Towards secure distributed computation
File(s)
Author(s)
Dalton, Alex
Type
Thesis
Abstract
Distributed computation is a computational paradigm in which a number of discrete computers are connected via a network and collaborate on the execution of programs. These systems exist in a variety of contexts, such as: volunteer scientific computation, blockchain, and file sharing swarms. Many existing systems assume altruistic behaviour from their participants. As such, a number of open questions exist: Can network protocols be orchestrated in such a way as to encourage altruistic behaviour from nodes that would otherwise be unmotivated to collaborate? How could a decentralised computation network be hardened against adversarial actors interested in disrupting computations? Are there any incentives that need to be put into place to encourage altruistic behaviour in otherwise self-motivated network participants? The main identified vulnerabilities in a distributed computation protocol identified in this work are:
1. Correctness of delegated program results.
2. Discouraging self-motivated behaviours.
3. Confidentiality of private data.
This work provides a class of decentralised and distributed computation protocol which supports all three: a Trusted Computation Mesh (TCM), with an exemplar TCM developed as part of this work named Distributed Secure Computation System (DSCS).
This thesis aims to provide a specification for a secure-by-default decentralised distributed computation scheme, in which non-homogeneous untrusted nodes can organically distribute work. There are a variety of contributions; new cryptographic constructions and protocol formulations, as well as a reference protocol implementation. Most of the contributions are purely theoretical in nature, with some claims supported by implementation work later on.
A number of supporting technologies are created or, where solutions already exist, improved upon. These technologies are later incorporated into the decentralised distributed computation network protocol DSCS and the corresponding implementation DiSCuS.
1. Correctness of delegated program results.
2. Discouraging self-motivated behaviours.
3. Confidentiality of private data.
This work provides a class of decentralised and distributed computation protocol which supports all three: a Trusted Computation Mesh (TCM), with an exemplar TCM developed as part of this work named Distributed Secure Computation System (DSCS).
This thesis aims to provide a specification for a secure-by-default decentralised distributed computation scheme, in which non-homogeneous untrusted nodes can organically distribute work. There are a variety of contributions; new cryptographic constructions and protocol formulations, as well as a reference protocol implementation. Most of the contributions are purely theoretical in nature, with some claims supported by implementation work later on.
A number of supporting technologies are created or, where solutions already exist, improved upon. These technologies are later incorporated into the decentralised distributed computation network protocol DSCS and the corresponding implementation DiSCuS.
Version
Open Access
Date Issued
2023-12-25
Date Awarded
01/09/2024
License URL
Advisor
Thomas, David
Cheung, Peter
Sponsor
Natural Environment Research Council (Great Britain)
Publisher Department
Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)