The advent of the digital era and computer-based remote communications has significantly enhanced the applicability of various sciences over the past two decades, notably data science (DS) and cryptography (CG). Data science involves clustering and categorizing unstructured data, while cryptography ensures security and privacy aspects. Despite certain CG laws and requirements mandating fully randomized or pseudonoise outputs from CG primitives and schemes, it appears that CG policies might impede data scientists from working on ciphers or analyzing information systems supporting security and privacy services. However, this study posits that CG does not entirely preclude data scientists from operating in the presence of ciphers, as there are several examples of successful collaborations, including homomorphic encryption schemes, searchable encryption algorithms, secret-sharing protocols, and protocols offering conditional privacy. These instances, along with others, indicate numerous potential solutions for fostering collaboration between DS and CG. Therefore, this study classifies the challenges faced by DS and CG into three distinct groups: challenging problems (which can be conditionally solved and are currently available to use; e.g., using secret sharing protocols, zero-knowledge proofs, partial homomorphic encryption algorithms, etc.), open problems (where proofs to solve exist but remain unsolved and is now considered as open problems; e.g., proposing efficient functional encryption algorithm, fully homomorphic encryption scheme, etc.), and hard problems (infeasible to solve with current knowledge and tools). Ultimately, the paper will address specific solutions and outline future directions to tackle the challenges arising at the intersection of DS and CG, such as providing specific access for DS experts in secret-sharing algorithms, assigning data index dimensions to DS experts in ultra-dimension encryption algorithms, defining some functional keys in functional encryption schemes for DS experts, and giving limited shares of data to them for analytics.
Yutian Chen, Cong Peng, Yu Dai, Min Luo · 5 authors
Multi-scalar multiplication (MSM) is an important building block in most of elliptic-curve-based zero-knowledge proof systems, such as Groth16 and PLONK. Recently, Lu et al. proposed cuZK, a new parallel MSM algorithm on GPUs. In this paper, we revisit this scheme and present a new GPU-based implementation to further improve the performance of MSM algorithm. First, we propose a novel method for mapping scalars into Pippenger’s bucket indices, largely reducing the number of buckets compared to the original Pippenger algorithm. Second, in the case that memory is sufficient, we develop a new efficient algorithm based on homogeneous coordinates in the bucket accumulation phase. Moreover, our accumulation phase is load-balanced, which means the parallel speedup ratio is almost linear growth as the number of device threads increases. Finally, we also propose a parallel layered reduction algorithm for the bucket aggregation phase, whose time complexity remains at the logarithmic level of the number of buckets. The implementation results over the BLS12-381 curve on the V100 graphics card show that our proposed algorithm achieves up to 1.998x, 1.821x and 1.818x speedup compared to cuZK at scales of 221, 222, and 223, respectively.
Blockchain technology has emerged in e-business as a revolutionary force in the realm of cybersecurity, offering novel solutions to the escalating challenges posed by the ever-evolving modern technology landscape. This study delves new e-business into the critical determinants that drive the application of blockchain technology in enhancing cybersecurity. With the proliferation of digital assets and sensitive information, safeguarding data integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility has become paramount. The research employs a multidisciplinary approach in e-business, drawing from the fields of cybersecurity, blockchain technology, and data management. It examines the intricate interplay between blockchain's fundamental features and their direct impact on fortifying cybersecurity measures. Key determinants explored include: Decentralization: Blockchain's decentralized architecture reduces the vulnerability of a single point of failure, rendering it more resilient against cyberattacks. Immutable Ledger: The immutable ledger ensures the integrity of stored data, making it exceptionally challenging for malicious actors to tamper with information. Smart Contracts in E-Business: The automation capabilities of smart contracts enhance the enforcement of security protocols, bolstering the protection of digital assets. Cryptography: Robust cryptographic techniques underpin blockchain security, safeguarding data from unauthorized access. Transparency: The transparent nature of blockchain allows for real-time monitoring and auditing, facilitating the early detection of security breaches. Data Privacy: Blockchain's data privacy features, including permissioned networks and zero-knowledge proofs, address concerns surrounding privacy in cybersecurity. The study also investigates real-world applications and e-business of blockchain technology in cybersecurity across industries, from financial services to healthcare and supply chain management. It highlights successful case studies and identifies the challenges and limitations faced in implementing blockchain solutions. In conclusion, this research underscores the transformative potential of blockchain technology in e-business by fortifying cybersecurity measures. By examining the critical determinants that drive its application, organizations and policymakers can make informed decisions regarding the adoption of blockchain to enhance cybersecurity in the modern technology era. The study encourages further exploration and innovation in this dynamic and rapidly evolving field to secure our digital future.
