The article defines negotiation as the use of information, time, and power to influence outcomes. It underscores the importance of negotiation in both personal and professional settings, highlighting strategies like rhetoric, logic, and non-verbal communication. Various negotiation types, such as distributive (win-lose), integrative (win-win), and rational (objective-based) are discussed. The authors stress the importance of mutual benefit, the psychology of reciprocity, and ethical considerations in negotiations. Finally, the article outlines negotiation tactics and strategies, such as the "YES...BUT" tactic and stress-inducing techniques, while emphasizing that negotiation should be a deliberate choice based on one's comfort and needs. The ultimate message is that learning to negotiate effectively can significantly improve the quality of life. KEYWORDS: effective communication, ethics, manipulation techniques, morality, mutual benefit (WIN-WIN), negotiation, power and influence, social and business J.E.L CLASSIFICATION: E6, E64, E71, F62, G15, H12 1. INTRODUCTION Human beings are highly interactive socially. Talking to each other gives people an exceptionally quick, clear, and thorough way to get to know and form relationships with each other. The real world is a huge bargaining table, and whether we like it or not, we are all participants. We all come into conflict with others, such as family members, business agents, competitors, or government entities. How we approach these encounters can determine not only whether we will prosper, but whether we will enjoy a satisfying, enjoyable, and fulfilling life. Negotiation is an area of knowledge and effort that focuses on winning the favor of people from whom we want certain things. Traditionally, it is assumed that those with the greatest talent, dedication and education are rewarded. But life has disappointed those who claim that virtue and hard work will ultimately triumph. The "winners" seem to be the people who are not only competent, but also have the ability to "negotiate" how to get what they want (Vasile Tran, Irina StÄnciulescu, 2001). 2. WHAT IS NEGOTIATION? In every negotiation we are involved in, in every negotiation in the world, from a geopolitical diplomatic negotiation to buying a house, three crucial elements are always present: information, time and power. Everyone's ability to negotiate determines whether we can influence the environment or not. It's about analyzing information, time and power to influence behaviour, satisfy needs and make things happen the way we want them to. What is negotiation? It is the use of information and power to affect behavior in a "warp of tension". If we think about this broad definition, we realize that we actually negotiate all the time, both at work and in our personal lives. Against whom do we use information and power to affect their behavior outside of the job? Husbands negotiate with wives and wives with husbands. We use information and power in addition to friends and relatives. Negotiations can take place with a traffic policeman ready to give us a fine, with a store that does not want to accept our personal check, with a landlord who does not provide essential services or wants to double the rent, with a merchant who wants to cheat us. We can negotiate with customers, bankers, vendors, suppliers. We negotiate more often than we realize. That's why it's important to learn to do it better, more efficiently and thus improve the quality of our lives, at work or outside of it. Regardless of where and between whom they are conducted, negotiations call on rhetoric, logic, and elements of argumentation theory. Sometimes effective communication and manipulation techniques are used. Notions such as offer, request, position, claim, objection, compromise, concession, argument, transaction, argumentation, evidence, etc., can frequently intervene in the negotiation process. At the same time, non-verbal communication elements, such as physiognomy, facial expressions, gestures, posture, clothing, general appearance can have an importance that should not be neglected. The culture of the partners and the bargaining power of the negotiating parties are other elements that must be taken into account. Elements of tactics and strategy, rhetorical traps and tricks, as well as knowledge of the psychology of perception, can play a decisive role in obtaining large advantages in exchange for small concessions. In the contemporary business world, negotiation and the negotiator acquire considerable importance. Never in history have commercial transactions been more numerous and conducted at higher values. For the manufacturer, importer or wholesale distributor, a good negotiator can do in three hours what ten or a hundred contractors do in a few weeks or months. A weak negotiator can lose just as much. A margin of a few percent on the price, the warranty period, the delivery conditions and shipping, at the payment term or a margin of a few percent on commission or interest, always remain negotiable. In large transactions, in the industrial market, where contracts worth billions are negotiated, this negotiable margin can amount to tens or hundreds of millions. From the position of each of the parties, they can be lost or won. Negotiation is a talent, an innate grace, but also a skill acquired through experience, training and learning. The job of negotiator is an elite one, in business, in diplomacy, in politics. Broadly speaking, negotiation appears as a focused and interactive form of interpersonal communication in which two or more disagreeing parties seek to reach an agreement that solves a common problem or achieves a common goal. The understanding of the parties may be a simple verbal agreement. Consolidated by a handshake, it may be a tacit consent or a letter of intent or a protocol, convention or contract, drawn up following common procedures and usages; it can also mean an armistice, an international pact or treaty, drawn up in compliance with special procedures and customs. In relation to the area of interest in which negotiations are carried out, we can distinguish between several specific forms of negotiation. By negotiation we understand any form of unarmed confrontation, through which two or more parties with contradictory but complementary interests and positions aim to reach a mutually beneficial commitment whose terms are not known from the beginning (Ètefan Prutianu, Communication and negotiation