Dr. Hitesh Tewari

Dr. Hitesh Tewari

Assistant Professor, Computer Science

3531896 2896https://people.tcd.ie/htewari

Biography

Hitesh Tewari received his BA (Mod), MSc and PhD degrees in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Computer Networks, Security & Applied Cryptography inform the key direction of his research, and he has published numerous conference and journal papers in these areas. During his PhD, he developed a strong interest in electronic payments and co-authored a book, "Electronic Payment Systems", which has become a reference text in this area with the two editions having sold nearly 7,000 copies to date. In 2013, when he came across the Bitcoin protocol, which utilises Blockchains to eliminate the central point of dependency, such as a bank, in a payment network that he began to grasp the emerging interplay of electronic payment systems and decentralised networks. Since then, his research has focussed on decentralised privacy-preserving systems and the holistic application of Blockchain protocols in several areas beyond cryptocurrencies, such as personal privacy, public health, and the environment. In 2023, he was invited to become part of the Ripple University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) Professorial Network.

Publications and Further Research Outputs

  • P. Argyroudis, R. Verma, H. Tewari and D. O'Mahony, Performance analysis of cryptographic protocols on handheld devices, Proceedings of the Third IEEE International Symposium Network Computing and Applications, 2004. (NCA 2004). , Third IEEE International Symposium Network Computing and Applications, 2004. (NCA 2004). , Cambridge, MA, Aug 30 - Sept 1 2004, IEEE, 2004, pp169-174Conference Paper, 2004, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • H. Tewari and E. ONuallain, Netcoin - A Traceable P2P Electronic Cash System, IEEE International Conference on Web Services (ICWS), New York, 27th June 2015, 2015, pp472 - 478Conference Paper, 2015, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • R. Verma, D. O'Mahony and H. Tewari, Progressive Authentication in Ad Hoc Networks, Proceedings of The Fifth European Wireless Conference, Barcelona, Spain, Feb 24-27, 2003Conference Paper, 2003, URL
  • R. Verma, H. Tewari and D. O'Mahony, Wanderer: Secure Group Formation and Communication in Ad Hoc Networks, Proceedings of the 2nd Joint IEI/IEE Telecommunications Systems Research Symposium, Dublin, May 6th, 2003Conference Paper, 2003
  • J. Flynn, H. Tewari and D. O'Mahony, A Real-Time Emulation System for Ad Hoc Networks, Proceedings of the Communication Networks and Distributed Systems Modeling and Simulation Conference (CNDS 2002), San Antonio, Texas, January 27-31, 2002, pp115 - 120Conference Paper, 2002, URL
  • H. Tewari and D. O'Mahony, Lightweight AAA for Cellular IP, Proceedings of European Wireless 2002, Florence, Italy, February 25-28, 2002, pp301 - 306Conference Paper, 2002, URL
  • J. Flynn, H. Tewari and D. O'Mahony, Jemu: A Wireless Network Emulator for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, Proceedings of the First Joint IEI/IEE Symposium on Telecommunications Systems Research, Dublin, November 27th, 2001, pp6Conference Paper, 2001, URL
  • R. Verma, D. O'Mahony and H. Tewari, NTM- Progressive Trust Negotiation in Ad Hoc Networks, Proceedings of the First Joint IEI/IEE Symposium on Telecommunications Systems Research, Dublin, November 27th, 2001, pp8Conference Paper, 2001, URL
  • D. O'Mahony, M. Peirce and H. Tewari, Electronic Payment Systems for E-Commerce, 2nd Edition, Norwood, MA., Artech House, 2001, 342ppBook, 2001, URL
  • D. O'Mahony, L. Doyle, H. Tewari and M. Peirce, NOMAD - An Application to Provide UMTS Telephony Services on Fixed Terminals in COBUCO, Proceedings of the 3rd ACTS Mobile Communications Summit, Rhodes, Greece, June 8th-10th, 1998, pp72 - 76Conference Paper, 1998, URL
  • D. O'Mahony, M. Peirce and H. Tewari, Electronic Payment Systems, 1st Edition, Boston, Artech House, 1997, 250ppBook, 1997, URL
  • H. Tewari, A. Hughes, S. Weber and T., Barry, X509Cloud - Framework for a Ubiquitous PKI , IEEE Military Communications Conference (MILCOM 2017), Baltimore, MD, USA, October 23-25, 2017, pp225 - 230Conference Paper, 2017, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • R. Tahiliani, and H. Tewari, Implementation of PI2 Queuing Discipline for Classic TCP Traffic in ns-3, 16th International IFIP TC6 Networking Conference, Networking 2017, Stockholm, June 12-15, International Fedaration for Information Processing, 2017Conference Paper, 2017, DOI , TARA - Full Text
  • P. Tarasov, and H. Tewari, Internet Voting Using Zcash, 14th International Conference on Applied Computing, Lisbon, October 18-20, edited by Pedro Isaías and Hans Weghorn , 2017, pp159 - 170Conference Paper, 2017, URL , TARA - Full Text
  • P. Tarasov and H. Tewari, The Future of E-Voting, IADIS International Journal on Computer Science and Information Systems, 12, (2), 2017, p148 - 165Journal Article, 2017, URL , TARA - Full Text