Abstract To meet the demand for high‐quality healthcare services, data trading can effectively promote the circulation of medical data and improve the level of healthcare services. To address the existing problems of data regulation difficulties and data privacy leakage in medical data trading, a trusted and regulated data trading scheme based on blockchain and zero‐knowledge proof is proposed. In this scheme, a regulatory institution is introduced to control the issuance of authorized tokens and ensure the controllability of data sharing activities. The blockchain takes over the task of generating public parameters to reduce the computational overhead of the system. Based on homomorphic proxy re‐encryption technology, users can perform data analysis in the cloud to ensure data security. Smart contracts and zero‐knowledge proof technology can automatically verify the validity of data to protect the rights and interests of data users; at the same time, efficient consensus algorithms can also increase the rate of transactions processed by the blockchain system. Finally, as the security and performance analysis shows, the scheme in this paper has better security, higher efficiency and more comprehensive functions.
Lakshmi Rama Kiran Pasumarthy, Hisham Ali, William J. Buchanan, Jawad Ahmad · 7 authors
There is an increasing need to share threat information for the prevention of widespread cyber-attacks. While threat-related information sharing can be conducted through traditional information exchange methods, such as email communications etc., these methods are often weak in terms of their trustworthiness and privacy. Additionally, the absence of a trust infrastructure between different information-sharing domains also poses significant challenges. These challenges include redactment of information, the Right-to-be-forgotten, and access control to the information-sharing elements. These access issues could be related to time bounds, the trusted deletion of data, and the location of accesses. This paper presents an abstraction of a trusted information-sharing process which integrates Attribute-Based Encryption (ABE), Homomorphic Encryption (HE) and Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) integrated into a permissioned ledger, specifically Hyperledger Fabric (HLF). It then provides a protocol exchange between two threat-sharing agents that share encrypted messages through a trusted channel. This trusted channel can only be accessed by those trusted in the sharing and could be enabled for each data-sharing element or set up for long-term sharing.
The advent of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) has underscored multifaceted privacy concerns identified in literature, particularly in user monitoring and data security. PETs, such as zero-knowledge proofs and homomorphic encryption, emerge as critical in reconciling regulatory compliance with user anonymity. Encryption safeguards CBDC transactions, while multifactor authentication bolsters transaction integrity. Governance structures play a pivotal role in upholding stringent security standards. This discussion navigates through diverse CBDC models and their privacy implications, probing into the intricacies of user monitoring, data breaches, and biometric data protection. Future research should aim to refine PETs, harmonize regulatory frameworks, and fortify biometric data security. The pursuit of robust privacy measures necessitates a delicate equilibrium between technological innovation and regulatory efficacy, fostering trust and compliance amidst the evolving landscape of CBDC privacy concerns.
Bo Zhang, Tao Zhang, Zesheng Xi, Ping Chen · 6 authors
With the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT), ensuring secure communication between devices has become a crucial challenge. This paper proposes a novel secure communication solution by extracting wireless channel state information (CSI) features from IoT devices to generate a device identity. Due to the instability of the wireless channel, the CSI features are fuzzy and time-varying; thus, we a employ locally sensitive hashing (LSH) algorithm to ensure the stability of the generated identity in a dynamically changing wireless channel environment. Furthermore, zero-knowledge proofs are utilized to guarantee the authenticity and effectiveness of the generated identity. Finally, the identity generated using the aforementioned approach is integrated into an IBE communication scheme, which involves the fuzzy extraction of channel state information from IoT devices, stable identity extraction for fuzzy IoT devices using LSH, and the use of zero-knowledge proofs to ensure the authenticity of the generated identity. This identity is then employed as the identity information in identity-based encryption (IBE), constructing the device’s public key for achieving confidential communication between devices.
Sana Hafeez, Runze Cheng, Lina Mohjazi, Yao Sun · 5 authors
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have significant potential for agile communication and relief coordination in post-disaster scenarios, especially when conventional ground infrastructure is compromised. However, effectively coordinating and securing swarms of heterogeneous UAVs from multiple service providers presents critical challenges related to privacy, scalability, lightweight consensus protocols, and cybersecurity resilience. This study proposes a blockchain-enabled UAV coordination framework that leverages consensus mechanisms, smart contracts, and cryptographic techniques to address these challenges. First, a consortium blockchain architecture is introduced, integrating Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKPs) to enable privacy-preserving, multi-agency coordination while ensuring access control and data security. Second, a hybrid Delegated Proof-of-Stake–Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (DPoS-PBFT) consensus protocol is developed to optimise security, efficiency, and resilience against node failures in resource-constrained UAV networks. Third, a decentralized flocking algorithm is proposed to enable adaptive and autonomous UAV cluster operations under dynamically changing connectivity conditions, ensuring seamless disaster relief functions. Comprehensive simulations show that the proposed system scales efficiently to 500 UAV nodes while maintaining high throughput and low latency, with only a 50-ms increase in latency from 10 to 500 nodes. The framework demonstrates strong cyber resilience, remaining robust under denial-of-service (DoS), spoofing, and tampering attacks. Furthermore, communication latencies remain under 10 milliseconds, with median values of approximately 2–3 ms, achieved through self-optimizing network intelligence. The results validate the proposed system as a secure, scalable, and high-performance solution for UAV-enabled disaster response, ensuring reliable emergency communication and efficient resource allocation in critical environments.