in business). In this confrontation, mainly and loyally, arguments and proofs are brought, claims and objections are formulated, concessions and compromises are made to avoid both the breakdown of relations and open conflict. Negotiation enables the creation, maintenance or development of an interpersonal or social relationship in general, as well as a business, work or diplomatic relationship in particular. It should also be mentioned that negotiations do not necessarily always aim at results manifested in the direction of an agreement. Often they are carried for their collateral effects such as: maintaining the contract, buying time, preventing the deterioration of the conflict situation. Apart from these, negotiators' meetings can be seen as a potential channel for urgent communications in crisis situations. The absence of communication can be considered as an alarming sign of the impossibility of carrying out the negotiation; its presence is an indication of the chances that negotiation will occur. At the same time, we must pay sufficient attention to the climate of discretion and thorough gradual construction. As long as the negotiation is conducted with the conscious and deliberate participation of the parties who seek together a solution to a common problem, the approach involves a certain ethics and principle. Mutual benefit (WIN-WIN) In principle, in negotiations, each side adjusts its claims and revises the initial objectives. Thus, in one or more successive rounds, the final agreement is built, which represents a satisfactory compromise for all parties: the negotiation therefore works according to the principle of mutual advantage. According to this principle, the agreement is good when all negotiating parties have something to gain and none to lose. Everyone can achieve victory, without anyone being defeated. The important thing is that when all parties win, they all support the chosen solution and abide by the agreement. The principle of mutual advantage (WIN-WIN) does not exclude, however, the fact that the advantages obtained by one of the parties may be greater or smaller than the advantages obtained by the other or the other parties in negotiations. I use it often. In the psychology of communication, there is a so-called psychological law of reciprocity, a law according to which if someone gives or takes something, the partner will automatically feel the desire to give or take something else in return. Even if we don't actually give something in return, we are still left with the feeling that we owe, that we should give. Following the subtle action of this psychological law, any form of negotiation is governed by the principle of compensatory actions. The consequence is reciprocity of concessions, objections, threats, reprisals, etc. The Latin expressions of this principle are: "Do ut des" and "Facio ut facio". In Romanian, the principle can be found in expressions like: "I give if you give", "I do if you do", "If you give more, you leave me too" or "If you make concessions, I will do it too", "If you raise demands , I will also pick up" etc. 3. MORALITY AND LEGALITY The law is the law and most respect it even beyond the principles. To avoid unpleasantness, the morality of commercial deals, where the law does not appear, often remains a matter of principle, of deontology. Strict adherence to this principle is not really possible. The control of communication ethics is relative. The legal aspects of transactions are an exception, but also from this point of view, in international negotiations, the parties must agree from the start on the rules of commercial law that they will respect. When these differ from one country to another, each party tries to remain under the legal rules of its country. This fact can generate conflicting situations, which can be overcome by adopting the norms of commercial law and international customs. The fine art of negotiation is actually not new. Two of the greatest negotiators in history lived about two thousand years ago. Neither was part of any institution of their time, neither had official authority. However, they both exercised their power. Both men dressed poorly and went about asking questions, and thereby gathering information, the one in the form of syllogisms, the sense of mastery over their situation. Each of them chose their place and manner of death. Yet by death they both gained the devotion of disciples on the face of the earth. In fact, many of us try to live our daily lives according to our values. It is about Jesus and Socrates. They were ethical negotiators, followers of the win-win theory, and they were people of power. There are several fundamental types of negotiation. The real world is a huge bargaining table, and whether we like it or not, we are all participants. Analyzing the type of negotiation we are engaging in is always important. To know and evaluate him already means to predict in broad terms the behavior that the partner will adopt and to prepare his own behavior in response. In this way, the risk of a rupture to conclude a disadvantageous agreement decreases. The specialized literature distinguishes between three fundamental types of negotiation: Distributive negotiation is either/or type, which opts between victory/defeat. It corresponds to a zero-sum game and takes the form of a transaction in which it is not possible for one party to win without the other party losing. Every concession made to the partner is detrimental to the grantor and to each other. In this perspective, negotiation pits two adversaries with opposing interests against each other and becomes a confrontation of forces, in which one of the parties must win. Any concession appears as a sign of weakness. Any successful attack appears as a token of strength. The object of the negotiation will be an agreement that will not take into account the interests of the partner and which will be all the better the harder it hits the opposing party. The negotiation tactics and techniques used in distributive negotiation are typical for resolving conflict situations. They are hard and tense. Among the usual tactics, we can mention: the polemic carried out by permanent counters and by systematic deviation from the subject; assault by force; intimidation; rhetorical maneuvers based on dissimulation, masking intentions, hiding intentions, hiding the truth and blaming the opponent; disqualification for bad faith, personal attack and disparagement. This