Blockchain Papers

G. Somasekhar, Sreedhar Jinka, Chinna Kullayappa Kanekal, Anusha Marouthu

Traditional voting schemes are often overwhelmed by problems such as deception, influence, and incompetence, which can be resolved by applying blockchain technology with transparency, decentralization, and immutability. This study proposes a safe and indisputable digital voting system with blockchain technology to maintain the integrity of the voting procedure. The reliability and privacy of the voting procedure are upheld with distributed ledger technology and cryptographic techniques. The essence of the proposed method is the immutability of the blockchain ledger, which ensures a tamper-proof record of each cast vote, promoting transparency and offering a way of audit for free verification. The proposed method employs cryptographic protocols to protect individual votes while preserving complete transparency and verifiability of the voting procedure. The InterPlanetary Filesystem (IPFS) is applied to ensure data integrity. Moreover, the practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (pBFT) consensus algorithm is utilized to remove glitches in distributed settings. The proposed approach provides a decentralized platform where voters can cast their votes from anywhere without difficulty using an internet connection, eliminating the need for physical ballot papers and polling stations. Using immutable ledger and cryptographic security aspects in blockchain, the reliability of the voting procedure can be protected while maintaining voter anonymity and confidentiality. Finally, it is shown that the proposed scheme outweighs other existing approaches.

Yuhao Jin, Zhuo Zhang, Yang Lin

This study aims to explore a method for the de-anonymization of Bitcoin addresses based on Formal Concept Analysis (FCA).Although Bitcoin, as a decentralized cryptocurrency, offers user privacy protection, its anonymity has also been exploited by criminals, leading to an increase in illegal activities such as money laundering and terrorist financing.To address this challenge, we propose a novel deanonymization framework that constructs a formal context using Bitcoin transaction data and generates the corresponding concept lattice.By extracting the attribute weight vectors for each category, our model can effectively classify Bitcoin addresses, thereby identifying potential high-risk addresses.

D. О. Kondyrev

The paper presents a comparative efficiency analysis of hashing algorithms in terms of applicability in zk-SNARK based systems. We have considered the hash functions sha256, sha3, blake2, mimc and poseidon, which are most widely used in modern distributed ledgers. To conduct experiments with measuring parameters, an infrastructure based on the ZoKrates toolbox was developed. A series of measurements with different input data was carried out for each algorithm. The number of constraints in the R1CS representation of the algorithm, the length of the proof key and the verification key, the running time of the setup phase of the protocol, and the proof generation time were measured. Based on the obtained results, we determined the boundaries of the practical applicability of algorithms for the problem of proving the knowledge of the preimage of a hash function using zk-SNARK circuits in distributed ledgers, and also identified emerging efficiency problems.

M S, Chaitrali Mulay, Karthiganesh Durai, G. Murali · 16 authors

Abstract Blockchain technology is a highly developed database system that shares information within a business web. It stores details in blocks connected chronologically, ensuring information integrity through consensus mechanisms that prevent unauthorised alterations. This decentralised system removes the need for a believable mediator, mitigating vulnerabilities and enhancing transaction security. Blockchain’s application spans the energy, finance, media, entertainment, and retail sectors. However, classical blockchain faces threats from quantum computing advancements, necessitating the development of quantum blockchain technology. Quantum blockchain, leveraging quantum computation and information theory, offers enhanced security and immutability. In this paper, different mathematical foundations, practical implementations and effectiveness of lattice‐based cryptography in securing blockchain applications are discussed. Analysis of how the cryptographic techniques can protect blockchain systems against quantum attacks is being done by using mathematical formulations and examples. Quantum computing strengthens blockchain security with advanced encryption and authentication, which is critical for safeguarding diverse sectors from evolving cyber threats. Further study on quantum‐resistant design is necessary if blockchain networks are to be robust and intact in the face of future technological developments.

