Arizona State University (ASU) is conducting research on various technologies to combat cybersecurity issues, including Blockchain and Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs). The Blockchain Research Lab at ASU, founded in 2017, conducts research into the use of blockchain for privacy and transparency in the medical system, among other areas. However, ASU’s research into cybersecurity is not limited to blockchain technology, as Adil Ahmad, an assistant professor at ASU, conducts research on TEEs. These technologies leverage the hardware in a computer to create trusted enclaves that protect data from unauthorized access. Additionally, David Mccarville, an adjunct faculty at ASU, teaches the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency class, which covers the legal aspects of blockchain technology, including securities and commodities law issues. While blockchain and TEEs are useful cybersecurity solutions, the development of quantum computers could pose a threat to cryptography, and thus these technologies must be layered with others for optimal security.
Blockchain and ASU’s Research on Cybersecurity Technology
As cryptocurrency and NFTs become increasingly popular, discussions about the moral implications of these technologies have brought blockchain, the underlying technology, to the forefront of cybersecurity solutions. However, while blockchain has gained popularity, it is not the only viable option for cybersecurity.
Arizona State University (ASU) is researching blockchain and other technologies primarily to understand their technical advancements, rather than their business implications. The Blockchain Research Lab, established in 2017 with a grant from the Dash Treasury Fund, focuses on studying the ways blockchain systems can offer more privacy and transparency.
How Blockchain Works
Blockchains use a unique name for data and link these names together, making it impossible to change the name of one block without altering all the attached blocks. The blockchain is stored on a decentralized network of users, ensuring consistency with partial duplications and copies of data.
ASU’s Blockchain Research Lab
The Blockchain Research Lab at ASU was founded with a grant from the Dash Treasury Fund, which offered almost $400,000 to start the project. Dragan Boscovic, a research professor at the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, is the co-founder of the lab.
While the lab was initially supported by the Dash Network, it has expanded to cover multiple projects. One such project is MedFabric4Me, which won the Community Opportunity Award at the NuCypher + CoinList Spring Hackathon. This project explored how blockchain can be used to protect privacy and efficiently deliver data in the medical system.
According to Boscovic, blockchain technology can be used to create an NFT digital twin of a person or their home, stored in a wallet. Every time a person visits a specific doctor, they can give them access to a portion of that history on a need-to-know basis.
While the lab focuses on the technical side of blockchain technology, it is important to remember that blockchain is not the only solution to cybersecurity challenges. ASU’s research focuses on the advancements and possibilities of blockchain technology, leaving space for more complex research in the future.
ASU’s Research on Cybersecurity Technology: Beyond Blockchain
Dr. Dragan Boscovic, a research professor at Arizona State University’s (ASU) School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence (SCAI), leads the Blockchain Research Lab at ASU. The lab studies the technical advancements of blockchain technology and how it can offer more privacy and transparency. However, Boscovic acknowledges that his focus is primarily on the technology aspect of cybersecurity. He believes that blockchain is the best tool for privacy and security.
Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs)
While blockchain technology is useful for cybersecurity, it is not the only solution. Adil Ahmad, an assistant professor at SCAI, teaches at ASU and researches the quickly expanding area of hardware-assisted TEEs. TEEs use the hardware in a computer to build trusted enclaves for data that cannot be accessed by unpermitted software, including from the cloud or system software.
Ahmad notes that this type of security is notable because it uses the hardware that the computer already runs on. His work focuses on how to use and retrofit the existing hardware for more secure computation. The research of TEEs is a rapidly growing field, with many updates over the years.
Privacy and Future Considerations
Outside of the Blockchain Research Lab, ASU also offers a blockchain and cryptocurrency class for law and honors students. David Mccarville, an adjunct faculty member at ASU and one of the originators of the class, teaches the legal aspects of Bitcoin primarily.
It is important to note that there are many tools and technologies available for cybersecurity beyond blockchain, and the research at ASU reflects that. The interest in cybersecurity research, especially in healthcare data, is field-wide and rapidly expanding.
The Intersection of Law and Blockchain: ASU’s Take
David Mccarville, an adjunct faculty member at Arizona State University (ASU), teaches the legal aspects of Bitcoin primarily, focusing on the intersection of various areas of law, including constitutional law and freedom of speech. He also notes that securities law, commodities law, and federalism points are all relevant in the context of blockchain technology.
The Cypherpunk Movement
Mccarville also focuses on the relationship between blockchain and the cypherpunk movement, which saw encryption and anonymity as the solution to the threat to privacy posed by the digital age. He notes that the cypherpunk mentality is more than just cryptocurrency prices going up and down. Instead, it involves using encrypted communications to protect freedom from manipulation by third parties.
Quantum Computers and Cybersecurity
While blockchain technology is prevalent as a security solution, Adil Ahmad, an assistant professor at ASU, notes that one of the future risks to cybersecurity as a whole is the eventual development of quantum computers. Quantum computers could crack the cryptography that most computers and systems, including blockchains, depend on.
Trusted Execution Environments and Blockchain
Ahmad’s previous research focuses on the relationship between Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and blockchain technology in the wider context of cybersecurity. This research involves building an enclave into the wallets people use to view cryptocurrency account balances and make transfers. The purpose of this enclave is to maintain anonymity and avoid the pitfalls of leaking information.
Ahmad notes that combining and layering technologies is key to effective cybersecurity. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to cybersecurity, and the use of multiple technologies together is essential.
While ASU increasingly researches and covers blockchain as a source of security and privacy, it is important to consider that it is not the sole solution or point of research.
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