  • S. Gourley and H. Tewari, Blockchain Backed DNSSEC, Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, 1st Workshop on Blockchain and Smart Contract Technologies - 21st International Conference on Business Information Systems, Fraunhofer FOKUS, Berlin, July 18-20, edited by W. Abramowicz, A. Paschke , 339, Springer, Cham, 2018, pp173 - 184Conference Paper, 2018, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • M. Hanley and H. Tewari, Managing Lifetime Healthcare Data on the Blockchain, The 2018 Special Session on BlockChain and its Applications - IEEE Smart World Congress, Guangzhou, China, 2018Conference Paper, 2018, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • S. Sharkey and H. Tewari, Alt-PoW: An Alternative Proof-of-Work Mechanism, IEEE International Conference on Decentralized Applications and Infrastructures (DAPPCON), San Francisco, California, USA, April 5 - 8, 2019, pp11 - 18Conference Paper, 2019, DOI , URL
  • H. Tewari and D. O'Mahony, Real-time payments for mobile IP, IEEE Communications Magazine, 41, (2), 2003, p126 - 136Journal Article, 2003, DOI , TARA - Full Text
  • H. Vu and H. Tewari, An Efficient Peer-to-Peer Bitcoin Protocol with Probabilistic Flooding, International Conference on Emerging Technologies in Computing 2019 (iCETiC '19) , London Metropolitan University, London, UK, August 19-20, Emerging Technologies in Computing. iCETiC, 2019, pp29 - 45Conference Paper, 2019, DOI , URL
  • H. Tewari, Blockchain Research Beyond Cryptocurrencies, IEEE Communications Standards Magazine, 3, (4), 2019, p21 - 25Journal Article, 2019, DOI , URL
  • M. Togou, T. Bi, K. Dev, K. McDonnell, A. Milenovic, H. Tewari and G. Muntean, A Distributed Blockchain-based Broker for Efficient Resource Provisioning in 5G Networks, International Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference (IWCMC), Cyprus, June 15-19, 2020, pp1485 - 1490Conference Paper, 2020, DOI
  • M. Togou, T. Bi, K. Dev, K. McDonnell, A. Milenovic, H. Tewari and G. Muntean, DBNS: A Distributed Blockchain-Enabled Network Slicing Framework for 5G Networks, IEEE Communications Magazine, 2020, p90 - 96Journal Article, 2020, DOI , URL
  • R. Singh, A. Donegan and H. Tewari, Framework for a Decentralized Web, International Telecommunication Networks and Application Conference (ITNAC), Melbourne, Australia, November 25-27, 2020, pp1 - 7Conference Paper, 2020, DOI , URL
  • A. Banerjee, M. Clear and H. Tewari, Demystifying the Role of zk-SNARKs in Zcash, IEEE Conference on Applications, Information and Network Security, Malaysia, 17-19 November, 2020, pp12 - 19Conference Paper, 2020, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • S. Chaudhari, M. Clear, P. Bradish and H. Tewari, Framework for a DLT Based COVID-19 Passport, Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, Computing Conference 2021, London, UK, 15-16 July, edited by K. Arai , 285, Springer, Cham, 2021, pp108 - 123Conference Paper, 2021, DOI , URL
  • A. Banerjee, M. Clear and H. Tewari, zkHawk: Practical Private Smart Contracts from MPC-based Hawk, 3rd Conference on Blockchain Research & Applications for Innovative Networks and Services (BRAINS), Paris, France, 27-30 September, 2021, pp245 - 248Conference Paper, 2021, DOI , URL
  • M. Clear, A. Hughes and H. Tewari, Homomorphic Encryption with Access Policies: Characterization and New Constructions, AFRICACRYPT, 7918, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2013, pp61 - 87Conference Paper, 2013, DOI , URL
  • S. Kumari, M. Singh, R. Singh and H. Tewari, To Secure the Communication in Powerful Internet of Things Using Innovative Post‑Quantum Cryptographic Method, Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 2021Journal Article, 2021, DOI , URL
  • H. Tewari, K. Reid and D. Ennis, 'SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR SECURELY STORING DATA', European Patent Office, 2011, Trinity College DublinPatent, 2011, URL
  • H. Tewari, M. Dennehy, K. Warren. A. Cagney, and S. Howley, 'An authorisation method and system for wireless networks using subscriber identity module based information', UK Patent Office, GB2485388, 2010, Trinity College DublinPatent, 2010, URL
  • H. Tewari and D. Ennis, 'A Data Retrieval System', US Patent Office, 2010, Trinity College DublinPatent, 2010, URL
  • H. Tewari and D. O'Mahony, Multiparty micropayments for ad hoc networks, Proceedings of the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) 2003, New Orleans, Louisiana, March 20, 3, 2003, pp2033 - 2040Conference Paper, 2003, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • M. Chun, S. Weber and H. Tewari, A Lightweight Encryption Scheme for IoT Devices in the Fog, Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, Future Technologies Conference (FTC), Vancouver, Canada, 20-21 October, edited by K. Arai , 560, Springer, Cham, 2022, pp147 - 161Conference Paper, 2022, DOI , URL