type of negotiation is possible when the opposition of interests is strong and the imbalance of forces is significant. Another negotiation tactic is the integrative (win/win) one in which the partner's aspirations and interests are respected, even if they go against their own. It is based on mutual respect and tolerance of differences in aspirations and opinions. The advantages of this type of negotiation are that it leads to better, more sustainable solutions, the parties feel better, and the relations between the parties are strengthened. Both win and both support the settlement and agreement reached. Integrative negotiation creates, saves and strengthens long-term human and business relationships. It causes each of the negotiating parties to modify their objectives and adjust their demands in order to resolve their common interests. This approach to negotiation circumvents and avoids conflict situations. The climate of the negotiations is characterized by trust and optimism, and the agreement, once reached, has every chance of being respected. Specific tactics are based on reciprocity of concessions (shorter delivery times against immediate parties, for example). Another negotiation tactic is the rational one, in which the parties do not only aim to make or obtain concessions, consents from subjective negotiating positions, but try to resolve substantive disputes from an objective position, other than the position of one or the other among them. For this, mutual interests must be clearly defined within a framework of total transparency and sincerity, without resorting to the slightest dissimulation or suspicion. It starts with formulating the problems that need to be solved, with answers to questions like: What's not working? Where is the evil? How does this manifest itself? What are the facts that contradict the desired situation? It continues with a diagnosis of the existing situation, insisting on the causes that prevent solving the problems. Then, the theoretical solutions are sought and the measures by which at least some of them can be put into practice are determined by common agreement. The algorithm of rationality therefore means: defining problems; diagnosis of causes; searching for solutions. The negotiator seeks to understand the partner's stake, to know his feelings, motivations and concerns. Divergences that remain unresolved are regulated by recourse to objective criteria, as well as scientific references, legal norms, moral norms or by recourse to the offices of a neutral arbitrator. Anticipating the margin of negotiation is essential. Any start of negotiation requires the definition of objectives. They give us a sense of direction, a definition of what we plan to achieve, and a sense of accomplishment once they have been achieved. 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Identification, authentication, and authorization processes can be conducted in various ways. Particular attention is given to the processes implemented within the self-sovereign identity paradigm. This paper analyses the processes from a data leak perspective. A comparison is made between self-sovereign identity and a centralized identity provider scheme. An overview of the relevant implementations for these processes is provided: in both the self-sovereign and non-sovereign paradigms. It has been found that, from the data leaks perspective, the self-sovereign identity scheme could only provide superior security if zero-knowledge proof technology is applied.
The integration of Blockchain technology into Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems has emerged as a transformative approach to address critical security and privacy challenges in connected devices. This chapter explores the innovative convergence of Blockchain and IoT, focusing on the enhancement of data security, privacy, and trust through decentralized solutions. By leveraging the immutable and transparent nature of Blockchain, IoT networks can achieve secure, efficient, and automated data exchanges. The chapter delves into key Blockchain trends that are shaping IoT security, including decentralized identity management, smart contracts, and consensus mechanisms, while addressing the specific challenges of resource-constrained IoT devices. The use of advanced cryptographic techniques such as encryption, Zero-Knowledge Proofs, and homomorphic encryption ensures that sensitive data remains private and secure. The application of Blockchain in facilitating secure data sharing, device authentication, and access control was discussed, alongside the potential of permissioned blockchains to balance privacy with scalability. The chapter concludes by identifying the future directions for Blockchain and IoT innovations, emphasizing their role in the evolution of secure, autonomous, and scalable connected environments.
This research provides a detailed analysis of multi-factor authentication (MFA) in Zero-Trust Architecture (ZTA).It focused the discussion on current practices and critical challenges encountered, sharing some insights into the future direction by finding "gaps.""The field of Cyber security is a constantly changing environment.From the beginning of "trust but verify," it has gradually changed to "always verify, never trust."In this case, MFA becomes a key and effective measure to enhance confidentiality in ZTA.ZTA requires that all entities within the system must verify their identities on an ongoing basis, often using MFA.With the widespread use of telecommuting, cloud services, and the Internet of Things, the demand for identity authentication is also increasing.The MFA uses multiple authentication steps to enhance security and trust in the system.However, implementing and applying MFA in the ZTA environment has not been smooth sailing.Some schemes directly affect the popularity of MFA in their implementation, such as poor user experience, complex integration, and poor scalability.The author first reviewed some of the existing MFA programs to get to the root cause and try to fix the problem.By analyzing these typical cases, best practices are found, and strategies for improvement are proposed.The aim is to promote a balance between ease of use and security in MFA.Finally, through literature review and case studies, as well as the exploration of emerging technologies such as adaptive MFA and zero-knowledge proof, The author explore some new approaches to improve the ease and efficiency of MFA in ZTA systems.