Zhang Lejun, Peng Minghui, Shen Su, Weizheng Wang · 9 authors
With the rapid development of information technology, IoT devices play a huge role in physiological health data detection. The exponential growth of medical data requires us to reasonably allocate storage space for cloud servers and edge nodes. The storage capacity of edge nodes close to users is limited. We should store hotspot data in edge nodes as much as possible, so as to ensure response timeliness and access hit rate; However, the current scheme cannot guarantee that every sub-message in a complete data stored by the edge node meets the requirements of hot data; How to complete the detection and deletion of redundant data in edge nodes under the premise of protecting user privacy and data dynamic integrity has become a challenging problem. Our paper proposes a redundant data detection method that meets the privacy protection requirements. By scanning the cipher text, it is determined whether each sub-message of the data in the edge node meets the requirements of the hot data. It has the same effect as zero-knowledge proof, and it will not reveal the privacy of users. In addition, for redundant sub-data that does not meet the requirements of hot data, our paper proposes a redundant data deletion scheme that meets the dynamic integrity of the data. We use Content Extraction Signature (CES) to generate the remaining hot data signature after the redundant data is deleted. The feasibility of the scheme is proved through safety analysis and efficiency analysis.
Статья посвящена актуальной проблеме обеспечения конфиденциальности в системах распределенного реестра. Рассматривается прикладная задача обеспечения конфиденциальности данных при операциях с цифровыми финансовыми активами. Представлено сравнение различных методов обеспечения конфиденциальности, включая перемешивающие сети, кольцевые подписи и оффчейн-протоколы. Отмечено, что эти методы не достигают достаточного уровня децентрализации, что является важным аспектом для систем распределенного реестра. Для одновременного обеспечения свойств децентрализации и конфиденциальности информации используются методы доказательства с нулевым разглашением, включая методы компактных неинтерактивных доказательств знания (SNARK). В статье приводится математическая модель систем доказательства SNARK, а также описаны подходы к их программной реализации. Приведены результаты экспериментов, направленные на сравнение производительности методов SNARK для решения прикладной задачи проведения операций с цифровыми финансовыми активами. Результаты эксперимента позволяют выделить дальнейшие возможности снижения времени генерации доказательства и сокращения его объема посредством использования пакетной верификации. Полученные результаты имеют практическую значимость для разработки систем распределенного реестра, требующих высокого уровня конфиденциальности и децентрализации.
Data provenance is critical for establishing the origin, authenticity, and integrity of data in distributed environments. Traditional provenance systems often face challenges such as tampering, lack of transparency, and centralized trust issues. Blockchain technology, with its immutable ledger and decentralized consensus mechanisms, provides a promising solution to these challenges. This article explores blockchain-based cryptographic methods that enhance the security and reliability of data provenance systems. We discuss key cryptographic primitives such as digital signatures, hash chains, and zero-knowledge proofs integrated within blockchain frameworks to guarantee secure and verifiable provenance records. The study also highlights practical implementations and identifies open challenges for future research
The integrity of cloud-based convolutional neural network (CNN) prediction services can be jeopardized by a malicious cloud server. Although zero-knowledge proof approaches can be used to verify integrity, they are difficult to use for larger CNN models like LeNet-5 and VGG16, due to the large cost (in terms of time and storage) of generating a proof. This paper proposes ValidCNN, which can efficiently generate integrity proofs based zk-SNARK. At the heart of ValidCNN, it is a novel usage of Freivald's concepts for circuit construction, and a more efficient way for verifying matrix multiplication. Our experimental results demonstrate that VaildCNN significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art approaches that are based on zk-SNARK. For example, compared with ZEN, VaildCNN achieves a 12-fold improvement in time and a 31-fold improvement in storage. Compared with vCNN, VaildCNN achieves a 195-fold and 279-fold improvement in time and storage respectively.
Nowadays, the integration of blockchain technology with Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE) has drawn the researcher attention because it can provide key security auditing and transaction traceability in the context of data sharing. However, in a majority of existing blockchain-based CP-ABE schemes, private keys were still issued by one central authority that would lead to heavy computation, higher transaction costs, and restricted scalability within the decentralized system. To address these challenges, we present an enhancement approach towards utilizing distributed key management service (KMS) and zero-knowledge paradigms. In our improved novel blockchain system model, we define two types of blockchain nodes for the CP-ABE scheme through staking mechanism. Firstly, the proxy re-encryption nodes are introduced to offer secure multi-party management and distribution of the CP-ABE's master secret key, eliminating dependence on a central authority and producing proofs of re-encryption correctness. Secondly, the operator nodes can collect all transactional information in blockchain-based CP-ABE scheme and then send the Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge (zk-SNARKs) proofs to verify the batch’s integrity via smart contract. Subsequently, we employ the staking economic incentive model with reward determination and slashing in the decentralized blockchain system to ensure network security. Finally, simulation results validate the effectiveness of our proposed scheme in achieving secure and efficient data sharing. Even amidst the pressure of 100 simultaneous transactions, the average response time for a single node remains at an approximate 28 s. Additionally, there is a notable decrease in on-chain gas consumption, with a gas reduction exceeding 61%. Comparative analyses further indicate that our blockchain-based CP-ABE scheme, in conjunction with a decentralized KMS, offers a superior balance between computational efficiency and functional capability.