  • R. Singh, A. Chauhan and H. Tewari, Blockchain-Enabled End-to-End Encryption for Instant Messaging Applications, 2022 IEEE 23rd International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks (WoWMoM), Belfast, United Kingdom, 14-17 June, 2022, pp501 - 506Conference Paper, 2022, DOI , URL
  • S. Kumari, M. Singh, R. Singh and H. Tewari, Post-quantum cryptography techniques for secure communication in resource‐constrained Internet of Things devices: A comprehensive survey, Journal of Software: Practice and Experience, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI , URL
  • S. Kumari, M. Singh, R. Singh and H. Tewari, Signature based Merkle Hash Multiplication algorithm to secure the communication in IoT devices, Knowledge-Based Systems, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI , URL
  • P. Bradish, S. Chaudhari, M. Clear and H. Tewari, CoviChain: A Blockchain Based COVID-19 Vaccination Passport, Future of Information and Communication Conference (FICC), San Francisco, USA, 2-3 March, 2023Conference Paper, 2023, DOI , URL
  • J. Rowland and H. Tewari, Optimized Communication in Sharded Blockchain Networks, Future of Information and Communication Conference (FICC), San Francisco, USA, 2-3 March, 2023Conference Paper, 2023, DOI , URL
  • A. Banerjee and H. Tewari, Multiverse of HawkNess: A Universally-Composable MPC- based Hawk Variant, Cryptography, 6, (3), 2022, p22Journal Article, 2022, DOI , URL
  • S. Kumari, M. Singh, R. Singh and H. Tewari, A post-quantum lattice based lightweight authentication and code-based hybrid encryption scheme for IoT devices, Computer Networks, 127, 2022Journal Article, 2022, DOI , URL
  • M. Clear and H. Tewari, Anonymous Homomorphic IBE with Application to Anonymous Aggregation, Cryptography, 7, (2), 2023, p1-19Journal Article, 2023, DOI , URL
  • R. Singh, S. Sturley and H. Tewari, Blockchain-Enabled Chebyshev Polynomial-Based Group Authentication for Secure Communication in an Internet of Things Network, Future Internet, 15, (3), 2023, p1-15Journal Article, 2023, DOI , URL
  • R. Singh, Z. Pervez and H. Tewari, Blockchain-Enabled NextGen Service Architecture for Mobile Internet Offload, Future Internet, 15, (5), 2023, p1-14Journal Article, 2023, DOI , URL
  • S. Kumari, V. Tulshyan and H. Tewari, Cyber Security on the Edge: Efficient Enabling of Machine Learning on IoT Devices, Information, 15, (126), 2024, p28Journal Article, 2024, DOI , URL
  • H. Tewari, M. McCourt and D O'Mahony, Advanced electronic commerce security in a workflow environment, 1028, 1996, pp69 - 85Conference Paper, 1996, DOI
  • I.Stamouli, P. Argyroudis and H. Tewari, Real-time Intrusion Detection for Ad hoc Networks, Proceedings of 6th IEEE International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks, WOWMOM'05, Taormina, Italy, June 2005, IEEE, 2005, pp374 - 380Conference Paper, 2005, DOI , URL , TARA - Full Text
  • M. Clear, K. Reid, D. Ennis, A. Hughes and H. Tewari, Collaboration-Preserving Authenticated Encryption for Operational Transformation Systems, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Information Security Conference (ISC 2012), Passau, Germany, 19th Sep 2012, edited by Dieter Gollmann, Felix C. Freiling , 7483, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2012, pp204 - 223Conference Paper, 2012, DOI , TARA - Full Text
  • Clear, Michael; Tewari, Hitesh; Mc Goldrick, Ciaran, Anonymous IBE from Quadratic Residuosity with Improved Performance, Progress in Cryptology - AFRICACRYPT 2014, edited by Hutchison, D., Kanade, T., Kittler, J., Kleinberg, J.M., Kobsa, A., Mattern, F., Mitchell, J.C., Naor, M., Nierstrasz, O., Pandu Rangan, C., Steffen, B., Terzopoulos, D., Tygar, D., Weikum, G , Springer International Publishing, 2014, pp377 - 397Conference Paper, 2014, DOI , URL
  • Hitesh Tewari, Four ways blockchain could make the internet safer, fairer and more creative, 2019, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • Hitesh Tewari, Here's one way a blockchain could deliver a smarter city, 2019, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • Hitesh Tewari, Would you take your chances on a blockchain-backed lottery?, 2019, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • Hitesh Tewari, Seamless encryption key to Trinity spin out, 2014, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • Hitesh Tewari, CompSci boffins tout file encryption for Google Docs, 2012, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • Hitesh Tewari, Trinity research proposes a way to decarbonise cryptocurrencies, 2022, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • H. Tewari, The future of blockchain: Why decentralisation is here to stay, 2022, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • H. Tewari, `The Wild West of finance': CBDCs, crypto and privacy in a digital age, 2023, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • H. Tewari (Elaine Burke Eds.), The question for DeFi in 2024 is whether you can bank on crypto, 2024, -Miscellaneous, URL
  • H. Tewari, Can crypto take off as the solution to in-flight fraud?, 2024, -Miscellaneous, URL

