The paper analyzes the privacy preserving problem for distributed ledgers. It provides an overview of technologies such as mixers, zero-knowledge proof algorithms, homo- morphic encryption, secure multi-party computation, anonymous signatures, and hardware solutions. Advantages and disadvantages of each technology are identified, as well as usage samples in the existing distributed ledgers. As a result, unsolved problems and prospects for further research are formulated.
Blockchain Technology Applications and Security
Advanced Research in Systems and Signal Processing
The article undertakes an analysis of the potential of using blockchain technology to strengthen the security of the state, which is guaranteed by a strong and efficient army. As part of his own studies, the author first characterizes the solutions that were first implemented in 2008 with the creation of Bitcoin. Blockchain technology, described as the most important achievement of humanity since the creation of the internet. It is increasingly used in areas such as payment management, digitization, and contract storage, or in the private sector, where data security plays a key role. Available reports and studies indicate that the United States, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China are intensively working on the implementation of technology in the functioning of their armies. In turn, countries such as South Korea or India began pilot programs in 2019, which will eventually lead to the implementation of blockchain technology in their armies. Hence, the question arises, what military application blockchain technology has or may have in the foreseeable future, and how its use by armies can contribute to improving the security of the state? In the study presented, the following three areas of potential application have been distinguished: security in cyberspace, supply chain management, and more effective and reliable communication.
Open access
European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies
The authors of the article consider consensus-building algorithms that are central to the life cycle of transactional exchange between nodes of a DDPS (Distributed Data Processing System) based on blockchain technology. The term under consideration is formally defined. It is proved that when developing these algorithms, it is necessary to choose the main indicators and methods for calculating them, which can be used to evaluate their effectiveness. The process of false forking is described in detail, and the probability of its occurrence is calculated in order to assess the security of data stored in the distributed ledger. When analyzing existing consensus-building algorithms based on statistical data, it is shown that the Byzantine Fault Tolerance Delegated Proof-of-Stake (BFT-DPoS) algorithm has a higher level of efficiency not only in terms of security, but also in terms of performance compared to other algorithms. There is a lack of comprehensive evaluation of candidates for winning Registrar nodes that generate (mining) blocks and distribute them to verifier nodes. It is concluded that the elimination of the above-mentioned drawback would provide a more correct construction of the distributed ledger, since most of the existing algorithms are focused on applicability only in cryptocurrency systems and are not universal. To solve this problem, we propose the need to synthesize the BFT-DPoS and Proof-of-Importance algorithms in order to make it applicable to any type of DDPS using distributed ledger technology (blockchain).
Andrey Averin, Daria Snegireva, Anton Ladejshchikov
Nowadays, verification of the diploma and monitoring student academic performance has become a burning issue. This is ongoing process that starts from the moment a student enters a university and ends with diploma issue, with the ability to further verify their accuracy. This article describes the model for monitoring student performance and the issuance of diplomas using blockchain technology, its elements and structure, process diplomas release, the possibility of further verification of diplomas and student grades.
The technology of distributed registry, which revolutionary approach to recording and exchanging data between multiple data warehouses, is considered. The key features of distributed registry technology are highlighted and described. Particular attention is paid to blockchain technology and a directed acyclic graph. The principle of the operation of blockchain technology is described. All stages that go through transactions before they are added to the blockchain are graphically presented and described. All the main advantages of blockchain technology are described, and key network disadvantages are also presented. In describing the limitations of blockchain technology, real information was presented that confirms the existing flaws of this technology. Thanks to the optimized consensus mechanism, high scalability and the ability to carry out microtransactions, the technology of a directed acyclic graph is rapidly developing. The principle of operation of a directed acyclic graph is described and how the digraph differs from blockchain technology. The main advantages of a directed acyclic graph are described, which the digraph inherited from the blockchain and improved due to its structure. When comparing registers based on a directed acyclic graph and blockchain, interesting aspects of platforms can be identified. Despite the obvious similarities between paradigms, differences also persist. Based on the results, it becomes apparent that the future of distributed ledger technology is huge. Since a directed acyclic graph, due to its structure and advantages, has already overshadowed the blockchain architecture. The appearance of a directed acyclic graph will allow distributed registry technology to be introduced into all areas of activity on a global scale.
