The 6th ACM International Symposium on Blockchain and Secure Critical Infrastructure (BSCI 2024)

Professor Man Ho (Allen) Au
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong

Title: Privacy-Enhancing Technologies for Central Bank Digital Currency

Abstract: Blockchain Applications and Insights As Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) initiatives gain momentum worldwide, addressing privacy concerns becomes paramount. This talk delves into the critical requirements for CBDC, with a focus on privacy, security, and the integration of blockchain technology. We will explore various privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) that can be employed to protect user data and ensure transaction confidentiality within a blockchain framework. Techniques such as zero-knowledge proofs, pseudonymization, and secure multi-party computation will be discussed, highlighting their applications and effectiveness. Additionally, a case study on Hong Kong's CBDC project will be presented to illustrate practical implementations, the role of blockchain, and the unique challenges faced. Through this discussion, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of how PETs and blockchain technology can be integrated into CBDC frameworks to achieve robust privacy protection, fostering trust and acceptance among users.

Speaker's Bio: Prof. Man Ho Allen Au is a Full Professor at the Department of Computing of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests include information security, cryptography, blockchain technology, and their applications. He has published over 200 refereed papers in top journals and conferences, including CRYPTO, ASIACRYPT, ACM CCS, NDSS, IEEE S&P, SIGMOD, SOSP, IEEE TIFS, IEEE TDSC, and others. He was a recipient of the 2023 BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize (STIP) in FinTech and 2009 PET runner-up award for outstanding research in privacy-enhancing technologies. His team won the ZPrize - Open Division Plonk-DIZK GPU Acceleration prize, which came with a cash award of 550K USD. He has been ranked as HKU Scholar in the Top 1% (by Clarivate Analytics in the top 1% worldwide by citations) in 2020 - 2022. He is also listed as the World's Top 2% Scientists by single-year impact and by career-long impact in the list published by Stanford University in Oct 2022 and Oct 2023.



Associate Professor Jiangshan Yu
The University of Sydney, Australia

Title: Architectural Hybridisation for Blockchain

Abstract: Over the past decade, blockchain technologies and their ecosystems have rapidly expanded, reaching trillions in value and significantly reshaping the digital economy. This advancement necessitates enhanced resilience and performance to meet the evolving demands of decentralised applications. This talk explores the potential of architectural hybridisation as a means to bolster blockchain resilience and performance. I will give two examples of our work, namely Damysus and OneShot, to illustrate the successful application of architectural hybridisation in blockchain. These systems demonstrate significant improvements in blockchain performance and fault tolerance, showcasing the practical benefits of our approach. In addition, I will highlight ongoing challenges and open questions in the field, with a particular focus on fault independence in blockchains. Despite significant advancements in scaling blockchains, fault independence continues to be a fundamental bottleneck, constraining the practicality and meaningful resilience of these endeavours. This urges us to refine our approach in making blockchains scalable and more resilient.

Speaker's Bio: Dr. Jiangshan Yu is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. Previously, he held positions at Monash University and served as Research Director at Monash Blockchain Technology Centre. He received his PhD from the University of Birmingham in 2016. His research focuses on resilient computing and security, particularly in blockchain and trustworthy systems. Dr. Yu has published extensively in top conferences and journals in the field, including IEEE S&P, ACM EuroSys, IEEE ICDE, IEEE/IFIP DSN, IEEE CSF, IEEE ICDCS, FC, IEEE TC, IEEE TPDS, ACM TOPS, IEEE TDSC, and IEEE TIFS. He has received prestigious awards such as Monash Research Talent Accelerator Award (2023), ARC DECRA (2021), and IBM Academic Award (2020). He actively participates in the academic community as a Program Committee member for major conferences like ACM CCS, VLDB, USENIX ATC (ERC), IEEE/IFIP DSN, IEEE ICDCS, FC, ACM AFT, IEEE ICBC, and IEEE Blockchain. Dr. Yu is an elected member of the IFIP 10.4 Working Group on Dependable Computing and Fault Tolerance. He also serves as an Associate Editor for ACM Distributed Ledger Technologies (ACM DLT) and is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Austrian Blockchain Centre (Austria).