[AISWorld] CFP: Workshop on Privacy, Security, Trust & Blockchain Technologies

[Cavusoglu, Hasan]

Call for Papers
Workshop on Privacy, Security, Trust & Blockchain Technologies
26th International Conference on Computer Communications and Networks
(ICCCN)

* July 31-August 3, 2017, Vancouver, Canada
* Marriott Vancouver Pinnacle Downtown
* http://www.icccn.org/icccn17/

ICCCN is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel
ideas and fundamental advances in the fields of computer communications
and networks. ICCCN serves to foster communication among researchers and
practitioners with a common interest in improving computer communications
and networking through scientific and technological innovation.

* ***Key Dates***
* Paper submission deadline April 10, 2017
* Notification April 28th
* Camera ready copy due May 10, 2017.

More information on submissions: http://icccn.org/icccn17/call-for-papers/
http://www.blockchainubc.ca/main/project/workshop-privacy-security-trust-bl
ockchain-techniques

Introduction to the WorkshopThis year's ICCCN conference focuses on new
challenges to trust, security and privacy brought about by rapid
development and increasing complexity of computer communication and
networking systems. The digital age has seen enormous change in how we
create, communicate and keep recorded information. In the past twenty
years, new information and communications technologies (ICTs), such as the
Internet, have given us email, web content, social media, and the Cloud.
The impact of these technologies, both positive and negative, has been far
reaching in terms of privacy, security and trust.
Recently, another ICT innovation - blockchain technology - has dominated
discussion of technological innovation. There is as yet no universally
agreed definition of blockchain technology, but it is often described as a
distributed ledger that maintains a continually growing list of publicly
accessible records cryptographical secured from tampering and revision.
The blockchain's key technical features include:

* Tracking of transition from one state to another, e.g., the ownership
status of digital currency
* A distributed operating model, comprised of computers, called "nodes" in
the network that arrive at an agreement about the validity of transactions
(i.e., a distributed "consensus mechanism").
* Use of cryptographic hashes in the processing of transactions, which
enables transparency without exposing content.
* Packaging of transactions into blocks (from which comes the name
³blockchain²) chained in chronological order and distributed across every
full node.
* More controversially, a cryptographic token like Bitcoin or Ether that
represents actual value and is integral to incentivizing miners to
participate in validating transactions and/or that is used to represent an
asset.

Although these are the key features of blockchain technology, there are
non-trivial variations among blockchain platforms (e.g., Bitcoin,
Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Hyperledge and others). These include
underlying code, use of tokens, consensus mechanisms, whether
permissionless or permissioned, whether public or private, and application
layers, all of which will have implications for privacy, security and
trust. This makes any generalizations about the technology a challenging
proposition. Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, which introduced the
archetypal blockchain, innovation and investment in this technology has
moved at a rapid pace. According to some sources In 2014 and 2015 alone,
more than $1 billion of venture was invested into the emerging blockchain
ecosystem, and the rate of investment is almost doubling annually.

Actual and proposed applications for blockchain technology are wide
ranging, encompassing cryptocurrency, payment systems, clearing and
settlement, securities trading, supply chain management, identity
management, notarial services, the Internet of Things, land transfer and
registration, health recordkeeping, voting, intellectual property
management, and beyond. Some see no limit to the uses to which blockchain
technology can be put to help solve societal and business problems. There
are even predictions that the impact of this technology will be as far
reaching as the Internet.

While blockchain technology does seem poised to be transformative in many
respects, much of the discussion about its application until recently was
quite uncritical. The relative absence of critical reflection, especially
in regard to issues of privacy, security and trust and of establishing
long-term authenticity of digital records as evidence of transactions, may
have been due to a focus on innovation, and a desire to avoid stifling a
fledgling technology with enormous potential. Recently, however, more
critical reflection on the potential of the blockchain has emerged.
Questions have emerged about governance of the blockchain, challenging the
notion that it is truly decentralized. And, following the DAO exploit on
the Ethereum blockchain in June of 2016 and the Hong-Kong Bitfinex Bitcoin
exchange security breach in August of 2016, there has been greater
critical reflection on blockchain security, information assurance, and
risk management. For example, the Ethereum hard fork has raised questions
about whether blockchains are truly immutable and free from external
interference, while the amalgamation of mining power in the Bitcoin
network raises concerns about the potential for attacks and manipulation
of the historical blockchain record. These critical reflections provide
evidence of a maturing of the technology and its developers, as blockchain
is put to the test.

With some uses of blockchain technology reaching higher levels of maturity
and implementation, need to design protocols and build systems that can
preserve trust, security, and privacy at the same time without losing the
quality of services and stifling innovation.
The goal of this workshop, therefore, is to bring together researchers,
practitioners and solution developers in the fields of security, privacy,
and trusted systems, especially those focused on blockchain technology.
The workshop seeks novel contributions on algorithm and system design,
implementation, evaluations and standards. Research topics covered will
include, but not be restricted to the following:

* Anonymity, deanonymization and privacy in blockchain systems
* Provenance and trust in blockchain systems
* Trust models and trust management in blockchain systems
* Scalability and scalable services for blockchain systems
* New forms of blockchains and consensus mechanisms and their impact upon
trust
* Cyber-infrastructures for blockchain systems
* Digital preservation of blockchain records for long-term authenticity
* Software quality and code verification in smart contracts and
blockhchains
* Blockchain standards initiatives
* Application of analytics to blockchain, including text-mining,
data-mining, sentiment analysis, network analysis for privacy, security
and trust assessment

Program Chairs
Dr. Victoria Lemieux, Associate Professor, Archival Science, iSchool, The
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Program Committee Members
Dr. Hasan Cavusoglu, Associate Professor, Sauder School of Business, The
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Dr. Luciana Duranti, Professor, Archival Science, iSchool, The University
of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Dr. Barbara Endicott-Popovsky, Executive Director, Center for Information
Assurance and Cybersecurity, University of Washington, USA
Dr. Hrvoje Stancic, Associate Professor, Department of Information and
Communication Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Mr. Alan Wunsche, Founder, Blochchain Canada and Chair, Standards Council
of Canada Mirror Committee TC 307 (Blockchain Standards)