Apr 2, 2020·CEUR Workshop Proceedings, Vol-2588: Proceedings of the International Workshop on Conflict Management in Global Information Networks (CMiGIN 2019)
Наталія Краус, Наталія Олександрівна Андрусяк, Аліна Савченко, Maksim Iavich
Pursuing the purpose of effective functioning in today's conditions, the business is forced to transform rapidly, to modernize at all levels. The world is changing, erasing the limits of its certainty. Companies need quality trans- formations and strategies that are effective in the face of rapid change towards "deep" digitization. Massive corporate management systems increasingly need the flexibility to keep pace with change. And companies with an innovative cul- ture are more in need of creative tasks than implementing detailed regulations. In the post-industrial time of digital economy, issues related to the development of the information sphere, the media and communications, the usage of modern information systems to develop the economy and stabilize social development as a whole, come first. The basic principles of practical application of Block- chain are investigated in the work. The stages of development of Blockchain technology, the stages of development of Blockchain technologies by time, the application of distributed registry technology in Blockchain applications, the principles of construction and operation of Blockchain have been specified. The benefits of using NEM for business are substantiated and the components of Proxima X technology, protocols and service layers, on-line and off-line proto- cols, decentralized applications are exposed.
The article is devoted to the review of Blockchain technology capabilities. The article presents the main advantages and disadvantages of this technology that arise in the implementation of this decentralized system. The main threats of this technology, which slow down its implementation in modern society, are also considered. In addition, the problems of network scaling and 51% attack are considered.
Jan 1, 2020·Institutional Repository of Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University iRKNEU (Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman)
Стаття присвячена дослідженню передумов появи децентралізованих \nплатіжних систем. Історичні події та наукові досягнення було поділено на періоди за \nтехнологічними прийомами шифрування, що застосовувались в різні часи. Перший \nперіод (приблизно з 3-го тисячоліття до нашої ери) — це період моноалфавітних \nшифрів, основний принцип яких полягав у заміні алфавіту вихідного тексту іншим \nалфавітом через заміну букв іншими буквами або символами. Другий період (приблизно з ІХ століття нашої ери) пов’язаний з появою різних варіантів поліалфавітних \nшифрів. Третій період (перша половина XX століття) характеризується впровадженням електромеханічних пристроїв. При цьому тривало використання поліалфавітних шифрів. Наступним є період переходу до математичної криптографії (з \nсередини 1970-х до кінця 1990-х років XX століття) завдяки поширенню способу \nкриптографії з відкритим ключем. \nУ статті досліджено історію руху Шифропанків та ідеологію, яка була проголошена у \nманіфестах Тімоті Мея та Еріка Хьюза. У цих маніфестах визнається, що приватність — це сила вибіркового розкриття особистості світу і діяльність руху Цифропанків спрямована на побудову анонімних систем для захисту конфіденційності, анонімних систем пересилання пошти, цифрових підписів і електронних грошей. \nТакож проаналізовано роботу сучасних децентралізованих платіжних систем і визначено, що системи на основі алгоритму Proof-of-work засновані на обчислювальній потужності обладнання. Більшість нових блокчейн проектів йдуть дешевшим \nшляхом і використовують алгоритм Proof-of-stake. Функціональні криптоактиви — це \nлише операційне середовище, що дозволяє передачу певної вартості між користувачами без будь-яких посередників та без необхідності довіряти один одному або \nнадавати персональні дані. Гібридні (змішані) криптоактиви — це змішані концепції, \nякі можуть мати або гібридну систему консенсусу в мережі, або можуть поєднувати \nдва чи навіть кілька функціональних криптоактива. А от цифрова валюта центральних банків поки що не має практичної реалізації, але її запровадження активно просувається. \nThe article is devoted to the research of prerequisites for the emergence of \ndecentralized payment systems. Historical events and scientific developments have been divided into periods by technological encryption techniques used at different times. The \nfirst period (from about the 3rd millennium BC) is the period of mono-alphabetic ciphers, \nthe basic principle of which is to replace the alphabet of the original text with another \nalphabet by replacing letters with other letters or symbols. The second period \n(approximately from the 9th century AD) is associated with the emergence of different \nvariants of polyalphabetic ciphers. The third period (the first half of the XX century.) is \ncharacterized by the introduction of electromechanical devices. At the same time, the use \nof poly-alphabetic ciphers continued. The next is the period of transition to mathematical \ncryptography (from the mid-1970s to the end of the 1990s) due to the spread of open-key \ncryptography. \nThis article has analyzed the history of the Cypherpunk’s movement and ideology, which \nwas proclaimed by Timothy May and Eric Hughes. In their manifestos acknowledge that \nprivacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world and the activities of the \nCypherpunk’s movement are aimed at building anonymous privacy protection systems, \nanonymous mail forwarding systems, digital signatures and electronic money. \nAlso has been analyzed the modern decentralized payment systems and it is determined \nthat the systems on the Proof-of-work algorithm are based on the computing power of the \nequipment. Most new blockchain projects go the cheaper way and use the Proof-of-stake \nalgorithm. Functional crypto-assets are just an operating environment that allows the \ntransfer of value between users without any intermediaries and without the need to trust \none another or provide personal information. Hybrid (mixed) crypto-assets are mixed \nconcepts and can either have a hybrid network consensus system or can combine two or \neven several functional crypto-assets. Currently the digital currency of the central banks \nhas not been practically implemented, but its introduction is actively advancing.