Changrui Mu, Prashant Nalini Vasudevan

Abstract In an Instance-Hiding Interactive Proof (IHIP) (Beaver et al., in: Menezes and Vanstone (eds) Advances in cryptology—CRYPTO 1990, proceedings, lecture notes in computer science (including subseries lecture notes in artificial intelligence and lecture notes in bioinformatics), Springer, pp 326–338, 1990), an efficient verifier with a private input x interacts with an unbounded prover to determine whether x is contained in a language $$\mathcal {L}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mi>L</mml:mi> </mml:math> . In addition to completeness and soundness, the instance-hiding property requires that the prover should not learn anything about x in the course of the interaction. Such proof systems capture natural privacy properties and may be seen as a generalization of the influential concept of randomized encodings (Ishai and Kushilevitz, in: Proceedings 41st annual symposium on foundations of computer science, pp 294–304, 2000; Applebaum et al., in: 45th annual IEEE symposium on foundations of computer science, pp 166–175, 2004; Agrawal et al., in: Halldórsson, Iwama, Kobayashi, Speckmann (eds) Automata, languages, and programming, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 1–13, 2015) and as a counterpart to zero-knowledge proofs (Goldwasser et al., in: Symposium on the theory of computing, 1985). We investigate the properties and power of such instance-hiding proofs and show the following: Any language with an IHIP is contained in $${\mathsf {NP/poly}}\cap {\mathsf {coNP/poly}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>NP</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>poly</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mo>∩</mml:mo> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>coNP</mml:mi> <mml:mo>/</mml:mo> <mml:mi>poly</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . If an average-case hard language has a constant-round IHIP, then infinitely often non-uniform one-way functions exist. There is an oracle with respect to which there is a language that has an IHIP but not an SZK proof. IHIP’s are closed under composition with any efficiently computable function. We further study a stronger version of IHIP (that we call Simulatable IHIP) where the view of the honest prover can be efficiently simulated. For these, we obtain stronger versions of some of the above: Any language with a Simulatable IHIP is contained in $${\textsf{AM}}\cap {\textsf{coAM}}$$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>AM</mml:mi> <mml:mo>∩</mml:mo> <mml:mi>coAM</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> . If a worst-case hard language has a Simulatable IHIP, then explicit uniform one-way functions exist.

Yiran Peng, Chenheng Deng, Jiaqi Li, KinTak U

Abstract The image protection of non‐fungible tokens based on zero‐watermark methods has received widespread attention. However, on the one hand, existing zero‐watermark methods are often limited to complex texture changes in the host image, and the features for constructing the zero‐watermark are vulnerable to geometric attacks. On the other hand, a single watermark image cannot adapt to the diverse usage scenarios of non‐fungible tokens. This paper proposes a robust personalized zero‐watermark scheme to address the challenges above. Firstly, the image regions suitable for constructing zero‐watermarks are highlighted by the non‐uniform weighted reconstruction, and the U‐Net is introduced for feature extraction against the geometric attacks. At the same time, the watermark images generated by generative models that are suitable for the usage scenario have achieved zero‐watermark addition and protection for non‐fungible token image content. The proposed method has been experimentally verified to have a certain degree of robustness in geometric and non‐geometric attacks.

Wenjiang Shang, Huan Li, Xiaoze Ni, Ting Chen · 5 authors

No abstract is available for this record.

Taichi Igarashi, K. Matsuura

No abstract is available for this record.

Shukur H. Shakir, Alharith A. Abdullah

Biometric encryption, especially those that are fingerprint-based, plays a dual, important role in identity authentication as well as in privacy protection. Considering the crucial issue of verifying voters in electronic voting systems, ensuring voter privacy and securing sensitive biometric data is considered important. We provide an innovative approach to the integration of fingerprint authentication through biometrics with zero-knowledge proof, thus serving dual purposes of robustness in identity verification while retaining confidentiality at the level of individual voter data. We have a two-node setup architecture in which one is the Prover Node, and the other is the Verifier Node. It will process the fingerprint of the voter to create a key point cryptographic hash and transmit it to the Verifier Node by using ZKP techniques that assure no revealing of sensitive information. This will be further tested rigorously through performance metrics like latency, bandwidth, CPU usage, and memory consumption. Results have shown very low latency times in relationship to both the Prover Node and the Verifier Node, very low bandwidth usage, and efficient use of CPU and memory, which underlines efficiency and capability related to resource management of the system. The integration of biometric data with ZKP not only enhances the security and privacy of electronic voting systems but also proves viable for real-world application. The findings advocate for the broader adoption of such technologies in digital democracy initiatives, potentially transforming future electoral processes.