Research Expertise

Computer Networks, Security and Applied Cryptography inform the key directions of my research. During my PhD, I developed a strong interest in electronic payments and co-authored a book, "Electronic Payment Systems", which has sold 7,000 copies to date. In 2013, when I came across the Bitcoin protocol, which utilises Blockchains, to eliminate the central point of dependency in a payment network, I began to grasp the emerging interplay of electronic payments and decentralised networks. Since then, my research has focussed on Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Systems and the transformative application of Blockchains as outlined below: Development of Next-Gen Cryptocurrencies - The huge environmental toll associated with mining cryptocurrencies is poorly understood with Bitcoin mining surpassing the energy requirements of a country like Argentina. I am investigating energy efficient and high transaction throughput protocols for the next-generation of cryptocurrencies by designing novel consensus mechanisms. Safe and Decentralised Social Media - Social media platforms are rife with fake news and users are commonly subjected to abuse. I have developed a framework for a global public-key infrastructure and decentralised Internet, which ensures safe use of social media by securely identifying users. e-Health and Internet of Things (IoT) - I have developed a healthcare management ecosystem that allows a patient"s medical records to be stored securely and anonymously. I am also investigating the use of privacy-preserving techniques for constrained IoT devices in e-Health environments. I have been invited to become a member of the Ripple University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) Professorial Network. I am investigating techniques to secure the Ripple Blockchain from quantum computing attacks, adding zero knowledge functionality, and making the Ripple Blockchain redactable to address GDPR issues. In partnership with the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), I am developing a real-time system for the trading of Guarantee of Origin Certificates (GOs), which identifies electricity coming from renewable sources. This project has enabled me to explore the related areas of Power Grids and Smart Cities. As highlighted above, all key aspects of my research are highly innovative, multi-disciplinary, cutting-edge, and address key societal and environmental challenges which are closely aligned with the College Strategic Plan 2020-25 (Priority 2: Research for Impact and Sustainability).