This research proposes a new method of data synchronization between public blockchain networks and local machines. We discussed the proposed algorithm, and the mathematical model which achieves the shortest delay required for data synchronization. Tests were conducted to verify the correctness of the proposed model. Then a comparison is made with the current available classical synchronization methods. Suggested method may be useful for future DApps applications on Ethereum network.
The research specifies benefits and drawbacks related to the application of distributed information systems based on blockchain technologies in higher education. The authors also examine conditions for implementing distributed information systems based on blockchains in higher educational establishments. Special attention is paid to the primary directions of these technologies application in the system of higher education. The authors also define the types of educational services which can be automated by using blockchains. The research describes the examples of higher educational establishments using distributed ledgers in their activity. Certain recommendations for the terms of reference on designing distributed information systems based on blockchains are formulated. The research also outlines the perspectives for the prospective research.
This paper introduces a new method of Blockchain formation for reliable storage of personal data of ID-card holders. In particular, the model of the information system is presented, the new structure of smart ID-cards and information on these cards are proposed. The new structure of Blockchain, "Blockchain Tree", allows not only to store information from ID-cards but also to increase the level of security and access control to this information. The proposed Subchains system allows us to integrate Blockchain of the lower level to Blockchain of the higher level, allowing us to create a multilevel protected system.
Open access
3 source records
cs.CR
Cybersecurity and Information Systems
Advanced Research in Systems and Signal Processing
Igor Kovalenko, Yevhen Davydenko, Alyona Shved, Anzhela Boiko
Creation of funds transfer system of the main organization between its instances in the form of a smart contract has been studied. This contract fully covers the expenses of third parties, provides support for information security in the network and maintains a security protocol that guarantees the inviolability of funds by anyone other than the specified addressees.
In the paper a new approach for protecting video files from unauthorized changes using the Blockchain technology and cloud services is proposed. The essence of our approach consists in hash function calculating for each frame and forming the blocks sequence of calculated hash functions for all frames of video file. The hash function blocks are sent to the Blockchain cloud storage, which is trusted by all interested parties.
Information Systems and Technology Applications
Advanced Steganography and Watermarking Techniques
This article discusses the theoretical composition of the two consensus algorithms in order to obtain a fundamentally new solution to the problem of consensus in a distributed ledger technologies.
A specific number of transaction confirmation blocks determines average time of receiving and accepting payments at cryptocurrencies, and the shortest confirmation time for the same level of blockchain security provides the best user properties. Existing papers on transaction confirmation blocks for Bitcoin use implicit assumption of prompt spreading of Bitcoin blocks over the network (that is not always the case for the real world conditions). The newer publications with rigorous analysis and proofs of Bitcoin blockchain properties that take into account network delays provide asymptotic estimates, with no specific numbers for transaction confirmation blocks. We propose three methods for determination of required number of confirmation blocks for Bitcoin and GHOST on networks with delayed message delivery with different models that take into account the possibility of faster adversarial node syncronization. For the GHOST we propose the first (to our knowledge) strict theoretical method that allows to get required number of confirmation blocks for a given attacker’s hashrate and attack success probability.
