Invited Talk by Dr. NV Narendra Kumar on Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency

Title: Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency
Speaker: Dr. NV Narendra Kumar of IDRBT
Host Faculty: Dr. M V Panduranga Rao
Room No: Room 119 in academic block A.
Time: 10:30

Abstract:

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency developed (in 2008) with the objective of decentralizing control over currency. Bitcoin has started a revolution in distributed computing where trust in the overall system is achieved without placing much trust at any single entity in the system. Bitcoin system is realized by a clever combination of cryptography, P2P networking, distributed consensus and fault tolerant computing. However being a public network, bitcoin was not considered to be of much use to organizations where permissions of various entities play a vital role. However, the core concepts underlying the bitcoin system were found to be very useful for general systems. Thus blockchain technology was born. Ethereum, another public system and cryptocurrency, demonstrated how general-purpose distributed computing can be achieved through smart contracts on the blockchain technology. Finally, the permissioned / consortium blockchain technology was born for the consumption of large organizations, where the participating entities are assigned specific roles and responsibilities. In this talk we shall explore the features of various flavours of blockchain technology including cryptocurrencies.

Speaker’s Bio:

Dr. N. V. Narendra Kumar obtained M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), and is a recipient of Microsoft Research India Rising Star Award in 2011 for his Ph.D. thesis work on “Malware Detection by Behavioural Approach and Protection by Access Control”. His broad research interests are in the field of Cyber Security including Information Flow Control and Access Control, Cloud and Distributed Systems Security, Malware Detection and Protection. He also holds a US patent on “Decentralized Information Flow Securing Method and System for Multilevel Security and Privacy Domains”. He is currently with IDRBT as an Assistant Professor, and is researching futurisitc payment platforms and solutions including the Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrencies.

Dates:
Thursday, September 14, 2017 - 10:30