This thesis is the culmination of research conducted between 2019 and 2023. It is divided into three parts. Inthe first part, we explore algorithms related to the Covid-19 pandemic, such as Pool Testing, a well-establishedtechnique where samples from multiple patients are pooled for collective testing, allowing for cost reduction and time savings. We propose algorithms taking into account the a priori probabilities that individual tests are positive, which can be evaluated during a prior clinical examination of the patient. We also examine Pool Testingin emergency situations, where certain samples need to be analyzed according to some prescribed priority order. In both cases, we propose new algorithms and analyze them in detail. This section also deals with DNA privacy preservation in Covid-19 tests. In the second part, we present our results in experimental mathematics, where we have discovered several new conjectures on continued fractions through automated exploration. All those conjectures have been numerically tested to assess their plausibility. Finally, the third part of this thesis is devoted to various results in the field of computer security, such as a previously unknown attack on the Mathematica software, a new protection mechanism against counterfeit medication, and new observations on zero-knowledge proofs.
CBDCs are a digital form of fiat money. CBDCs raise a number of challenges in terms of payments’ privacy. CBDCs may be implemented in two models (wholesale and retail). CBDCs may be used on a cross-border basis, subject to the connectivity of the technology. Cross-border use of some countries’ CBDCs could even bring about, under certain conditions, a shift in geopolitical power, especially if challenger currencies were to eventually lead to a replacement of the USD as the global reserve currency. As regards the key question about the interoperability of CBDC systems with private payment networks, the answer relies on the choice of technology and the location of the CBDC’s ledger, that is within or outside of existing Central Bank clearing and payment systems. CBDCs could transform the way modern societies conduct payments and handle money. Possible challenges that CBDCs raise in connection to monetary policy and financial stability will likely be manageable. Any financial stability issues that remunerated CBDCs might raise, in the sense that they might be in competition with bank deposits, could arguably be dealt with by setting the interest rate that remunerated CBDCs might attract at a level that is not competitive with bank deposits. Similarly, CBDCs are not expected to raise issues with respect to monetary policy and money circulation since essentially CBDCs will act as a replacement of fiat money, albeit in a digital rather than physical form. CBDCs are going to be a completely different form of digital currency than cryptocurrencies, both in terms of technology and in the fact that there will be a centralized state issuer rather than a private one. They will not be volatile as cryptocurrencies, but whether they would be a stable store of value will depend on the state of foreign exchange (FX) markets and exchange rates set by those markets. Cybersecurity safeguards will prove indispensable to building the public’s trust in CBDCs; if money goes missing from the system due to a cyber-heist, then that would undermine consumer confidence in the CBDC system. Thus, strong cybersecurity safeguards will prove indispensable to building the public’s trust in CBDCs. CBDCs will have to be handled through a system that is not excessively energy hungry in contrast with cryptocurrency operations. CBDCs are meant to be inclusive, and not exclude the digitally handicapped part of the population. Cross-border use of CBDCs could herald a new era of seamless, faster, and cheaper cross-border payments. English property law has accommodated crypto assets as a distinct form of personal property; thus the right approach is that CBDCs is that CBDCs will readily be accommodated in English law as a digital version of fiat currency. Several major Central Banks around the world have announced plans to develop a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The development of CBDCs may be seen as an assertion of monetary sovereignty—perhaps the last chance to do so in the face of technological change—but also raises several socio-economic challenges. This article critically explores these issues, including the configuration of a CBDC system, depending on the level of involvement allowed for the commercial banking sector, with reference to the policy papers issued by global regulatory bodies (eg, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)). It also touches on the utility of different technologies mooted by central banks and their impact on the preservation of consumer privacy. This article postulates that CBDCs, rather than merely heralding the return of the state in the realm of money and payments, constitute a final frontier in the field of digital money and digital payments.1 It is also arguable that any monetary policy and financial stability challenges that CBDCs might pose would be manageable through the appropriate use of interest rates and internally imposed caps on deposits and withdrawals. The digitization of international payments opens the window for uniformity of the means of exchange that may be used for international payments. The use of CBDCs on a cross-border basis is mostly an issue of technological connectivity, which is yet an unresolved, and difficult to resolve, matter. If connectivity is ensured, leading to widespread cross-border use of CBDCs, this could give rise to strong competition between countries to promote their own CBDCs and will signal a new era of faster and seamless cross-border payments. This could possibly lead to lower transaction costs for cross-border payments, which in turn would make migrant labour remittances to their home country much cheaper, adding serious social value to the cross-border use of CBDCs. Given that CBDCs will have an exchange rate of one equals one, vis-à-vis the underlying currencies adopting a foreign CBDC would be tantamount to currency substitution; in fact, several countries around the world have experimented with dollarization, namely the replacement of their local currency with the USD. The experiment was mostly carried out in countries with weak national currencies with mixed results, for example, in Zimbabwe and Venezuela the experiment resulted in relative price stability and ensuring control of rampant inflation, especially with regard to food. On the other hand, in other cases,2 the adoption of a foreign currency has led to further weakening