In the class:

1. Introduction and overview of the course
2. Security bootcamp.

After the class: read Chapter 1 from Computer Security and the Internet: Tools and Jewels [CSI-TJ].

1. Read or watch: 1. Introduction to Bitcoin and Blockchain Cryptography (1h)
2. Read or watch: 2. How Bitcoin Achieves Decentralization (1h14m).
3. Read: Satoshi Nakamoto, “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” 2008.

In the class:

1. Discussing the material studied and read for the class.

Before the class:

1. Read or watch: 3. Mechanics of Bitcoin (1h20m).
2. Read: Alan Jay Smith. 1990. “The Task of the Referee,” Computer 23, 4 (April 1990), 65-71.
3. Read: Heilman, Ethan, Alison Kendler, Aviv Zohar, and Sharon Goldberg. “Eclipse attacks on bitcoin’s peer-to-peer network,” In 24th USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 15), pp. 129-144. 2015.

In the class:

1. Discussing Mechanics of Bitcoin.
2. Discussing “The Task of the Referee”.
3. Discussing how to critique “Eclipse attacks …”

1. Prepare 10-minute presentation of your term paper proposal.
2. Read or watch: 4.1 & 4.2 in 4. How to Store and Use Bitcoins (first 20 minutes).
3. Write and Submit your Critique of: Vasek, Marie, Joseph Bonneau, Ryan Castellucci, Cameron Keith, and Tyler Moore. “The Bitcoin Brain Drain: Examining the Use and Abuse of Bitcoin Brain Wallets,” In International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, pp. 609-618. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2016.

During the class:

1. Discussion of “How to Store and Use Bitcoins”
2. Discussion of “The Bitcoin Brain Drain”
3. Presentations of and feedback on the term paper proposals.

3. Rui

Happy Thanksgiving. No class.

1. Read or watch: 4.3-4.7 of 4. How to Store and Use Bitcoins (everything after first 20 minutes).
2. Write and Submit your Critique of: Goldfeder, Steven, Harry Kalodner, Dillon Reisman, and Arvind Narayanan. “When the cookie meets the blockchain: Privacy risks of web payments via cryptocurrencies,” Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies 2018, no. 4 (2018): 179-199.

In the class:

1. Discussion of 4. How to Store and Use Bitcoins (everything after first 20 minutes).
2. Discussion of the critiqued papers.

2. Michael

1. Write and Submit your Critique of: Gao, Xianyi, Gradeigh D. Clark, and Janne Lindqvist. “Of two minds, multiple addresses, and one ledger: characterizing opinions, knowledge, and perceptions of Bitcoin across users and non-users,” In Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1656-1668. 2016.
2. Write and Submit your Critique of: Sas, Corina, and Irni Eliana Khairuddin. “Design for trust: An exploration of the challenges and opportunities of bitcoin users,” In Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 6499-6510. 2017.

In the class: Discussion of the critiqued papers.

1. Azadeh
2. Azadeh

1. Read or watch: 5. Bitcoin Mining.
2. Write and Submit your Critique of: Eyal, Ittay. “The miner’s dilemma,” In 2015 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy, pp. 89-103. IEEE, 2015.
3. Write and Submit your Critique of: Khairuddin, Irni Eliana, and Corina Sas. “An Exploration of Bitcoin mining practices: Miners’ trust challenges and motivations,” In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1-13. 2019.

In the class:

1. Discussion of 5. Bitcoin Mining.
2. Discussion of the critiqued papers.

2. Nikhil
3. Michael

1. Read or watch:  9. Bitcoin as a Platform (1h25m).
2. Write and Submit your Critique of: Elsden, Chris, Arthi Manohar, Jo Briggs, Mike Harding, Chris Speed, and John Vines. “Making sense of blockchain applications: A typology for HCI” In Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1-14. 2018.
3. Write and Submit your Critique of: Danezis, George, and Sarah Meiklejohn. “Centrally Banked Cryptocurrencies,” In Proceedings of the NDSS Symposium 2016. Internet Society: San Diego, CA, USA.

In the class:

1. Discussion of 9. Bitcoin as a Platform.
2. Discussion of the critiqued papers.

2. Azadeh
3. Rui

1. Read or watch:  10. Altcoins and the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem (1h5m).
2. Write and Submit your Critique of: Zhou, Shunfan, Malte Möser, Zhemin Yang, Ben Adida, Thorsten Holz, Jie Xiang, Steven Goldfeder et al. “An Ever-evolving Game: Evaluation of Real-world Attacks and Defenses in Ethereum Ecosystem,” In 29th USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 20), pp. 2793-2810. 2020.
3. Write and Submit your Critique of: Tramèr, Florian, Dan Boneh, and Kenny Paterson. “Remote side-channel attacks on anonymous transactions,” In 29th USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 20), pp. 2739-2756. 2020.

In the class:

1. Discussion of 10. Altcoins and the Cryptocurrency Ecosystem.
2. Discussion of the critiqued papers.

2. Michael
3. Nikhil

1. Write and Submit your Critique of: Tsankov, Petar, Andrei Dan, Dana Drachsler-Cohen, Arthur Gervais, Florian Buenzli, and Martin Vechev. “Securify: Practical security analysis of smart contracts,” In Proceedings of the 2018 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security, pp. 67-82. 2018.
2. Write and Submit your Critique of: Krogsbøll, Magnus, Liv Hartoft Borre, Tijs Slaats, and Søren Debois. “Smart Contracts for Government Processes: Case Study and Prototype Implementation (Short Paper),” In International Conference on Financial Cryptography and Data Security, pp. 676-684. Springer, Cham, 2020.

In the class: Discussion of the critiqued papers.

1. Rui
2. Nikhil