Password-based authentication is widely applied in Internet of Things (IoT). It allows IoT devices to identify users with passwords to resist unauthorized access. However, choices of weak passwords, especially popular ones, might violate usersâ privacy and lead to large-scale network attacks. Collection of popular passwords among IoT devices to establish blocklists via a service provider can prevent use of weak passwords. To protect unpopular passwords during collection, existing privacy-preserving schemes rely on expensive cryptographic primitives (e.g., garbled circuits and zero-knowledge proofs), which would impose heavy communication and computation burdens on constrained devices and hinder wide deployment of these schemes. In this paper, we propose EAGER+, an efficient privacy-preserving scheme for weak password collection in IoT against perpetual leakage. EAGER+ is mainly built on secret sharing and symmetric encryption, thereby enabling lightweight computation and communication on IoT devices. In EAGER+, we conceive a password-locked encryption with conditional decryption mechanism to efficiently identify popular passwords, where a password is essentially locked under itself in the encryption to guarantee its security, and the password can be revealed from the ciphertext by the service provider only if a sufficient number of devices exploit it. The mechanism is integrated with a servers-aided password-hardening mechanism to resist offline dictionary guessing attacks. Moreover, EAGER+ uses a key renewal mechanism to periodically update secrets for password hardening on key servers to thwart perpetual leakage towards the secrets. We formally analyze the security of EAGER+, and conduct experimental evaluations to show that EAGER+ is more efficient than existing schemes.
ABSTRACT The burgeoning demand for blockchain technology in diverse sectors requires advanced optimization methods to improve the performance, security and privacy. However, today common blockchain mechanisms are effected by problems like suboptimal miner selection processes, susceptibility to abnormal transactions and types of attacks affecting nonânegligible parts of the ecosystem, performance bottlenecks and so forth, rendering them far from scalability and realâworld usage. This paper addresses the problem, by introducing a set of sophisticated methods that solve recent issues and enhances the robustness, scalability, confidentiality in blockchain networks. Firstly, we present âDeepMinerâ, a deep learningâbased solution that leverages historical blockchain data samples to infer optimal miner nodes. This method improves the block generation efficiency by optimizing miner node selection in realâtime, which is an essential addition to traditional random or otherwise static methods for selecting miners. Secondly, âAnoBlockâ which uses anomaly detection model to detect fraud in blockchain transactions using the statistical methods like Gaussian mixture models and isolation forests. Thirdly, âOptiChainâ uses data analytics to dynamically optimize blockchain performance by continuously evaluating live network metrics and the transaction throughout. Lastly, âPrivyChainâ which uses privacy preservation techniques such as zeroâknowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption to achieve transaction confidentiality while retaining blockchain transparency. Their solution addresses these issues with a dual approach to protect any sensitive transaction details from being leaked and make it feasible for computations over encrypted data, the result of which aligns blockchain technology with stringent privacy standards.
Complex-valued double-sideband direct detection (DD) can reconstruct the optical field and achieve a high electrical spectral efficiency (ESE) comparable to that of a coherent homodyne receiver, and DD does not require a costly local oscillator laser. However, a fundamental question remains if there is an optimal DD receiver structure with the simplest design to approach the performance of the coherent homodyne detection. This study derives the optimal DD receiver structure with an optimal transfer function to recover a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signal with a near-zero guard band at the central frequency of the signal. We derive the theoretical ESE limit for various detection schemes by invoking Shannonâs formula. Our proposed scheme is closest to coherent homodyne detection in terms of the theoretical ESE limit. By leveraging a WaveShaper to construct the optimal transfer function, we conduct a proof-of-concept experiment to transmit a net 228.85-Gb/s 64-QAM signal over an 80-km single-mode fiber with a net ESE of 8.76 b/s/Hz. To the best of our knowledge, this study reports the highest net ESE per polarization per wavelength for DD transmission beyond 40-km single-mode fiber. For a comprehensive metric, denoted as 2<sup>ESE</sup>ĂReach, we achieve the highest 2<sup>ESE</sup>ĂReach per polarization per wavelength for DD transmission.