of the exchange parity of the national currency reinforcing the cycle of instability for the local economy, since local savers rushed to turn their savings in local currency to the newly adopted foreign currency. At the same time, the use of national CBDCs on a cross-border basis opens a window of opportunity for emerging economies such as China to promote the use of their CBDCs in international payments. Such a development would arguably, in the long run, enable the currencies of those countries to challenge the USD or edge away the USD from its long-entrenched position as the global reserve currency, thus enabling countries issuing CBDCs that are used on a cross-border basis to mount a gradual assault on the USA’s global financial hegemony. Here it should be mentioned that China has expressed the ambition to replace the USD as a global reserve currency through the cross-border use of the digital Renminbi (RMB); an obstacle is that the currency is not freely convertible; either way, such a development could possibly lead to the radical transformation of current global monetary arrangements.3 The main part of this article is structured into four sections, in addition to this introduction and the conclusion. Section 2 provides a critical evaluation of the rationales for the development of CBDCs. Section 3 addresses the requirements and implications of the possible use of CBDCs on a cross-border basis, as well as the formidable obstacles that these would face. Section 4 covers some of the legal and economic aspects of CBDCs (including the impact of CBDCs on both financial stability and monetary policy) as well as the possible impact of remunerated (interest-bearing) CBDCs. Section 5 examines the key properties of different configurations of CBDC systems and discusses the ramifications of the different CBDC architectures and technology models that may be employed by central banks. Section 6 brings the different strands of the analysis contained within this article to a conclusion. This raises a question that seemed to have been settled by the fact that central banks normally exercise monetary policy through the balances of commercial banks, allowing thus the multiplication of private money in the economy. The idea of CBDCs constitutes a response to the recent trend of the increasing digitization of money and privatization of payments. Among the discussed benefits of CBDCs is better financial inclusion,4 especially in countries where it is expensive to have access to a commercial bank branch network, for example island states like The Bahamas5 and other states facing similar challenges in terms of logistics. It has to be noted here that some commentators are not convinced about the benefits of CBDCs, for example, the House of Lords issued a report on the Bank of England’s plans for a CBDC with the title CBDCs: A Solution in Search of a Problem?6 However, this may be unduly negative. Depending on the type of technology, central banks are likely to proceed with the development and/or the issuance and circulation of CBDCs, and technical solutions that can help with the preservation of privacy of citizens’ payment information.7 Notwithstanding, in a number of countries including Singapore,8 CBDCs have not progressed as fast as expected. The advent of digitization of money and payments has mostly been dominated by private sector operators and has given rise to a number of challenges for public policymakers, including identifying ways to secure universal and affordable access to private payment networks, and the protection of consumers from cryptocurrency scams. To these challenges, states have not reacted in expected ways, namely through the introduction of a heavier form of regulation of cryptocurrency markets and private payment system providers, but rather through the introduction of a competing form of digital currency and payment system. The key rationales for the introduction of CBDCs have been summarized by the Bank of International Settlements.9 These are payments finality, countering the market power of private providers of payment systems; making innovation work for all citizens and also to secure uninterrupted consumer access to payment systems.10 A number of other rationales are included in the European Central Bank’s paper on a digital Euro.11 These include the provision of a further boost for the digitization of the economy and to safeguard financial inclusion and to lower transaction costs, for example to access private payment systems.12 A final rationale includes the ambition to provide a stable digital currency to act as an anchor for the placement of citizens’ savings (eg, without having to pay access fees to use a digital payment system). The physical handling of money and the conduct of payments have drastically changed in the current era. Payments on the one hand have been fully digitized and dominated by private sector payment system providers like the Visa and MasterCard networks. These developments alongside the emerging challenge of cryptocurrencies and the distinct shortcomings of cryptocurrency markets (including grossly excessive volatility) have mounted a massive challenge with respect to citizens’ payments and money circulation, namely the tight control of monetary policy by the state. Another major challenge has been citizens’ access to digital payment systems. The weaknesses of cryptocurrency markets and obstacles (eg, transaction costs) to access to the wider public and obstacles placed on the access of wider public to private payment systems have amounted to a form of market failure. These market failures have necessitated the introduction of public regulation, and in the of such regulation, several states and central banks around the world have for the development of competing digital currencies and payment this by the state. The introduction of CBDCs will the about whether money is a public in the sense that a number of in the economy such as payments and financial should be in the public The and of international payments, for example, migrant remittances and international a window of opportunity for the possible cross-border use of CBDCs. Cross-border use of CBDCs could lead to a new era of seamless international payments. The in which and handle money and conduct payments has changed in The of the digitization of money and payments has a window of opportunity for the development of CBDCs for cross-border use in countries with a strong economy. China is the country that has so expressed an ambition for different countries to use its CBDC as a means of exchange in international payments, the to in international through the possible replacement of the USD as a global reserve currency by the