  • Title
    CipherDocs
    Summary
    The CipherDocs technology that allows a user to seamlessly encrypt their cloud documents. One of the immediate applications for cloud computing is software as a service, whereby companies are looking to hosted services as a means of reducing their operational expenditure. However an important drawback is that users are required to delegate trust of their data to third parties. The CipherDocs browser plug-in makes use of a number of novel cryptographic techniques to encrypt in real-time user data that is being transmitted to the cloud.
    Funding Agency
    Enterprise Ireland
    Date From
    01/08/2011
    Date To
    31/07/2012
  • Title
    Quantum Resistant Cryptographic Techniques
    Summary
    The project aims to investigate both public-key encryption schemes and signature schemes based on mathematical primitives that facilitate highly-efficient implementation, are resistant to quantum cryptanalysis, and can be formally proved secure in the standard model.
    Funding Agency
    IRCSET
    Date From
    01/09/2010
    Date To
    31/08/2014
  • Title
    A Blockchain-enabled Trusted 5G Network Slicing (BTNS) Framework
    Summary
    This project looks at designing a 5G trusted ecosystem architecture and simulation model which enables 5G network slicing support for diverse services by deploying a distributed General Slicing Provision (GSP) solution. Each operator and network provider will be in charge of managing their own GSP instance. An innovative trusted scheme will enable the overall slice allocation and management for diverse service types. Although the proposed solution is general, the project will focus on assessing its benefit in a concrete use-case: vehicle platooning. The project aims to achieve the following outcomes: 1. Proposing the overall architecture 2. Designing a distributed solution incorporating aspects from the blockchain concept 3. Testing the proposed solution using a simulation environment in the context of a concrete use-case (i.e. platooning).
    Funding Agency
    SFI CONNECT
    Date From
    19/08/2019
    Date To
    18/08/2020
  • Title
    Pay-As-You-Go for Next Generation Mobile Networks
    Summary
    As part of this project we aim to develop a highly flexible and scalable electronic payment infrastructure that will allow a user to pay any WISP and subsequently a VoIP provider of his choosing without the need for long-lived trust and billing relationships with them. The WISP and VoIP provider will be paid in "real-time" for service provision and will be guaranteed payment once they have signed up to accept tokens from a payment broker. For the purposes of this proposal, we shall call the payment tokens "Metakoins" that can represent a quantum of time or money depending on the deployment scenario. The micropayment technology employed in this project makes use of a one-way hash function. The use of lightweight cryptographically protected micropayment tokens means that we can pay the WISP and VoIP provider for very short access periods e.g. a few minutes. Also, the use of micropayments eliminates the need for Call Detail Records (CDRs) to be generated and exchanged between the various entities in the system. This greatly reduces the possibility of dispute between the various parties post service provision, as the payment tokens can only be generated by the mobile users device, and once released to the operator or service provider act as a payment guarantee. This proposal will endeavour to deliver an electronic payment infrastructure that will spur the growth of independent network operators and service providers. This in turn will give end users greater roaming capabilities and choice of WISPs and VoIP providers. In terms of existing operators and service providers it will bring in new customers and increase their revenue streams. Our solution will enhance the user experience by simplifying the overall payment process. A user will be able to load his mobile device with prepaid tokens and pay all parties involved in the call using a single payment method (as is the case in cellular networks today) with the added ability to choose his WISP and VoIP provider independently based on criteria such as cost and quality of service.
    Funding Agency
    Enterprise Ireland
    Date From
    01/05/07
    Date To
    30/04/09
  • Title
    Pay-As-You-Go for Next Generation Mobile Networks
    Summary
    With the advent of low-cost wireless hardware (e.g. Wi-Fi and WiMax), anyone with the right equipment and a high-speed connection to the Internet has the ability to establish a low-cost, independent pico- or microcellular network. These next-generation operators will provide high-speed network Internet access to large numbers of roaming mobile users and will be required to generate revenue for services rendered. However traditional telecoms based accounting and billing solutions will not be suitable in such dynamic environments. This proposal aims to implement a prototype electronic payment infrastructure that will allow next-generation mobile network operators to be paid in "real time" for service provision to roaming mobile users, without the need for long-lived trust and billing relationships with such users.