One revolutionary way to tackle privacy and security issues in federated learning (FL) is to include blockchain technology and zero-knowledge proofs (ZK) into machine learning frameworks. To strengthen FL's defences against threats such as model poisoning attacks, this work investigates the use of ZK proofs. This study presents a new technique that uses secure multi-party computation (MPC) to efficiently detect poisoned models, addressing the shortcomings of previous ZK systems. Data anonymization, encryption of sensitive information, and encoding of categorical data all contribute to the proposed model's privacy-preserving features. Adding a privacy-protecting layer is an integral part of ML model integration. ZK circuits employ ZK-SNARKs or Bulletproofs to generate proofs that the ML model may use to predict without disclosing the data. ZK-SNARKs are trusted, and request validation and data access rules control proof access.
In blockchain ecosystems, maintaining transparency and privacy has become an ethical dilemma. This is because, while certain specific information of the user is shared to ensure transparency of transactions across networks, such information could be detrimental to the user, as there is a possibility of it being tampered with. For instance, in the Catalyst voting process in Cardano, users can still see the amount of ADA tokens being held by other users, which can influence their voting options, especially when large ADA holders vote in support of certain ideas or proposals. To discourage such challenges as voter manipulation and vote buying, this study proposed the implementation of zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) in blockchain ecosystems to enhance the transparency of the catalyst voting process and enhance efficiency and speed of result release. Using survey questionnaire and a multivocal literature review, this study was able to proof that ZKP cannot only be applied in the catalyst voting process to enhance its transparency, but also addressed potential challenges to its applications such as scalability, encourage trust and fairness of the voting system, and improve voter participation due to its user-friendliness. Mathematical models emphasize scaled voting as optimal for balancing inclusion and plutocratic control.
In the era of decentralized identity management within blockchain ecosystems, ensuring user privacy during authentication processes is a critical concern. This dissertation addresses the challenge of privacypreserving authentication within decentralized identity management systems, specifically on the Algorand blockchain platform. As digital identity solutions become critical in todayâs interconnected world, traditional centralized models expose user data to substantial privacy and security risks, such as data breaches, identity theft, and unauthorized access. The research leverages Algorandâs pure proof of stake (PPoS) consensus mechanism, recognized for its scalability and energy efficiency, along with cryptographic techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and the Pedersen commitment scheme. The primary contribution of this dissertation is the development of a proof of concept decentralized application (DApp) designed for secure and anonymous voting, designed to balance data protection with usability within the context of Dharma Teams, a decentralized application of Yari Labs. By incorporating cryptographic primitives such as anonymous credentials and secure, decentralized authentication protocols, the DApp demonstrates how user privacy can be maintained even in open blockchain environments. The framework developed within this research not only ensures user anonymity, but also upholds the integrity and transparency of the authentication process. Furthermore, this dissertation explores the applicability of these privacy-preserving methods in various use cases, including decentralized finance, supply chain management, and verification of digital identity. Through a blend of theoretical insights and practical implementation, this work lays a pathway toward more secure and use centric digital ecosystems on Algorand and similar platforms.
Kelvin, Richard Raymond, Fahrur Rozzi Nasution, Andrew Law · 7 authors
Teknologi blockchain, dengan karakteristiknya yang desentralisasi, transparan, dan tahan tamper, menawarkan solusi inovatif untuk mengatasi tantangan dalam sistem pembayaran tradisional. Dengan mekanisme konsensus seperti Proof of Work (PoW) dan Proof of Stake (PoS), blockchain dapat menjamin integritas data dan mencegah pengeluaran ganda. Keamanan transaksi terjaga melalui penggunaan kriptografi canggih, yang juga melindungi identitas pengguna. Meski demikian, implementasi blockchain menghadapi tantangan signifikan, termasuk skalabilitas, konsumsi energi, serta kompleksitas regulasi. Studi ini menganalisis pengaruh blockchain terhadap keamanan dan privasi dalam sistem pembayaran berbasis kriptografi, termasuk evaluasi teknik seperti Zero-Knowledge Proofs dan enkripsi homomorfik. Melalui pendekatan kualitatif berbasis analisis literatur dan studi kasus, penelitian ini mengeksplorasi aplikasi blockchain dalam berbagai sektor pembayaran, seperti pembayaran lintas batas dan micropayments, serta dampaknya terhadap peran lembaga keuangan. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa blockchain berpotensi meningkatkan efisiensi dan keamanan transaksi, meskipun isu regulasi dan privasi masih menjadi kendala utama untuk adopsi lebih luas.