After its introduction in 2008, increasing Bitcoin prices and a booming number of other cryptocurrencies lead to a growing discussion of how much energy is consumed during the production of these currencies. Being the most expensive and the most popular cryptocurrency, both the business world and the research community have started to question the energy intensity of bitcoin mining. This paper only focuses on computational power demand during the proof-of-work process rather than estimating the whole energy intensity of mining. We make use of 160 GB of bitcoin blockchain data to estimate the energy consumption and power demand of bitcoin mining. We considered the performance of 269 different hardware models (CPU, GPU, FPGA, and ASIC). For estimations, we defined two metrics, namely; minimum consumption and maximum consumption. The targeted time span for the analysis was from 3 January 2009 to 5 June 2018. We show that the historical peak of power consumption of bitcoin mining took place during the bi-weekly period commencing on 18 December 2017 with a demand of between 1.3 and 14.8 GW. This maximum demand figure was between the installed capacities of Finland (~16 GW) and Denmark (~14 GW). We also show that, during June 2018, energy consumption of bitcoin mining from difficulty recalculation was between 15.47 and 50.24 TWh per year.
The authors proposed hardware accelerator for the proof-of-work (PoW) operation in IOTA cryptocurrency. IOTA allows making secure and authenticated quantum resistant channels between IoT devices for communication and micropayments with no fees. Hardware acceleration reduces transaction time and increases throughput. In the article authors consider a basic theory of IOTA operations, generating and signing transaction with Winternitz one-time signatures. The authors describe operation principle of a new ternary hash function Curl. Winternitz one-time signatures and ternary hash function make IOTA quantum resistant. The core of IOTA is called Tangle and unlike Blockchain has Directed Acyclic Graph structure. There are no miners in the Tangle and IoT devices themselves maintain network operation, which leads to unlimited scalability and absence of fees. To add new transaction to the Tangle, IoT devices need to perform PoW operation for spam and Sybil attack protection — iteratively calculate Curl hash function for the IOTA transaction and change nonce field of the transaction until obtained result doesn’t satisfy given criteria, which is some amount of consecutive zero ternary values at the end of transaction hash. The software implementation of Curl hash function is very slow, the PoW operation on embedded devices can last up to 50 minutes, so the hardware acceleration of PoW operation is relevant task. In the proposed work authors created hardware accelerator for IOTA PoW operation. The structure and operation principle of accelerator is described. The proof-of-concept implementations was launched on DE10-nano board, based on Intel programmable logic chip. The proposed PoW hardware accelerator has parameterizable structure. It is possible manually set the number of PoW computing units by changing parameter value. In such parameterizable system one PoW computing unit is master and all remaining PoW units are slaves. Master PoW unit absorbs IOTA transaction, except nonce part, to midstate register utilizing sponge-like approach. Then all POW computing units (master and slaves) preload own state registers from midstate, randomly change personal nonces and start iterative search of valid nonce. When one of PoW computing units finds a valid nonce, PoW operation ends, nonce stored to destination buffer in SDRAM and interrupt is generated for ARM CPU. Final implementation of IOTA PoW hardware accelerator for DE10-nano board contains 11 PoW computing units, delivers 13.2 MH/s hash rate and gives x1000 speedup, compared to software implementation from IOTA developers, for only 30% of 5CSEBA6U23I7 programmable logic chip resources at 100 MHz clock frequency. The average PoW computation time in such implementation is 0.8 second.Ref. 14, img. 6.
The comparative characteristic of consensus algorithms in distributed ledgers based on different technologies such as blockchain and directed acyclic graph is given in the article. Advantages and disadvantages of GHOST, Tangle and Hashgraph consensus algorithms are given, as well as recommendations of optimal variant selection.
The paper proposes the architecture of distributed multilevel detection system of malicious software in local area networks. Its feature is the synthesis of its requirements of distribution, decentralization, multilevel. This allows you to use it autonomously. In addition, the feature of autonomous program modules of the system is the same organization, which allows the exchange of knowledge in the middle of the system, which, unlike the known systems, allows you to use the knowledge gained by separate parts of the system in other parts. The developed system allows to fill it with subsystems of detection of various types of malicious software in local area networks.