Baowei Wang, Fengxiao Guo, Yuting Liu, Bin Li · 5 authors

Abstract Voting plays a vital role in democratic societies. Adopting electronic voting can effectively increase voter participation and significantly reduce the financial burden on the organizers. In recent years, with the prevalence of blockchain technology, numerous blockchain-based electronic voting schemes have emerged. Compared with traditional electronic voting schemes, they have more favorable security features. However, existing schemes generally suffer from inefficient voting procedures, limited functionality, and dependence on specific blockchain platforms, making them challenging to deploy in diverse voting scenarios. This paper proposes an efficient and versatile electronic voting scheme on blockchain that addresses these problems using our proposed smart contract-based aggregated blind signature, zero-knowledge proofs, and threshold encryption scheme. In the paper, the scheme’s various features, including security, are analyzed in detail, and the scheme is deployed and tested on the Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum blockchain platform. The experiment results demonstrate that the voting scheme satisfies the security requirement, and it has outstanding advantages in performance.

Apurva K. Vangujar, Alia Umrani, Ji‐Jian Chin, Paolo Palmieri

Electronic Auctions (e-auctions) must be secure and reliable in the fast-changing digital world. This paper proposes a Blockchain-Based Cluster Consensus Identity-Based Identification (BCCIBI) scheme to enhance e-auction security and privacy. To establish a secure e-auction environment, the BCCIBI scheme utilises advanced cryptographic primitives such as ElGamal encryption, the Boneh-Lynn-Shacham (BLS) signature scheme, Identity-Based Identification (IBI), Zero-Knowledge (ZK) proof, Commitment scheme, and Non-Interactive ZK proof. In the BCCIBI scheme, bids are secure due to the homomorphic properties of ElGamal encryption, which ensure confidentiality and integrity. The BCCIBI scheme, grounded in the Computational Diffie-Hellman assumption, accelerates multiple bid and bidder verifications by IBI, a crucial operation for clustered blockchains ensuring authentication. Meanwhile, ZK proof authenticates bidders anonymously, safeguarding bidder privacy. Our unique scheme assigns pseudo-identities to participants to provide anonymity and ensure unlinkability. The BCCIBI scheme is resilient against cryptographic attacks in an efficient clustered blockchain scenario using smart contracts, addressing blockchain performance issues. The BCCIBI e-auction scheme is based on timestamps to provide aliveness and records on the blockchain. This paper scrutinises the BCCIBI scheme’s technical foundations and practical implications, laying the groundwork for more secure and transparent e-auction systems. The BCCIBI system advances safe e-auctions by employing a multi-faceted cryptographic technique.

Siddhanth Prafulla Pathak, Akkaraju Sailesh Chandra, G. Lohitha, Mini Jain · 7 authors

The use of electronic voting technologies has grown in popularity as a way to make elections more secure and accessible. The implementation of blockchain-based encrypted identity management in electronic voting is explored in this study, which also offers a solid option to improve the reliability and credibility of voting systems. This study explores the possibilities for anonymous and transparent electronic voting while preserving voter privacy and anonymity by incorporating blockchain technology. It has always been challenging to create an electronic voting system that properly satisfies the requirements of administrators. This problem is now being resolved by blockchain technologies, which provide a distributed database with irreversible, encrypted identity management and secure transactions. A fascinating advancement in the realms of data 64innovation, dependability, and transparency is distributed ledger technology. Distributed ledger technology is commonly used in public blockchain. Virtually limitless potential for earning from sharing economies are provided by blockchain technology. This project aims to determine whether blockchain technology can be used to create electronic voting devices are used as a service.