digital in the or The for the development of cross-border CBDCs is connectivity in terms of technology between payments systems in different A further and challenge to energy and which also around system and of the adoption of a digital currency by a country other than the issuing countries adopting CBDC are the issuing interest rates and exchange rates exchange rates normally a in terms of international and thus have an impact on the issuing of payments, that is of and the use of CBDC with respect to the adopting international payments would lead to the by the adopting country of the interest and exchange rates policy by the issuing country given that exchange rates can the of and might in the adopting economic that is to the of their economy. On the other hand, the of a CBDC can benefits to the issuing country including increasing the of its national currency and leading to the of title between the issuing and adopting on the question of whether CBDCs will make cross-border payments and cheaper, much will depend on the central so that they the connectivity of their systems and of cross-border legal question in this would be whether both the issuing and the adopting and on would to cross-border of CBDCs. This question could be by at the of in private international law (eg, the with cross-border of digital and with reference to cross-border of digital The of the in this may depend on where the CBDC or where the central bank that the are CBDCs will a form of money, if they the of money, which to the The as a means of The as a store of The as a of The are the properties to money by central banks and international financial regulatory Given that CBDCs are likely to be as fiat money, albeit in a digital it is within the of the issuing state to CBDCs as legal CBDCs used by the public will the for the of money by the to money. CBDCs can as money which cryptocurrencies do if CBDCs are also as legal by certain this way they will also the requirements set out by the approach to the of state money. It should be noted here that cryptocurrencies do not into either CBDCs, will both the and of money. The idea of Central CBDC to be the answer of and central banks to the recent around money, payments and in CBDCs are digital form of fiat money. has been a of about CBDCs around the and papers by major central banks such as the the European Central the Bank of as well as those in and but there is the of CBDCs. The way to approach CBDCs is to as digital fiat money distinct from and thus states can CBDCs as their legal The main in this is that CBDCs may or a on commercial banks on the of of bank deposits in for savers to their money into CBDC that are central banks can a on the of CBDC that an can and banks in could the that an may at a in These would the of a of bank deposits. much will depend on whether CBDCs with interest rates at or at a level to with savings If interest is at the rate to remunerated CBDCs could be so that it not with commercial savings other this is CBDCs could lead to a of monetary that not that they would lead to an in interest The of digital has mounted a challenge to control of the money CBDCs raise the question of whether they would the of money in circulation, thus leading to inflation, this mostly to CBDCs, which could CBDCs will be than a or replacement of fiat money in circulation, it that they will lead to leading to inflation, or have an impact on the existing of money in circulation in the question is as to the of commercial banks and private payment systems in the use of CBDCs. As regards the question of whether the CBDC will be in the form of a or in the form of an of the central banks that they will be and will be used in a way, not on a technology like terms of the choice between an and a there is in of but it has been by an of that central banks can issue or CBDCs in if they have the to issue and in the of CBDCs, it should be that it would be difficult to payment and finality, in the of CBDCs in the of a centralized payment and even if the CBDC system is not on technology payment and are much in the of CBDCs. The of in this is to payment but that with serious in a market with payment it is to the of CBDCs will be for payments in the from the fact that they may be an for and central banks to their way into control of money and payments in an economy, and in the exercise of monetary CBDC systems could in be as or systems. A system would the involvement of the commercial banking sector with CBDC payments and the of CBDC A CBDC on the other hand would that CBDCs will be used for payments by and (eg, The involvement of the private banking sector would a number of with respect to regulatory especially as regards the question of which in the system is and the of such the CBDC system, which banks on their as a of it which is going to conduct these if CBDCs are in and by the it is to be to they the to the CBDC system, to out these the Bank of has plans for the development of a digital which will work as a Similarly, the European Central Bank to the development of the digital as a It should be noted that some CBDC systems may work under both that is by the central the Bank of has announced plans to develop a payments will be through a system on the basis of carried out through the the Bank of plans the possible use of the digital as a CBDC without the that it could be used as a Similarly, the not the of its digital this The choice of the CBDC will also the issue of with regulatory and they will impact the of the CBDCs. If commercial banks are part of the system, then it would be commercial banks which will out the and the and with regulatory to the different requirements to money and payments. On the other hand, if the is through a of private then it will be to to out regulatory if a a payment through their systems. if the CBDC is there have been that the could be by the public with the central However, such a development could impact commercial banking where the public their savings with commercial banks. since the is that CBDCs will be a central bank this approach be it would make central banks a of failure. terms of this would the and of on central banks CBDC of the challenges to CBDCs the protection of the privacy of citizens’ payments and connectivity with private sector systems. as to the question of the form of CBDCs, namely whether they are in the form of an or this on whether CBDCs will be through the of the private banking in which CBDCs will be used for the payments of private and the of an the same system would also the of systems payments and payment finality, making for CBDC Such a system should also a for the secure of payment from the different possibly by the use of digital The use of CBDCs in