Research Area: Blockchain Technology
In this thesis, we consider cryptographic protocols that bootstrap trust from the blockchain. This includes secure end-to-end communication between two pseudonymous users, payment protocols, payment networks and decentralized internet voting. The first three applications rely on Bitcoin, whereas the final e-voting application is realized using Ethereum. First, it is important to highlight that Bitcoin was designed to protect the anonymity for financial transactions.
To alleviate these issues, we propose an end-to-end secure communication protocol for Bitcoin users that does not require any trusted third party or public-key infrastructure. Instead, our protocol leverages the Blockchain as an additional layer of authentication. Furthermore, this insight led to the discovery of two attacks in BIP70: Payment Protocol which is a community-accepted standard used by more than 100,000 merchants. Our attacks were acknowledged by the leading payment processors including Coinbase, BitPay and Bitt. As well, we have proposed a revised Payment Protocol that prevents both attacks. Second, Bitcoin as deployed today does not scale.
Name of the Researcher: Patrick McCorry
Name of the Supervisor(s): Feng Hao
Year of Completion: 2018
University: Newcastle University
Thesis Link: Home Page Url