Henry Ohiani Ohize, Adeiza James Onumanyi, Buhari Ugbede Umar, Lukman Adewale Ajao · 11 authors

Abstract Electronic voting (e-voting) systems are gaining increasing attention as a means to modernize electoral processes, enhance transparency, and boost voters’ participation. In recent years, significant developments have occurred in the study of e-voting and blockchain technology systems, hence reshaping many electoral systems globally. For example, real-world implementations of blockchain-based e-voting have been explored in various countries, such as Estonia and Switzerland, which demonstrates the potential of blockchain to enhance the security and transparency of elections. Thus, in this paper, we present a survey of the latest trends in the development of e-voting systems, focusing on the integration of blockchain technology as a promising solution to address various concerns in e-voting, including security, transparency, auditability, and voting integrity. This survey is important because existing survey articles do not cover the latest advancements in blockchain technology for e-voting, particularly as it relates to architecture, global trends, and current concerns in the developmental process. Thus, we address this gap by providing an encompassing overview of architectures, developments, concerns, and solutions in e-voting systems based on the use of blockchain technology. Specifically, a concise summary of the information necessary for implementing blockchain-based e-voting solutions is provided. Furthermore, we discuss recent advances in blockchain systems, which aim to enhance scalability and performance in large-scale voting scenarios. We also highlight the fact that the implementation of blockchain-based e-voting systems faces challenges, including cybersecurity risks, resource intensity, and the need for robust infrastructure, which must be addressed to ensure the scalability and reliability of these systems. This survey also points to the ongoing development in the field, highlighting future research directions such as improving the efficiency of blockchain algorithms and integrating advanced cryptographic techniques to further enhance security and trust in e-voting systems. Hence, by analyzing the current state of e-voting systems and blockchain technology, insights have been provided into the opportunities and challenges in the field with opportunities for future research and development efforts aimed at creating more secure, transparent, and inclusive electoral processes.

Nurfajar Iskandar, Yusmanizar Yusmanizar, Andi Vita Sukmarini

The emergence of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) technology has led to a significant transformation in the creative industry and media content realm, introducing fundamental new opportunities for the media sector as well as for the conservation and preservation of newspaper content. This research aims to analyze the impact of implementing Blockchain NFTs technology on the conservation and preservation of print newspaper content. This is motivated by the fact that many print media outlets have not yet adopted NFT technology, despite its potential to secure and provide economic value to both old and new print news content. The adoption of Blockchain NFTs technology is considered a forward-looking technology that offers excellent opportunities for the preservation of print newspaper content. This research uses a qualitative method to explore the impact of Blockchain NFTs technology on the conservation and preservation of print newspaper content. The research methods include literature review, in-depth interviews, and secondary data analysis. The findings indicate that implementing Blockchain NFTs technology can provide benefits such as better data security, transparency, and the potential for new economic value through the creation and trading of NFTs from historically or otherwise significant print newspaper content. Keywords: Blockchain, Conservation, NFTs, Newspapers, Preservation

Sahil Chintan Pancholi, Aditya Nakadi, Srikar Narayana Chinta, Rejo Mathew

This paper is proposing a decentralized e-voting system based on the blockchain technology and facial recognition to enhance election security and transparency. The proposed methodology is through the creation of an Ethereum-based blockchain for vote recording and smart contracts for tamper-proof transactions. It ensures voter authenticity through facial recognition, which reduces all fraudulent risks. To test this system, it must be tested in simulated environments to validate that such a system is robust and scalable and prevents unauthorized access and even possible vote tampering. Results indicate that the system guarantees transparency, security, and real-time verification when used.Therefore, it is the best option for institutional or national elections. The current research thus offers a novel alternative to traditional voting procedures, which thus questions critical problems such as vote rigging and general mistrust in the electoral process.