the form of a sense if they are as CBDCs. Another major challenge to the interoperability with private payment networks, for example, commercial bank The answer to this challenge may be in the form of an between the CBDC and the where central banks the balances with commercial banks. on it could be that CBDCs can be a way for the state to in terms of payments and money and payment systems to all as CBDCs can access to payment systems and financial to without bank as systems are not to use for CBDC and payments even systems can safeguard their and level of would make to to the privacy of citizens’ payments. The preservation of privacy on the type of technology which will be used for the and of CBDCs, for example use of central systems would all about citizens’ payments to the central bank and any state are technical solutions to secure the privacy of on systems such as at this it be noted that major central banks have that they will not use a system for their CBDCs. Another technical that would provide a for the preservation of payments privacy could be the system on digital used and by citizens and The on this is that could with the central a to also enable or to the to be to handle their payments in CBDCs on a fact, it would be difficult for a CBDC system to work without a system of On the question of whether CBDC systems will be or central banks to have the question that the system will be by the of technology for CBDCs. Given that CBDCs will be a digital form of the national currency, to the that systems on CBDC systems to may be a way to to for the national currency which could boost exchange CBDCs could be a possible for the use of in markets the market of the and is to be in an where private sector innovation the to will depend on the CBDCs will prove with the public at other will they be CBDCs may prove to be an public control to money and with possible benefits for national contrast to cryptocurrency the possible of on CBDC the that CBDCs can be used to the same to the of certain to use CBDCs for the of CBDCs will depend on citizens’ If CBDCs prove to be and a stable store of and through a payments system which is from it will not be difficult for to citizens’ especially if they are also used as legal The of to control the use of CBDCs in CBDCs into an form of state could that the introduction of CBDCs would lead to in for both the at and for the would use CBDCs. The of the CBDC the answer to the question whether the CBDC will be with the of the banking sector or will also prove critical in terms of citizens’ and To citizens’ this will that the CBDC system would have a and that for such a and other issues, do not have an on is also mentioned as one of the in for the development of a digital and some other cryptocurrencies have in this respect which should and are not is which to the global economy should be allowed to to global CBDCs are the final frontier in increasing digitization of money and payments and the gradual of in the physical and in reinforcing the use of fiat money by the wider They also to be the last chance for state to monetary as of money and payments in national it would be in the for CBDCs to fully currency in a physical form. The is that money in a physical form has a distinct in terms of of for example, in that it not exclude the digitally The is that in of an such as a of technology, or an act of such as a physical or such as currency in the physical form can as a and possibly critical the development of CBDCs challenges which to some have been in this which has also to possible to the key CBDCs of the challenges that these raise like cross-border connectivity is certain is that the of CBDC systems will have a impact on payments and the provision of money in the economy and may have an impact on the of banking systems. of the challenges with CBDCs can through the type of technology that will be Given the challenges vis-à-vis the adoption of CBDCs, an international such as the should further on these challenges could be the adoption of CBDCs the including a form of technology to cross-border connectivity between different national central bank CBDC systems. However, it if a CBDCs to and the digital in money and payments would be Given competition from the private sector, the return of the state in the realm of money and of payment systems may prove to be with To in the the of money was the of central banks, and CBDCs may be a way to that in CBDCs may prove to be the last frontier for money and payments in the of the and have the not the bring about a radical transformation in the way that payments are and money is handled in This article is an and version of a paper to a on the of and at at the for of on this have several in to of the of the of of the and at the European Central for their and
With the growing demand for Internet of Things devices and their usage in day-to-day life, security is the prime factor that needs to be considered. In Internet of Things devices, authentication factors such as biometric factors are usually sensitive in nature. There is a need for some strong authentication mechanism that ensures negligible data breaches in a system. Zero-knowledge authentication is a modern cryptographic technique that proves knowledge without its disclosure, ultimately boosting security by avoiding any kind of storage or exposing sensitive data. This paper aims to analyze the properties of zero-knowledge proof and how it helps in preserving the security of IoT devices. The paper not only discussed the IoT architecture and analyzed the design of zero-knowledge authentication in various Internet of Things networks but also mentioned the limitations and future directions.
With the rise of healthcare digitization, it has become a critical priority to safeguard patient privacy and ensure data security. Conventional methods of data access control mechanisms have proven to be insufficient in the dynamic management of patient data access with a fine-grained access control mechanism. In this paper, we have proposed ZeroMedChain which explores an innovative solution for enhancing the security of medical records in the field of healthcare. The proposed paper makes use of Layer 2 security measures and Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technologies. Since the basic focus of the paper is decentralized identity and access management, we have integrated Zero-knowledge Proof with a layer of privacy that permits the patients to share the necessary medical details without revealing their identity. Further, the simulation carried out of the proposed ZeroMedChain along with the conventional consensus algorithm of Proof-of-work proved that ZeroMedChain has better time complexity by 34%.