Autonomous AI agents present transformative opportunities and significant governance challenges. Existing frameworks, such as the EU AI Act and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, fall short of addressing the complexities of these agents, which are capable of independent decision-making, learning, and adaptation. To bridge these gaps, we propose the ETHOS (Ethical Technology and Holistic Oversight System) framework, a decentralized governance (DeGov) model leveraging Web3 technologies, including blockchain, smart contracts, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). ETHOS establishes a global registry for AI agents, enabling dynamic risk classification, proportional oversight, and automated compliance monitoring through tools like soulbound tokens and zero-knowledge proofs. Furthermore, the framework incorporates decentralized justice systems for transparent dispute resolution and introduces AI specific legal entities to manage limited liability, supported by mandatory insurance to ensure financial accountability and incentivize ethical design. By integrating philosophical principles of rationality, ethical grounding, and goal alignment, ETHOS aims to create a robust research agenda for promoting trust, transparency, and participatory governance. This innovative framework offers a scalable and inclusive strategy for regulating AI agents, balancing innovation with ethical responsibility to meet the demands of an AI-driven future.
Mihaela Ifrim, Ben Pineau, Daniel Tataru, Mitchell A. Taylor
In this article, we provide a definitive well-posedness theory for the free boundary problem in incompressible magnetohyrodynamics. Despite the clear physical interest in this system and the remarkable progress in the study of the free boundary Euler equations in recent decades, the low regularity well-posedness of the free boundary MHD equations has remained completely open. This is due, in large part, to the highly nonlinear wave-type coupling between the velocity, magnetic field and free boundary, which has forced previous works to impose restrictive geometric constraints on the data. To address this problem, we introduce a novel Eulerian approach and an entirely new functional setting, which better captures the wave equation structure of the MHD equations and permits a complete Hadamard well-posedness theory in low-regularity Sobolev spaces. In particular, we give the first proofs of existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence on the data at the sharp $s>\frac{d}{2}+1$ Sobolev regularity, in addition to a blowup criterion for smooth solutions at the same low regularity scale. Moreover, we provide a completely new method for constructing smooth solutions which, to our knowledge, gives the first proof of existence (at any regularity) in our new functional setting. All of our results hold in arbitrary dimensions and in general, not necessarily simply connected, domains. By taking the magnetic field to be zero, they also recover the corresponding sharp well-posedness theorems for the free boundary Euler equations. The methodology and tools that we employ here can likely be fruitfully implemented in other free boundary models.
The advancement of 6G wireless communication technology has facilitated the integration of Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs). However, the messages transmitted over the public channel in the open and dynamic VANETs are vulnerable to malicious attacks. Although numerous researchers have proposed authentication schemes to enhance the security of Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication, most existing methodologies face two significant challenges: (1) the majority of the schemes are not lightweight enough to support real-time message interaction among vehicles; (2) the sensitive information like identity and position is at risk of being compromised. To tackle these issues, we propose a lightweight dual authentication protocol for V2V communication based on Physical Unclonable Function (PUF). The proposed scheme accomplishes dual authentication between vehicles by the combination of Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) and MASK function. The security analysis proves that our scheme provides both anonymous authentication and information unlinkability. Additionally, the performance analysis demonstrates that the computation overhead of our scheme is approximately reduced 23.4% compared to the state-of-the-art schemes. The practical simulation conducted in a 6G network environment demonstrates the feasibility of 6G-based VANETs and their potential for future advancements.
Frequent user data breaches and misuse incidents highlight the flaws in current identity management systems. This study proposes a blockchain-based, peer-supervised self-sovereign identity (SSI) generation and privacy protection technology. Our approach creates unique digital identities on the blockchain, enabling secure cross-domain recognition and data sharing and satisfying the essential users' requirements for SSI. Compared to existing SSI solutions, our approach has the practical advantages of less implementation cost, ease of users' understanding and agreement, and better possibility of being soon adopted by current society and legal systems. The key innovative technical features include (1) using a zero-knowledge proof technology to ensure data remain "usable but invisible", mitigating data breach risks; (2) introducing a peer review mechanism among service providers to prevent excessive data requests and misuse; and (3) implementing a comprehensive multi-party supervision system to audit all involved parties and prevent misconduct.
