In addition, it outlines several possible research avenues for developing a scalable electronic voting system based on Blockchain technology. This research helps future research before proposing or developing any solutions to keep in mind all the voting requirements, merits, and demerits of the proposed solutions and provides further guidelines for scalable voting solutions.
Open access
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency based on blockchain. All historical Bitcoin transactions are stored in the Bitcoin blockchain, but Bitcoin owners are generally unknown. This is the reason for Bitcoin's pseudo-anonymity, therefore it is often used for illegal transactions. Bitcoin addresses are related to Bitcoin users' identities. Some Bitcoin addresses have the potential to be analyzed due to the behavior patterns of Bitcoin transactions. However, existing Bitcoin analysis methods do not consider the fusion of new blocks' data, resulting in low efficiency of Bitcoin address analysis. In order to address this problem, this paper proposes an incremental Bitcoin address cluster method to avoid re-clustering when new block data is added. Besides, a heuristic Bitcoin address clustering algorithm is developed to improve clustering accuracy for the Bitcoin Blockchain. Experimental results show that the proposed method increases Bitcoin address cluster efficiency and accuracy.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the succession of its waves, the transmission of this disease and the number of deaths caused by it have been increasing. Despite the various vaccines, the COVID-19 virus is still contagious and dangerous for affected people. One of the remedies to this is precaution, and particularly social distancing. In the same vein, this paper proposes a remote voting system, which has to be secure, anonymous, irreversible, accessible, and simple to use. It therefore allows voters to have the possibility to vote for their candidate without having to perform the operation on site. This system will be used for university elections and particularly for student elections. We propose a platform based on a decentralized system. This system will use two blockchains communicating with each other: the public Ethereum blockchain and the private Quorum blockchain. The private blockchain will be institution-specific. All these blockchains send the necessary data to the public blockchain which manages different data related to the universities and the ministry. This system enables using encrypted data with the SHA-256 algorithm to have both security and information security. Motivated by the high energy consumption of blockchain and by the performance improvements in low-power, a test is performed on a low-power embedded platform Raspberry PI4 showing the possibility to use the Blockchain with limited resources.
Kranthi Kiran Reddy, Gutha Vijay Kumar, Sai Siddu Sirimulla, Chanan Singh · 6 authors
This article explores the use and impact of voting using blockchain technology. As a result of mounting worries about the honesty and security of conventional voting methods, especially in the digital era, the study tackles the requirement for an open, impenetrable, and robust method of conducting elections. A decentralized application on a blockchain platform is designed and implemented using the technique, which makes use of smart contracts for voter registration, ballot generation, and vote counting. The viability of blockchain technology in guaranteeing voter anonymity, data integrity, and cryptographic security are important discoveries. Online voting can be done securely and digitally using blockchain technology. It has great potential to reduce costs and increase voter turnout. Using Blockchain we can secure any application and work securely for that application. Therefore, cryptocurrency, healthcare, real estate, etc. Many applications use blockchain technology. *Blockchain technology encrypts votes, preventing any votes from being tampered with. It allows voters to vote for a candidate only once. The system reduces labor costs and counting errors by providing quick access to election results. This article explains solutions to solve the above problems. Our solution is to use an online voting system based on the Ethereum blockchain. That's why we connect surveys to blockchain technology
Open access
2 source records
Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
Muhammad Umar Nasir, Safiullah Khan, Shahid Mehmood, Muhammad Adnan Khan · 6 authors
The study presents a framework to analyze and detect meddling in real-time network data and identify numerous meddling patterns that may be harmful to various communication means, academic institutes, and other industries. The major challenge was to develop a non-faulty framework to detect meddling (to overcome the traditional ways). With the development of machine learning technology, detecting and stopping the meddling process in the early stages is much easier. In this study, the proposed framework uses numerous data collection and processing techniques and machine learning techniques to train the meddling data and detect anomalies. The proposed framework uses support vector machine (SVM) and K-nearest neighbor (KNN) machine learning algorithms to detect the meddling in a network entangled with blockchain technology to ensure the privacy and protection of models as well as communication data. SVM achieves the highest training detection accuracy (DA) and misclassification rate (MCR) of 99.59% and 0.41%, respectively, and SVM achieves the highest-testing DA and MCR of 99.05% and 0.95%, respectively. The presented framework portrays the best meddling detection results, which are very helpful for various communication and transaction processes.