A. A. Gerasyov, I. N. Efremova, I. S. Arhipova, R. N. Kamalov

The purpose of research. The actual problem in voting systems is not the prevention of fraud and the failure to ensure the integrity of elections. Therefore, the task of building a system of safe and transparent voting is urgent. The purpose of the research is design and develop an information and computing system based on smart contacts for online voting. Methods. The presented system has the form of a decentralized system that can overcome a number of limitations, such as the likelihood of human error, falsification of voting results and problems with accessibility, using blockchain technology, which provides protection against unauthorized access and transparent record keeping. The use of smart contract technology also ensures that the voting process will be automated, transparent and secure. Thanks to the ability to execute self-executing contracts based on predefined rules, smart contracts can eliminate the need for intermediaries, reduce the likelihood of errors and ensure a high degree of accountability. Results. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the developed system, testing was carried out, after which a comparative analysis was made with other similar systems. The system can ensure that votes are counted accurately and cannot be manipulated, thereby increasing confidence in the results of the voting process. In addition, the system can potentially reduce the costs associated with traditional voting methods and improve accessibility for voters, since it can be accessed remotely via a web interface. In general, the system will be of interest to various organizations and individuals seeking to conduct safe and transparent voting processes. Conclusion. The use of this software product will provide security and convenience when participating in various online voting, reliable storage of votes and the provision of detailed statistics on the conducted voting.

R. Sudharsan, L. Giridharan, S. Anto Micheal Infant, Suresh Annamalai

Voting plays a crucial role in democracy as it is the mechanism through which the will of the people is translated into policies. Ensuring the security, reliability, and privacy of the voting process is necessary to maintain the legitimacy and integrity of the system as a whole. The immutability of voting systems based on blockchain has increased their popularity. Noteworthy advancements in the field of blockchain have been made in the recent decade. It has never been easy to create a secure voting process that preserves fairness and privacy while offering technology systems' adaptability. This research project introduces a method to leverage and integrate a permissioned blockchain, biometric authentication and zero-knowledge proof onto the traditional voting system. The main goal is to enhance the current voting system by making it more secure while ensuring voter's privacy.

Yingxue Liu, Jing Sun, Zhuo Chen, Feng Gao · 10 authors

The Internet of Things (IoT) system gathers data through diverse smart devices and sensors to make thorough decisions tailored to specific needs. Yet, in intricate IoT setups, privacy infringement occurs through various means like data collection, initial data handling, and data sharing. Therefore, the concealment of data during transmission should receive sufficient attention. The communication approach that merges blockchain technology with covert communication has shown progress in addressing the aforementioned issues. However, this integration has also led to challenges, such as low-data embedding rates and distinctive features in blockchain transactions containing covert data. To seek a solution with high-embedding rates that do not make generated transactions stand out distinctly, this article analyzes the Ethereum transaction field formats, identifies the input data field with high concealment and large capacity as the embedding target, then proposes a data covert transmission scheme based on hybrid embedding in contract fields. This scheme utilizes LSB steganography to embed high-capacity covert data in images, and embeds the URL of the image into the input data field of the Ethereum smart contract transaction, thereby increasing the embedding rates. Subsequently, to further enhance the concealment of this scheme, a data embedding method based on contract relationships is proposed. Through this technique, for the first time, covert data transmission is achieved solely through the invocation relationships of smart contracts within the blockchain covert communication environment, instead of directly embedding covert data into transactions. This method results in transactions that are theoretically indistinguishable from regular transactions, greatly enhancing the security of the scheme. Finally, an evaluation of undetectability, embedding rate, and scalability was conducted for the proposed schemes, concluding that the schemes presented in this article have significant advantages in all three areas.

Dong‐Seong Kim, Syamsul Rizal

Integrating machine learning (ML) into blockchain consensus mechanisms enhances efficiency, scalability, and resilience. This study introduces the PoA 2 algorithm, an ML-enhanced Proof of Authority mechanism that optimizes signer selection for improved transaction processing. Simulations with models including Random Forest, Logistic Regression, SVM, K-Nearest Neighbors, Decision Tree, and Gradient Boosting showed significant gains. Random Forest reduced latency tenfold, achieving nearly 1000 transactions per second, with 93.33% accuracy, 100% precision, 86.67% recall, and a 92.86% F1-score. These results demonstrate ML’s potential to enhance blockchain performance, making hybrid blockchain-ML solutions a promising research direction.