The current digital landscape is constantly under cybersecurity risks and data breaches, making trust and security systems of paramount concern. Blockchain technology offers promising solutions to enhance security and transparency in various sectors. However, it is important to understand the risks associated and proceed with caution with this revolutionary technology, as countless individuals and organizations may be left vulnerable to the fear of data breaches and regulatory pitfalls. This fear, therefore, should not be taken lightly. The struggle to ensure this technology aligns with security compliance regulations is not just a technological challenge- it is integral to safeguarding personal identity, businesses, and our futures in an increasingly uncertain world. As such, this paper looks to examine the intricate relationship between blockchain technology and security compliance, exploring the challenges, solutions, and future implications of this Blockchain technology. Keywordsâ Blockchain technology, security compliance, data privacy, GDPR, selective mutability, zero-knowledge proofs, smart contracts, auditing, industry-specific approaches, healthcare, supply chain management, AML, KYC
The acceleration of the digital transformation process imposed by the pandemic in all the countries of the European Union, and in all sectors, has given way to a revolution that up until a couple of years ago would have been impossible even to imagine. Digital innovation has become a factor of competitiveness in all sectors. In this new scenario that has come to be, the Blockchain technology, the Self-Sovereign Identity paradigm, Internet of Things, and, in general, the new technologies that will emerge, will constitute enhancers of competitiveness and will have to aim for interoperability. In this context, this article develops and presents a model proposal in the healthcare field that aims to highlight how the combination of the Blockchain technology and the Self-Sovereign Identity paradigm restores full control over a personâs identity and information, while ensuring the integrity of all medical reports, enabling secure communications between personal medical devices and patient/doctor applications on devices exploiting peer Decentralized Identifiers and ensuring data privacy, exploiting Zero Knowledge Proofs. The proposal relies on the Veramo platform, treating all medical reports as verifiable credentials and storing them in digital wallets owned by the patient. The article concludes by presenting a prototype designed and implemented for managing medication prescriptions, their issuance, and their exchange.
With the widespread adoption and increasing application of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency wallets used in Bitcoin and Ethereum play a crucial role in facilitating decentralized asset management and secure transactions. However, wallet security relies heavily on private keys, with insufficient attention to the risks of theft and exposure. To address this issue, Chaum et al. (ACNSâ21) proposed a âproof of ownershipâ method using a âbackup keyâ to prove ownership of private keys even when exposed. However, their interactive proof approach is inefficient in large-scale systems and vulnerable to side-channel attacks due to the long key generation time. Other related schemes also suffer from low efficiency and complex key management, increasing the difficulty of securely storing backup keys. In this paper, we present an efficient, non-interactive proof generation approach for ownership of secret keys using a single backup key. Our approach leverages non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs and symmetric encryption, allowing users to generate multiple proofs with one fixed backup key, simplifying key management. Additionally, our scheme resists quantum attacks and provides a fallback signature. Our new scheme can be proved to capture unforgeability under the computational indistinguishability from the Uniformly Random Distribution property of a proper hash function and soundness in the quantum random oracle model. Experimental results indicate that our approach achieves a short key generation time and enables an efficient proof generation scheme in large-scale decentralized systems. Compared with state-of-the-art schemes, our approach is applicable to a broader range of scenarios due to its non-interactive nature, short key generation time, high efficiency, and simplified key management system.
Katharina Koschatko, Reinhard LĂŒftenegger, Christian Rechberger
Gröbner basis cryptanalysis of hash functions and ciphers, and their underlying permutations, has seen renewed interest recently. Anemoi (Cryptoâ23) is a permutation-based hash function that is efficient for a variety of arithmetizations used in zero-knowledge proofs. In this paper, exploring both theoretical bounds as well as experimental validation, we present new complexity estimates for Gröbner basis attacks on the Anemoi permutation over prime fields.We cast our findings in what we call the six worlds of Gröbner basis cryptanalysis. As an example, keeping the same security arguments of the design, we conclude that at least 41 instead of 37 rounds would need to be used for 256-bit security, whereby our suggestion does not yet include a security margin.
Open access
Polynomial and algebraic computation
Cryptography and Residue Arithmetic
Mathematics, Computing, and Information Processing
Traditional identity management systems, often centralized, face challenges around privacy, data security, and user control, leaving users vulnerable to data breaches and misuse. This paper explores the potential of using the Arweave network to develop an identity management solution. By harnessing Arweave's permanent storage, our solution offers the users a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) framework, that uses Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs) to allow individuals and other entities to create, own, and manage their digital identities. Further, the solution integrates privacy-preserving technologies, including zero-knowledge proofs and the BBS(+) signature scheme, enabling selective disclosure. This approach ultimately enhances user privacy and supports compliance with European Union legislation and regulatory standards like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by design.