Yanan Gong, K. P. Chow, Siu Ming Yiu, Hing Fung Ting
Bitcoin is a popular and widely traded cryptocurrency. The Bitcoin blockchain technology makes it easy for users to conduct pseudo-anonymous financial transactions. However, it also facilitates criminals to secrete their actual identities from law enforcement agencies. Heuristic-based address clustering is the subject regarding Bitcoin de-anonymization. But no heuristic algorithm has a known or potential error rate due to the lack of ground truth. This paper uses sensitivity analysis to validate and verify a constructed Bitcoin simulation model. The evaluation and validation processes examine the model behavior and model outputs from multiple simulation runs to demonstrate fidelity and credibility. The analysis results show no model uncertainties, and the simulation model is stable and can effectively simulate Bitcoin transactions. With a reasonable number of nodes and transaction volumes in the simulated network, the simulation model can be used to verify the effectiveness of two widely used heuristic-based address clustering algorithms and measure the corresponding error rates.
The modern challenges of supply chain control arising from globalisation, decentralisation, and modernisation are rapidly exposed to data leakage, network attacks, and software flaws. Business stakeholders are turning to blockchain technology as a possible solution to improve modern supply chains’ reliability, integration, and visibility. Blockchain is an elaborate structure that remains relevant when managing product traceability, integration, and increasing general transparency. This article explores the possibility of blockchain technology enhancing the transparency, integrity, and security of decentralised voting systems. Blockchain, which is decentralised, irreversible and fully transparent, is an alternative solution to the world’s problems described by manipulation, fraud and lack of transparency inherent in the globalisation of voting systems. The paper considers several models of voting on the basis of blockchain technology, comparing their advantages, which consist of providing the inviolability of the election results as well as minimising the usage of the intermediaries’ services. Evaluating blockchain technology using election procedures as a perspective, this article explores its foundational features, such as cryptographic protections, consensus processes, and ever-executable contracts. Other issues that are named by the study as the challenges for implementing blockchain technology in voting include scalability, energy consumption, and legal issues. This research aims to respond to these questions for enhancing election systems in the digital world by reviewing the literature comprehensively on blockchain technology for decentralised voting and providing a brief overview of the current trend. The results highlight the need for more study into blockchain-based voting systems to resolve the technological and ethical issues that have been raised.
Open access
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Internet Traffic Analysis and Secure E-voting
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
Abstract: Information and communication technologies are used by e-Government to deliver governmental services to people and companies instantly, effectively, and efficiently. The majority of current e-government systems are centrally located on redundant servers and databases that may have single points of failure, rendering the systems susceptible to cyber-attacks. Blockchain technology makes it possible to build a decentralised, incredibly secure system without the need for a central authority to monitor transactions. Blockchain technology, which encrypts data and distributes it over the network, improves information security and privacy and gives governments new chances to increase transparency, stop fraud, and foster citizen confidence. In this paper, we primarily cover the overview of blockchain technology, architecture of blockchain, consensus models and the blockchain use cases in e-Government
Web3 networks are emerging to replace centrally-governed networking infrastructure. The integrity of the shared public infrastructure of Web3 networks is guaranteed through data sharing between nodes. However, due to the unstructured and highly partitioned nature of Web3 networks, data sharing between nodes in different partitions is a challenging task. In this paper we present the TSRP mechanism, which approaches the data sharing problem through nodes auditing each other to enforce carrying of data between partitions. Reputation is used as an analogue for the likelihood of nodes interacting with nodes from other partitions in the future. The number of copies of data shared with other nodes is inversely related to the nodes’ reputation. We use a real-world trace of Twitter to show how our implementation can converge to an equal number of copies as structured approaches.
