C. Kouzinopoulos, Γεώργιος Σπαθούλας, Konstantinos M. Giannoutakis, Konstantinos Votis · 9 authors
Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that became popular as the foundational block of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Over the past few years it has seen a rapid growth, both in terms of research and commercial usage. Due to its decentralized nature and its inherent use of cryptography, Blockchain provides an elegant solution to the Byzantine Generals Problem and is thus a good candidate for use in areas that require a decentralized consensus among untrusted peers, eliminating the need for a central authority. Internet of Things is a technology paradigm where a multitude of small devices, including sensors, actuators and RFID tags, are interconnected via a common communications medium to enable a whole new range of tasks and applications. However, existing IoT installations are often vulnerable and prone to security and privacy concerns. This paper studies the use of Blockchain to strengthen the security of IoT networks through a resilient, decentralized mechanism for the connected home that enhances the network self-defense by safeguarding critical security-related data. This mechanism is developed as part of the Safe-Guarding Home IoT Environments with Personalised Real-time Risk Control (GHOST) project.
Jan 1, 2018·Proceedings of the ... Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences/Proceedings of the Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
Simon Albrecht, Stefan Reichert, J. Schmid, Jens Strüker · 6 authors
This case study analyzes the impact of theory-based factors on the implementation of different blockchain technologies in use cases from the energy sector. We construct an integrated research model based on the Diffusion of Innovations theory, institutional economics and the Technology-Organization-Environment framework. Using qualitative data from in-depth interviews, we link constructs to theory and assess their impact on each use case. Doing so we can depict the dynamic relations between different blockchain technologies and the energy sector. The study provides insights for decision makers in electric utilities, and government administrations.
Due to their rapid growth and deployment, Internet of things (IoT) devices have become a central aspect of our daily lives. However, they tend to have many vulnerabilities which can be exploited by an attacker. Unsupervised techniques, such as anomaly detection, can help us secure the IoT devices. However, an anomaly detection model must be trained for a long time in order to capture all benign behaviors. This approach is vulnerable to adversarial attacks since all observations are assumed to be benign while training the anomaly detection model.
Abstract This paper documents inconsistent terminologies and misleading analogies in current discussions of digital money and payments. It offers a more consistent framework for understanding the potential of technological innovation in providing the functions of money and payments: as media of exchange, stores of value, and units of account and the implications of cryptographic technologies underpinning cryptocurrencies for the future of money and payments. These could support efficiency gains in money and payments, but decentralization is not inherent to their application. Radical reform leading to improved economic outcomes is conceivable, but not through disruptive displacement of existing institutional arrangements.
Saide Zhu, Wei Li, Hong Li, Chunqiang Hu · 5 authors
The past three years have seen the rapid increase of Bitcoin difficulty, which has led to a substantial variance in solo mining. As a result, miners tend to join a large open pool to get a more stable reward. Nowadays, mining pools take up over 98% of Bitcoins total computation power. In a sense, this is a manifestation of Bitcoin that tends to be centralized. Thus, researchers have shown an increased interest in pool mining payoff and security. The purpose of this paper is to review and summarize recent research in Bitcoin pool mining system. We first introduce several common reward distribution schemes, and analyze their advantages and disadvantages with some improvement mechanisms; In the second section, to address pool security problems, we examined the practical utility of some existing and potential attack strategies. To study those malicious attack in details, several defense methods are collected. Finally, we make an outlook on Bitcoin future.
Bitcoin as a payment system indisputably offers an advantage over the government currencies in transaction time and costs. On the other hand the moneyness of Bitcoin itself is questioned. This paper analyzes Bitcoin from the Austrian perspective and compares the qualities of Bitcoin with qualities of good money in order to find out whether Bitcoin could serve as money. The examined properties are portability, storability, divisibility, recognizability, homogeneity and scarcity. Moreover it examines the consistency of Bitcoin emergence as a medium of exchange with Mises' regression theorem and identifies the non-monetary value of Bitcoin. The result of this theoretical analysis shows that Bitcoin's properties can facilitate the functions of money.
Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 is both puzzling and inspiring. High volatility of its price is challenges financial analysts as well as scholars. We look at the incentive mechanisms that make Bitcoin work, and we discuss current and potential uses of Bitcoin and technologies inspired by it.