    Funding Agency
    Enterprise Ireland
    Date From
    01/05/06
    Date To
    31/04/07
  • Title
    CipherDocs - Secure Cloud Documents
    Summary
    Enterprise Ireland invited us for a second round of funding in order to assemble a commercial team and further develop the Google Docs and Office 365 offering of CipherDocs. The aim of this round of funding is to try spin out a commercial entity.
    Funding Agency
    Enterprise Ireland
    Date From
    15/10/2012
    Date To
    14/10/2013
  • Title
    BNYM Sponsored PhD in Next Generation Distributed Ledger Technology
    Summary
    PhD project to explore the role of Blockchains and Smart Contracts in Next-Gen Distributed Ledger Technologies
    Funding Agency
    SFI ADAPT
    Date From
    01/09/2019
    Date To
    30/08/2023
  • Title
    Improved Blockchain Consensus Algorithms
    Summary
    Funding Agency
    Lero SFI
  • Title
    GOChain - A Blockchain-Enabled Guarantee of Origin Certificate Trading Platform
    Summary
    Today when a wind turbine produces 1MW of electricity, it can be bought by a large energy users such as data centres using an instrument called a "Guarantee of Origin Certificate", so that companies can achieve their net zero targets. The problem with the current system is that these certificates are usually generated up to a week after the electricity has been produced, and it can be up to a month before the certificates are bought by a company. So in practice there is no correlation between when the electricity was generated and when it was actually consumed. In fact, the company has no idea if the energy they consumed was produced from a renewable source or not. In this project our aim is to create a "real-time" system in which the certificates are consumed within minutes of the electricity being generated, such that there is a real correlation between the electricity that is produced for example by a wind turbine and subsequently consumed by a data centre. We do this by making use of a Distributed Ledger (commonly referred to as a Blockchain) that allows all participants in the system to quickly and securely share information, thereby allowing companies to have confidence that they are consuming electricity from renewable sources.
    Funding Agency
    ESB and SFI ADAPT
    Date From
    01/06/2024
    Date To
    30/11/2025
  • Title
    eaziPass
    Summary
    NDRC sponsored project to commercialize research carried out in the areas of Personal Identity Management (PIM) and secure Cloud Computing. The project aims to leverage the ubiquitous mobile phone to securely store and distribute authentication data and encryption keys while transacting online.
    Funding Agency
    NDRC
    Date From
    09/03/2010
    Date To
    80/09/2010
  • Title
    A Decentralised Social Media Network
    Summary
    Social media networks have become a part of our everyday lives where we share ideas, thoughts, photos etc. with others in our network. However we are also sharing all of the above with the organizations that control the networks that we are using, and giving them carte blanche permission to use our personal data as they fit! Increasingly users are realizing the downside of such "free" services and looking to other networks where their right to anonymity and privacy is put before company profit. In this project we aim to develop a novel architecture for a blockchain based social media network. Specifically we wish to explore the use of "community shards" which hold pointers to the user data stored securely on third party servers or clouds such as IPFS. We envisage that our blockchain will consist of one main (vertical) chain, off which there will be many community (horizontal) shards. This will enable us to limit the length of the main chain and only users that are interested in a particular community will need to download the corresponding horizontal chain. The community will also have the ability to up or down vote posts thereby allowing the most popular posts to be widely circulated and for posts with "fake or false" news to be flagged and removed from the platform. There could even be an incentive mechanism to pay content creators for popular posts. Each community will be administered by a set of nodes and we will make use of smart contracts and proof-of-stake (PoS) protocols to elect their members. These nodes will be responsible for the policies of that particular community and will decide on who can or cannot join the community. In the event of a user violating the community policy the administrator nodes will have the ability to remove a user from their community. Such a decentralized network would give power back to the users that are the core contributors of the system, and eliminate large centralized organizations that control their data. We will build a prototype system modelled on a well-known social media network, and measure parameters such as how quickly the blockchain grows with an increasing number of communities and users, the latency on the network in fetching data from external servers etc. The learnings from this project will hopefully inform the development of the next generation of decentralized social media networks.
    Funding Agency
    Ripple UBRI and SFI ADAPT