Francesco Buccafurri, Vincenzo De Angelis, Sara Lazzaro
Anonymous service delivery has attracted the interest of research and the industry for many decades. To obtain effective solutions, anonymity should be guaranteed against the service provider itself. However, if the full anonymity of users is implemented, no accountability mechanism can be provided. This represents a problem, especially when referring to scenarios in which a user, protected by anonymity, may perform illegally when leveraging the anonymous service. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based solution to the trade-off between anonymity and accountability. In particular, our solution relies on three independent parties (one of which is the service provider itself) such that only the collaboration of all three actors allows for the disclosure of the real identity of the user. In all other cases, anonymity is guaranteed. To show the feasibility of the proposal, we developed a prototype with user-friendly interfaces that minimize the client-side operations. Our solution is then also effective from the point of view of usability.
Houpeng Hu, Jiaxiang Ou, Bin Qian, Yi Luo · 7 authors
E-voting allows us to build a democratic business in most Internet of things (IoT) systems. For example, we may vote to choose a proper energy broker in a smart grid system. In this study, we focus on e-voting services in an Internet of energy (IoE) system, which is a new-style smart grid. A practical e-voting in IoE may focus on the properties of fairness, decentralization, eligibility, anonymity, compatibility, verifiability, and coercion resistance. It is difficult to fulfil all these properties simultaneously. Traditional voting schemes often use a public bulletin board or administrator in the voting process, which makes them become centralized. Services that offer e-voting via blockchain can make the voting schemes decentralized. However, many of them ignore the complexity of organizing the data of the transactions, which should be confirmed by the miners. Moreover, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no works have tested the performance in the blockchain while considering practical use cases and constraints. Concerning all the challenges, we propose a practical anonymous voting scheme for IoE called IoEPAV. The proposed scheme fulfils all the mentioned design goals simultaneously. We tested IoEPAV both in different test networks of the Ethereum blockchain to give an overall evaluation. The practical evaluation can show that the proposed scheme is easy to be integrated into a real system like IoE. We also gave a comparison analysis with the state-of-the-art blockchain-based e-voting. All the results show that IoEPAV is decentralized, verifiable, anonymous, and highly efficient.
Payment channel network (PCN) is a layer-two scaling solution that enables fast off-chain transactions but does not involve on-chain transaction settlement. PCNs raise new privacy issues including balance secrecy, relationship anonymity and payment privacy. Moreover, protecting privacy causes low transaction success rates. To address this dilemma, we propose zk-PCN, a privacy-preserving payment channel network using zk-SNARKs. We prevent from exposing true balances by setting up \textit{public balances} instead. Using public balances, zk-PCN can guarantee high transaction success rates and protect PCN privacy with zero-knowledge proofs. Additionally, zk-PCN is compatible with the existing routing algorithms of PCNs. To support such compatibility, we propose zk-IPCN to improve zk-PCN with a novel proof generation (RPG) algorithm. zk-IPCN reduces the overheads of storing channel information and lowers the frequency of generating zero-knowledge proofs. Finally, extensive simulations demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of zk-PCN in various settings.
Differential Privacy (DP) is often presented as a strong privacy-enhancing technology with broad applicability and advocated as a de facto standard for releasing aggregate statistics on sensitive data. However, in many embodiments, DP introduces a new attack surface: a malicious entity entrusted with releasing statistics could manipulate the results and use the randomness of DP as a convenient smokescreen to mask its nefariousness. Since revealing the random noise would obviate the purpose of introducing it, the miscreant may have a perfect alibi. To close this loophole, we introduce the idea of Interactive Proofs For Differential Privacy, which requires the publishing entity to output a zero knowledge proof that convinces an efficient verifier that the output is both DP and reliable. Such a definition might seem unachievable, as a verifier must validate that DP randomness was generated faithfully without learning anything about the randomness itself. We resolve this paradox by carefully mixing private and public randomness to compute verifiable DP counting queries with theoretical guarantees and show that it is also practical for real-world deployment. We also demonstrate that computational assumptions are necessary by showing a separation between information-theoretic DP and computational DP under our definition of verifiability.