The recent emergence of a distributed technology named blockchain, clearly created a new point of view in the data storing and data distribution fields. If on one hand blockchain is mainly known for Bitcoin (an auto-regulated decentralized digital currency), on the other hand it has the potential to set up an auto regulated economy.In this thesis, the blockchain technology will be analyzed and described starting from P2P architecture and its origin in 2009 Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper, and leading to the most up to date blockchains. The advantages and disadvantages of such architecture will be pointed out keeping in mind the security, speed and cost of such infrastructure.While Real Estate companies have often anticipated the technological innovations, land registries, instead, derive and keep a working manner which is extremely old and out of date: made of unclear procedures and wet signatures. The market needs and legislation will be researched mainly referring to other works and integrated with a technical point of view with particular focus on the decentralization of such systems.After analyzing the flow, problems and flaws of the current system, a new proposal will be researched, in particular trying to minimize the dead time in between the different steps of the mortgage, increase transparency, as well as reducing dependence on the central authorities, leading to more convenient interactions among the properties’ stakeholders. An attractive low capitalization decentralized financial product will also be proposed and implemented able to lower the interest rate and create a profitable investment with low risk, low interest and durable in time.Secure and ad-hoc algorithms will be presented and, in a later section, analyzed in combination with different blockchain technologies. Scalability and performance will also be evaluated, taking into account all the current technology limitations and the near future opportunities.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise the chief aspects of policy interest in blockchain technology. Design/methodology/approach The paper outlines policymaking processes in the context of innovation and technological change, assesses generic variations in policy treatment towards blockchain, and identifies manifestations of policy entrepreneurship using national case studies of blockchain policies. Findings Favourable policy dispositions towards blockchain technology are interpreted as political efforts to develop local, blockchain-enabled economies. So-called “crypto-friendly” jurisdictions proactively clarify regulatory and tax treatments of cryptocurrency and other blockchain applications, and trial blockchain uses in fields predominated by public sector activity. Policymakers in countries hostile towards blockchain-related activity have instigated bans or strict limitations with respect to blockchain engagement by developers and users. Research limitations/implications Reliance upon case studies suggests the need for alternative study approaches (e.g. index construction, empirical research) as blockchain use consolidates throughout the global economy. Practical implications This paper provides insight to policymakers and blockchain practitioners regarding the attributes of accommodative policies towards distributed ledger technology. Social implications Countries and sub-national regions exhibiting a more welcoming policy stance are more likely to attract entrepreneurs and investors in the crypto-economic blockchain space. Originality/value This paper develops a policy “crypto-friendliness” construct to assess the extent to which policymakers enact accommodative policies for blockchain development.
Matti Pärssinen, Mikko Kotila, Rubén Cuevas, Amit Phansalkar · 5 authors
The 200-billion-dollar per annum online advertising ecosystem has become infested with thousands of intermediaries exploiting user data and advertising budgets. All key stakeholders in the value-chain are infected: advertisers with fraud, publishers with their diminishing share of advertising budgets, and users with their right to privacy. Blockchain presents a possible solution to addressing the critical issues in the online advertising supply chain. The question remains whether blockchain scalability, energy-efficiency, and token volatility issues can be solved in the coming years to the extent that online advertising could widely leverage trustlessness and the benefits gained from blockchain technology. This paper aims to review the current progress and to open a discussion to address the issues. We present new requirements for blockchain-based online advertising solutions. We have also analyzed the available solutions against the requirements and recommend directions for future research and solution development. Evidence from our research points out that blockchain is not yet ready to be widely implemented in online advertising. More research is needed, and new proof-of-concepts need to be developed before blockchain technology can be considered a trusted alternative for the current online advertising marketplace based on open real-time bidding.
Christoph Berger, Urs Hoffmann, Stefan Braunreuther, Gunther Reinhart
Regarding the changing market environment in terms of logic requirements, production planning and control recently contribute significantly to fulfilling these demands. Logistic command variables, particularly adherence to schedule, are becoming the crucial parameters to satisfy the customer's needs. Cyber-Physical production Systems (CPPS) with their characteristics decentralized organization, autonomous control, real-time capability and smart data processing offer new possibilities of production monitoring and control. For this purpose, this paper proposes a new event-based approach in order to improve adherence to schedule in production by using the potential of CPPS. Control loops close to production shop floor provide a fast identification of events. Based on an activity list, the production control is able to react adequately to the different events e.g. machine disturbance or urgent orders. The activities initiated by the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) affect the whole production system while the production. In a final step, the developed concept of an event-driven production control was implement in a simulation.
The technology of the distributed registry creates new opportunities for changing the management system, which are discussed in the article. The use of the blockchain allows building a decentralized autonomous commercial organization on a network basis. With the help of p2p technology, it is possible to radically reorganize the structure of organization and management, and reduce the management and transaction costs inherent in the traditional hierarchical structure of the firm. The analysis of the steps by means of which real enterprises can be transferred to the blockchain is provided, and the role of smart contracts is analyzed.
André Luis Leite F. Sales, Flávio Fernandes Fontes, Sílvio Yasui
Abstract Even though “militancy” is frequently used in scientific literature and in the daily life of parties and social movements, there are few definitions of the term. Our goal is to convert the idea of militancy into a research problem. A Brazilian scientific literature review shows that the term is used either as an adjective, either as a noun. We conceptualize militancy as a methodology to produce collective action aiming to intervene, or to interfere, in current social norms. This methodology focuses on organizations such as parties and unions, characterized by strict discipline that aims to produce docility, commitment, and obeisance. Then, we show how New Social Movements (NSM) have created unconventional tactics and organizations, offering an alternative to the militant methodology. Organizing teams using horizontal arrangements, operating with decentralized and autonomous networks, recognizing the diversity of its participants, NSM are occupying the streets and reinventing the repertoires of collective action and protest. We suggest the use of the word “activism” to describe this methodology. By distinguishing militancy from activism we wish to re(frame) some problems in the Brazilian scene of political engagement and protest.