Blockchains, Security, and Infrastructures: What we Know and What we Can Know

Scalable distributed control of large-scale computer systems is a challenge. Besides the control, reliability, fault-tolerance, and robustness are also fundamental considerations in designing and executing such systems. Blockchains have emerged as a splendid candidate to achieve such design considerations. More recent and perhaps more known examples of blockchain are in the financial sectors. However, blockchains have been in operation as distributed ledgers in supply chain for a long time. In this talk, we will revisit some of the foundational concepts related to blockchain technologies, draw parallels to systems research with a particular focus on reliability and security. By doing so we will unearth knowledgebase that can be deemed fruitful to resolve some of the pressing and outstanding challenges within systems and (cyber) infrastructures.