Michael Prummer, Emanuel Regnath, Saurabh Singh, Harald Kosch

The increasing digitalization in manufacturing and trends like the Industrial Metaverse drive the need for secure decentralized asset exchanges and industrial asset intellectual property (IP) rights protection. Utilizing distributed ledgers and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) linked by a hash enables the management and authentication of assets. However, challenges arise in authenticating the same asset’s different versions and file formats using a single hash.In this work, we propose a new NFT structure that allows binding multiple files existing in different file formats, representing the same digital asset by combining a Merkle Tree (MT) with a calculated Average Perceptual Hash (APH). While the MT proves bitwise integrity, the APH verifies functional integrity for asset authentication. We evaluate our approach for exchanging Printed Circuit Board (PCB) designs in a decentralized ecosystem by calculating unique PCB fingerprints and the APH. Our results show a robust identification and integrity verification of PCB designs depending on the manipulation type. Our approach for asset authentication is generalizable to all asset classes with an appropriate perceptual hash.

V. Deepa Priya, Meenakshi Sundaram

ABSTRACT Nowadays, the image security is one of the most challenging issues to address the technological age. Security is the primary issue in data management and transmission because of the original data form that is read, abused and destroyed. The cloud companies struggle to secure the file. The cloud security is the major concern in cloud computing context. Numerous researches have been presented so far to protect the cloud environment. But, none of them provides the sufficient security. Therefore, this paper proposes a Blockchain‐based technique for Image Security that combines Hierarchical Auto‐Associative Polynomial Convolutional Neural Network Fostered Cryptography (BC‐SIE‐HAPCNN‐FODCE). The Flickr30k dataset is used to collect the input images. At that point, cryptographic pixel values of picture are kept on blockchain to defend security of picture information. It uses Delegated Proof of Stake Consensus (DT‐DPoS) approach appointed confirmation of stake agreement approach. The performance parameters, like processing time, reaction time, runtime, correlation coefficient analysis, entropy analysis, mean square error, and availability are used to determine the efficacy of the proposed BC‐SIE‐HAPCNN‐FODCE approach. The performance of the proposed technique attains 18.81%, 32.05%, and 22.28% higher correlation coefficient and 25.38%, 20.81%, and 26.04% higher entropy compared with existing methods, such as Multiple Rossler lightweight Logistic sine mapping dependent Federated convolutional method with cyber blockchain in medical image encryption (BC‐SIE‐FCAL‐MRLLSM), color image encryption under Hénon‐zigzag map with chaotic restricted Boltzmann machine over Blockchain (BC‐SIE‐CRBM‐HZM) and blockchain‐assisted safe picture transmission along detection method on Internet of Medical Things Environment (BC‐SIE‐ECC‐DBN), respectively.

Alan Barnett, Merry Globin, Tarek Zaarour, Seán Ahearne · 5 authors

Public blockchains and distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) provide reliable distributed, decentralized datasharing, with consensus mechanisms and cryptographic security, data integrity, transparency and trust. Though this transparency and open access allows malicious actors to record arbitrary information to the DLT by exploiting free-form editable text fields in request headers or transaction bodies. The authors propose an architecture that runs external agents interfaced with blockchains, capable of filtering unwanted content to mitigate this threat. Implementation of a resource description framework (RDF) based verification mechanism for blockchain input fields, and an alternate approach using natural language processing (NLP) are then described. Finally, the efficiency and effectiveness of the solution is demonstrated on a blockchain deployment.

Zi Hau Chin, Vishnu Monn Baskaran, Chee Keong Tan, Ian K. T. Tan · 5 authors

Abstract This study examines the potential of BIP-152’s Compact Block Relay (CBR) to enhance the Bitcoin network. This work explores the block propagation efficiency through dynamic prefilling of transactions. In addition, an enhanced CBR model is proposed to reduce superfluous transaction requests, thus improving the block distribution process. The analysis considers the impact of the dynamically prefilled transactions on Bitcoin network scalability, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. We also conduct a comparative study of fixed-size and dynamically sized prefilled transactions to highlight the importance of adapting to network demands. Prefilling a fixed number of transactions without considering demand can cause inefficiencies and strain the network with unnecessary bandwidth use. Indiscriminate prefilling exacerbates these issues by inflating data packets unnecessarily, increasing latency and reducing network responsiveness. Our research indicates that the proposed solution can significantly reduce the number of round-trips between network nodes by an average of 29.77% and block reconstruction latency by 39.10% when compared with the CBR.

Vedat Coşkun, Naim Ajlouni, OZDENIZCI Busra

No abstract is available for this record.