Lecture

Decentralized Systems Engineering

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

CS-438: Decentralized systems engineering

A decentralized system is one that works when no single party is in charge or fully trusted. This course teaches decentralized systems principles while guiding students through the engineering of their own decentralized system featuring messaging, file sha ...

Description

This lecture covers various topics related to decentralized systems engineering, including database initialization, reliable message communication, consensus algorithms, decentralized storage of medical records, and encryption protocols. The instructors present real-world problems and solutions implemented by different systems. The lecture also discusses the implementation of distributed computing APIs, load balancers, and encryption techniques. Students explore concepts such as agreement protocols, DHT structures, and blockchain technologies.

Instructors (2)

Bryan Alexander Ford

Links DEDIS lab home pagePersonal home page Curriculum vitae https://bford.info/cv.pdf Teaching & PhD PhD Students Shailesh Mishra Past EPFL PhD Students Eleftherios Kokoris Kogias, Kirill Nikitin, Cristina Basescu, Enis Ceyhun Alp, Simone Colombo, Pasindu Nivanthaka Tennage, Louis-Henri Manuel Jakob Merino Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector David Froelicher, Ludovic Barman, Georgia Fragkouli Courses Decentralized systems engineering CS-438 A decentralized system is one that works when n

Pierluca Borsò

Expertise Teaching & PhD Courses Decentralized systems engineering CS-438 A decentralized system is one that works when no single party is in charge or fully trusted. This course teaches decentralized systems principles while guiding students through the engineering of their own decentralized system featuring messaging, file sharing, encryption, and blockchain concepts.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Computer engineering

Computer security: Public-key cryptography

Related concepts (32)

Blockchain

A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data (generally represented as a Merkle tree, where data nodes are represented by leaves). Since each block contains information about the previous block, they effectively form a chain (compare linked list data structure), with each additional block linking to the ones before it.

Key-agreement protocol

In cryptography, a key-agreement protocol is a protocol whereby two or more parties can agree on a cryptographic key in such a way that both influence the outcome. If properly done, this precludes undesired third parties from forcing a key choice on the agreeing parties. Protocols that are useful in practice also do not reveal to any eavesdropping party what key has been agreed upon. Many key exchange systems have one party generate the key, and simply send that key to the other party—the other party has no influence on the key.

Encryption

In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decipher a ciphertext back to plaintext and access the original information. Encryption does not itself prevent interference but denies the intelligible content to a would-be interceptor. For technical reasons, an encryption scheme usually uses a pseudo-random encryption key generated by an algorithm.

Decentralized computing

Decentralized computing is the allocation of resources, both hardware and software, to each individual workstation, or office location. In contrast, centralized computing exists when the majority of functions are carried out, or obtained from a remote centralized location. Decentralized computing is a trend in modern-day business environments. This is the opposite of centralized computing, which was prevalent during the early days of computers. A decentralized computer system has many benefits over a conventional centralized network.

Disk encryption

Disk encryption is a technology which protects information by converting it into code that cannot be deciphered easily by unauthorized people or processes. Disk encryption uses disk encryption software or hardware to encrypt every bit of data that goes on a disk or disk volume. It is used to prevent unauthorized access to data storage. The expression full disk encryption (FDE) (or whole disk encryption) signifies that everything on the disk is encrypted, but the master boot record (MBR), or similar area of a bootable disk, with code that starts the operating system loading sequence, is not encrypted.

Related lectures (64)

Blockchain Fundamentals

Explores the financial applications of blockchains, covering the definition, history, Ethereum, decentralized finance, smart contracts, tokens, assessment methods, challenges of double spending, digital signatures, and cryptographic hash functions.

Cryptography basics: Quantum Systems

Covers the basics of cryptography, encryption, decryption, error detection, and the impact of quantum computing.

Conditional Access II

Covers conditional access, encryption, decryption, authentication, and advanced encryption standards, exploring identity-based encryption, biometrics, and attribute-based encryption.

Blockchain Fundamentals: Overview and Use Cases

Provides an overview of blockchain technology, covering its history, key elements, use cases in different industries, and technical challenges.

Cryptographic Zoo: Fundamentals

Covers fundamental concepts of cryptography, including primitives, security, encryption, and authentication, exploring symmetric and public-key cryptography, key agreement, commitment schemes, and hash functions.