Communication engineering and systems; telecommunications,

Recognition

  • Fellow Trinity College Dublin (FTCD) 2022
  • Best Undergraduate Project in Ireland & Northern Ireland (Michael Clear) (https://www.tcd.ie/news_events/articles/trinity-students-excel-at-2011-undergraduate-awards-of-ireland/) 2011
  • Best Paper Award - IEEE Conference on Applications, Information and Network Security, AINS 2020 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C6iYTye0p7DcNpcLSlTbtSxwcjyfiSKP/view?usp=sharing) 2020
  • Best Student Paper Award, Computing Conference UK'21 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RaSHstyqKXxAdvBaoQU8plX6A0HTZADA/view?usp=sharing) 2021
  • Best Paper Award - International Conference Applied Computing, ICAC 2017 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/18XGRMFnXsGs8jTLppvzQ7o8n0cxMG21s/view?usp=sharing) 2017
  • Funded Investigator ADAPT - SFI Global Center of Excellence for Digital Content Present
  • Funded Investigator CONNECT - SFI Research Centre for Future Networks and Communications Present
  • Funded Investigator ADAPT - SFI Global Center of Excellence for Digital Content Present
  • Inducted into the UBRI Professorial Network Present
  • Member of the Independent Research and Development Expert Panel for the Revenue Commissioners, Ireland. As part of this role, I review R&D tax claims by companies in Ireland in the technology (payments, security, networking) space. 2021
  • Examination of MSc thesis by research at the Technological University of Shannon (TUS) 2024
  • External Reviewer of Senior Academic Promotion application in Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET) 2022
  • Served as an expert member for Ireland on the DG CONNECT sponsored European Blockchain Partnership (EBP) technical group. Represented the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), Ireland. My role was to report on the European Blockchain Partnership program that is being driven by the European Commission. 2018
  • External Examiner in Dublin City University (DCU) for the BSc in Computer Applications Program. 2017
  • Exam Paper Reviews for Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET) 2017