Blockchains

This handbook is a selection of foundational aspects, security analysis, platforms, and applications of blockchains that consists of four parts. The first part introduces the basic building blocks such as distributed computing and cryptography. Consensus algorithms that form the basic backbone of blockchain protocols are presented. Various cryptographic tools like hash functions, digital signatures and commitment schemes are also introduced. Advanced cryptographic techniques such as zero knowledge protocols, secret sharing, verifiable random functions that are used for privacy-preserving and secure design are discussed. 

The second part of this handbook consists of popular blockchain designs and platforms. Architecture of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, Tendermint and Algorand have been presented. Various important issues like scalability and security are discussed in the third part. Security design challenges, security vulnerabilities and their analysis are discussed. The final part of this handbook discusses various applications of blockchains. These include supply-chain, identity and credential management, Internet of Things (IoT), data-sharing, e-voting, e-governance, e-health, smart cities, and Industry 4.0. Research challenges and directions of future work are included in this handbook.

This comprehensive reference targets students and researchers, who are starting to explore blockchain. Professionals working in blockchain security and applications will find this handbook to be a valuable reference.

Sushmita Ruj is Senior Lecturer at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, UNSW, Sydney. She is also affiliated with UNSW Institute for Cyber Security (IFCYBER). Her research interests are in applied cryptography, blockchains, cybersecurity and data privacy. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and delivered over 90 technical lectures around the world. Before joining UNSW, she was a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO's Data61, an Associate Professor at Indian Statistical Institute and an Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, IIT, Indore. She worked at Lund University Sweden and University of Ottawa, Canada. She was a visiting researcher/faculty at NTU, Singapore, KDDI R&D Labs, Japan, INRIA, France, Kyushu University, Japan and intern at Microsoft Research Labs, India. She was a member of the 'Blockchain For Cybersecurity' working group of the National Blockchain Roadmap of Australia and the Blockchain working group founded by the Reserve Bankof India. Sushmita serves on the Editorial board of Elsevier Journal of Information Security and Applications (JISA) and Pervasive and Mobile Computing (PMC). She served as a Program Co-Chair for ACISP 2021 and Indocrypt 2019. She won best paper awards at ISPA 2007, IEEE PIMRC 2011 and IEEE ANTS 17. She received Samsung GRO award, NetApp Faculty Fellowship, Cisco University Research Grant, grant from IBM Research and lead a Cybersecurity Cooperative Research Centre (CSCRC) project which is a NSW iAWARD'22 Merit Winner. Sushmita is a Senior member of ACM and IEEE. She received her B.E. degree from Indian Institute of Engineering, Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur, India and master's and Ph.D. from Indian Statistical Institute, India, all in Computer Science.