Yalan Wang, Liqun Chen, Long Meng, Christopher J. P. Newton
Concerns about how third parties manage personal information have led to the development of decentralized identities (DIDs) and verifiable credentials (VCs). The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) working group has been developing standards for DIDs and VCs. In the W3C standards, a DID identifies an entity (a DID holder) and a VC confirms that this DID holder has some associated attributes. A DID holder can obtain many VCs and confirm any number of these VCs to others (verifiers) in verifiable presentations (VPs). In order to keep a holderâs identity and attributes private, it is necessary to achieve anonymous VPs that allows this information to be kept confidential. The W3C working group recommends using randomizable signatures to create VCs with zero-knowledge proofs for this purpose. However, the anonymous VPs provided by the this method are limited that in the real world, credentials in cross domains cannot be universally verified. To overcome this limitation, in this paper, we propose a new scheme, called Verifiable Credentials with anonymous DIDs (VCaDID), which aims to achieve anonymous VPs in cross-domain settings. The main technique in our VCaDID scheme is a ring signature with multiple attributes by hiding a holderâs public key among a ring of holders. In our scheme, we set private keys associated with the holderâs DID and attributes, which allow the holder to anonymously present these credentials in a verifiable way. We also prove that the proposed VCaDID scheme satisfies correctness, anonymity and unforgeability under security assumptions of discrete log and random oracle model. Finally, we implement our scheme to demonstrate its feasibility.
Shahzad Ahmad Butt, Benjamin Reynolds, V. Ramamurthy, Xiao Xiao · 8 authors
Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) have emerged as an important cryptographic technique allowing one party (prover) to prove the correctness of a statement to some other party (verifier) and nothing else. ZKPs give rise to user's privacy in many applications such as blockchains, digital voting, and machine learning. Traditionally, ZKPs suffered from poor scalability but recently, a sub-class of ZKPs known as Zero-knowledge Succinct Non-interactive ARgument of Knowledges (zk-SNARKs) have addressed this challenge. They are getting significant attention and are being implemented by many public libraries. In this paper, we present a novel scalable architecture that is suitable for accelerating the zk-SNARK prover compute on FPGAs. We focus on the multi-scalar multiplication (MSM) that accounts for the majority of computation time spent in zk-SNARK systems. The MSM calculations extensive rely on modular arithmetic so highly optimized Intel IP Libraries for modular arithmetic are used. The proposed architecture exploits the parallelism inherent to MSM and is implemented using the Intel OneAPI framework for FPGAs. Our implementation runs 110x-150x faster compared to reference software library, uses a generic curve form in Jacobian coordinates and is the first to report FPGA hardware acceleration results for BLS12-381 and BN128 family of elliptic curves.
In this research, the Blockchain-Based Data Protection and Privacy-Preserving (BDPPP) framework for IoT healthcare applications was designed and established to improve the data security and privacy of IoT healthcare applications by adopting blockchain and other cryptographic techniques. The study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach that involved a harmonious synthesis of several research papers to establish important security threats in IoT systems, emphasizing healthcare infrastructure. Both interviews and case studies were conducted with healthcare professionals and IT specialists to examine data privacy issues and weaknesses of IoT devices. The BDPPP framework was developed exploiting blockchain technology framework and cryptographic approaches including homomorphism encryption and zero-knowledge proofs to protect the information of the patient. Both smart contracts and edge computing were also applied to manage access to data as well as enhance real-time computation. The performance of the healthcare IoT network was assessed through a range of statistical parameters including latency, throughout, as well as encryption overhead were tested in a simulated IoT network environment. The findings showed that the proposed BDPPP framework provided maximum data confidentiality (encryption) at 100 percent and achieved high privacy standards (95% privacy performance) over IoT devices and also proved scalability up to 5000 IoT devices. Statistical tests used included; Logistic regression results showed that demographic characteristics including age and health conditions were not predictors of consent status. This means that the framework implemented in this study also achieved a low latency of 120 ms and a high through-put of 200 TPS despite the added layer of encryption. Overall, the proposed BDPPP framework is an innovative decentralized approach for further improvement of the IoT HC and data protection and privacy.
Oqeili Saleh, Abu-alzanat Thamer, Alkaraimah Qutaibah, al smadi Takialddin
CAPTCHA, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart, is a commonly employed security measure to distinguish between humans and computers. The Turing Test, designed to guarantee network security, is the foundation of this security technique. Usability is a crucial concern that can prevent human users from engaging in laborious and time-consuming tasks. When designing CAPTCHA, security and usability must be addressed simultaneously. When designing CAPTCHA, it is crucial to address security and usability simultaneously. A concerted effort is required to protect online data and guarantee privacy and security. The personal information of Internet users remains susceptible to theft. This study uses an information extraction technique called CAPTCHA to investigate the hazards associated with violating user privacy. It is a highly harmful process due to hacking, theft, unauthorized reuse, and the breach of user information. This study proposes a privacy preservation system employing concurrent encryption techniques, multilateral security computing, and zero-knowledge proof. The objective is to create a system that allows for uncomplicated and secure puzzle-solving using dice gas. CAPTCHA limits access to users' information. In the overview and application of evidentiary measurable methods, we can draw significant conclusions about the more extensive client group's discernments and encounters with CAPTCHA as a privacy-preserving component.