Yustus Eko Oktian, Thi-Thu-Huong Le, Uk Jo, Agus Mahardika Ari Laksmono · 5 authors
With the increasing number of Internet of Things devices, it is crucial to keep them up-to-date to prevent cyber attacks. Traditional centralized delivery is not suitable for scaling and also can be too expensive to run for small vendors. Thus, finding a fully secure, scalable, yet cost-efficient firmware update distribution strategy is always an open research problem. This paper tries to answer those problems by proposing Patchman, a secure decentralized firmware update delivery service for the Internet of Things ecosystem leveraging blockchain. When a new firmware patch is available, vendors make a bid in the smart contract for anyone to join as firmware distributors. For each successful delivery to targeted devices, distributors are rewarded with tokens. Meanwhile, devices gain a reputation score every time they successfully install an update. To ensure robustness and fairness, we develop secure fair exchange protocols using verifiable proof-of-delivery and proof-of-installation. Those proofs can be traded in the blockchain for rewards and reputation scores increase, proving that the proof-holders have successfully processed a firmware delivery and firmware installation task. This way, the firmware update delivery can be executed safely without centralized third-party control. Our evaluation results show that our implementation complies with the five security goals that we envision. We also have successfully punished malicious actions by confiscating their deposits and requiring them to pay up to four times of base deposit value when they join the next update task, ensuring the fairness of our protocol. Furthermore, we generate low processing delay overhead compared to existing works that rely on Zero-Knowledge Proofs. The gas usage consumption from our approach also produced a competitive result despite our works supporting more features than existing works, ensuring the efficiency of our proposal.
This comprehensive technical paper presents a novel multi-modal trust architecture for AI-driven HR systems, focusing on the critical aspects of user acceptance in enterprise-scale people analytics platforms. Through the implementation of advanced zero-knowledge proof protocols, explainable AI frameworks, blockchain-based audit trails, and federated learning approaches, the architecture achieved an 85% improvement in user confidence metrics. The system demonstrates remarkable performance across resistance prediction, technical integration, and trust analytics, processing over 9.5 million daily interactions with 99.999% reliability. Our implementation across 1,850 organizations showed an 82% enhancement in system trustworthiness and a 2.8x improvement in operational efficiency, while reducing algorithmic bias by 89%. The architecture's event-driven design and microservices implementation resulted in a 76% improvement in system responsiveness and a 92% reduction in data processing latency, establishing a new benchmark for trust-centric AI-HR systems.
Federated Learning (FL) allows the collaborative training of a global model in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs): data is maintained on the owner's device and the local gradient updates to the model are aggregated through a secure protocol. However, despite its many advantages, FL is vulnerable to various attacks from malicious clients. Current defenses have several weaknesses. For example, the server may still select malicious clients for aggregation even after they have been identified in previous rounds. They haven't considered the continual monitoring of clients to resist their possible defection or collusion that occurs throughout the FL training process. In response to the weaknesses, we describe a new aggregation model with continuous authentication suits for VANETs. The authentication implementation relies on a non-interactive zero-knowledge proof which preserves privacy. We also minimize the computation and communication overhead by designing a two-phase aggregation scheme, while introducing the Edge Devices (EDs) to assist the FL procedure. Finally, we introduce an application of such a model for VANETs. We describe the prototype implementation and experimentally confirm that the aggregation overhead of the client grows linearly and achieves training speed up over the prior work.
Federated learning allows multiple clients to collaboratively train a global model without revealing their private data. Despite its success in many applications, it remains a challenge to prevent malicious clients to corrupt the global model through uploading incorrect model updates. Hence, one critical issue arises in how to validate the training is truly conducted on legitimate neural networks. To address the issue, we proposeVPNNT, a zero-knowledge proof scheme for neural network backpropagation.VPNNTenables each client to prove to others that the model updates (gradients) are indeed calculated on the global model of the previous round, without leaking any information about the client's private training data. Our proof scheme is generally applicable to any type of neural network. Different from conventional verification schemes constructing neural network operations by gate-level circuits, we improve verification efficiency by formulating the training process using custom gates — matrix operations, and apply an optimized linear time zero knowledge protocol for verification. Thanks to the recursive structure of neural network backward propagation, common custom gates are combined in verification thereby reducing prover and verifier costs over conventional zero knowledge proofs. Experimental results show thatVPNNTis a lightweighted verification scheme for neural network backpropagation with an improved prove time, verification time and proof size.
Taprootized Atomic Swaps is an extension for Atomic Swaps that enables the untraceability of transactions in a particular swap. Based on Schnorr signatures, Taproot technology, and zero-knowledge proofs, the taprootized atomic swaps hide swap transactions between regular payments. We propose several implementation options: single-transaction protocol, multiple-transaction protocol that splits the receiving amount in an untraceable way, and multichain swap protocol. Our proposed approach works with any smart-contract-compatible chain and multiple Taproot-compatible chains. We describe the concrete implementation of the protocol and release the source code publically.
In this article we show that all cyclic branched covers of a Seifert link have left-orderable fundamental groups, and therefore admit co-oriented taut foliations and are not $L$-spaces, if and only if it is not an $ADE$ link up to orientation. This leads to a proof of the $ADE$ link conjecture for Seifert links. When $L$ is an $ADE$ link up to orientation, we determine which of its canonical $n$-fold cyclic branched covers $Σ_n(L)$ have non-left-orderable fundamental groups. In addition, we give a topological proof of Ishikawa's classification of strongly quasipositive Seifert links and we determine the Seifert links that are definite, resp. have genus zero, resp. have genus equal to its smooth $4$-ball genus, among others. In the last section, we provide a comprehensive survey of the current knowledge and results concerning the $ADE$ link conjecture.
Open access
Geometric and Algebraic Topology
Geometric Analysis and Curvature Flows
Organometallic Compounds Synthesis and Characterization