MINeD YOUR BLOCKCHAIN!

The History

As we evolved, we started practicing different ways of trade. In our earlier civilizations, we used the Barter system, which is the exchange of goods or services for other goods or services in return without using any medium for exchange. This concept of trading seemed to be a fitting solution initially. But, with this, the real value of goods and services couldn’t be measured to its actual worth. Hence, the Barter system was bound to fail.

Then came the centralized banks who acted as the main authority to facilitate trading and make it fairer. The concept of money was introduced. Money, in its physicality, can be a piece of metal, or a piece of paper with an organizational stamp, but the entity in itself doesn’t have as much value as people place on it. By establishing a central authority, we surely have ticked all the right checkboxes when it comes to trust and verification and also ease of transaction. But what if, the central authority turned rogue? Or what about transaction processing add-ons that comes along with it? What if the bank loses all the money which in-turn results in you losing your money?

These are some of the serious shortcomings that can potentially wreak havoc during the times of financial turmoil. With all the progress that we had achieved (and also considering the limitations of the previous systems), we stepped into the era of Digital Money. The Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin for example, is a kind of digital/virtual currency which uses decentralized control and no central authority defines its worth. This article is not about Bitcoins and how to mine them, instead, it’s about the technology behind it.

That’s BLOCKCHAIN.

The Blockchain Technology

Blockchain is one such technology which has truly removed the need for a central authority of trust by adopting a decentralized design and also by storing data in a distributed fashion. These are essentially databases that are replicated over a peer-to-peer network.

The very first primitive form of blockchain was the datastructure ‘Hashtree’, also known as ‘Merkle Tree’ patented by the computer scientist Ralph Merkle in 1974. This initial representation of blockchain was then implemented in the year 1991 by a group of researchers to add digital timestamps to digital documents so that they could not be backdated or tampered.

However, this technology was left unused until the 2008 Financial Crisis which brought out the inherent limitations and flaws of banks and other financial institutions which majorly resulted in bankruptcy. In result of this fiasco, people wanted to eliminate the possibility of facing any such shortcomings in the future of being controlled by a central authority. This led to an unknown person or a group of people, by name Satoshi Nakamoto, implementing the blockchain technology to create the cryptocurrency Bitcoin in the year 2009. We’ll be discussing about this classic blockchain as constructed by Satoshi Nakamoto.

Blockchain is the technology; Cryptocurrency is its application.

Blockchain is a sequential chain of blocks that contains information. It’s a distributed ledger that stores transaction information within a distributed database that uses decentralized consensus. Think of it like a Google Sheet: whenever you share the sheet, it’s the copy that is being sent out and not the actual sheet itself. In this way, both the users have access to the shared copy and are aware of all the changes made to the sheet.

Or, you can relate a blockchain to a book, where individual pages are the blocks having transaction information, the page numbers indicating a continual sequence and the book itself being the blockchain and its also shared amongst the network so that everyone has a copy.

Everything’s a copy of a copy of a copy.

Let’s take the example of transferring funds between two people:

   Fig 1: Bank Transaction

Case 1: In the above illustration (Fig 1), Person A initiates a transaction to transfer 5$ to Person B. The transaction here is being processed by a centralized authority i.e., the bank. While processing this transaction request, the bank typically does the following:

• Check if Person A has enough balance for the transaction.
• Check if Person B has a valid bank account.
• Coordinate between the banks incase Person A and Person B have different bank accounts.

Since they have to check, verify, initiate and process this entire transaction, they’ll also charge a transaction fee along with it. Also, the time that’ll take to complete this transaction is also considerably higher.

Fig 2: Blockchain Transaction

Case 2: In the above illustration (Fig 2), Person A initiates a transaction to transfer 5$ to Person B. Instead of going through a bank, the transaction here is being processed by the blockchain network. All the necessary checks and verifications that has to be done will be taken care by the blockchain network itself.

It is the same action that is being performed in both the scenarios above, but the means of doing it is different. If you consider a central authority like bank, there’ll be centralization of assets and information. This has its own share of downfalls like we discussed earlier. Since the blockchain is shared amonst everyone in the network, there’s more transparency to every transaction that occurs and the information once stored, cannot be changed or altered or even be removed.

It’s this immutability that makes the network transparent to everyone and also secure.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

What’s there in a Block?

Each block contains a definite amount of transactions and link to the previous block and this is what makes the blockchain chronological. Every block mandatorily contains the following:

             Fig 3: Blockchain block

• Transaction details:
  – Sender
  – Receiver
  – Transaction Amount
• Hash:
  – Identifies a block and all of its contents uniquely.
  – Changing something inside the block will cause the hash to change
• Hash of the Previous Block:
  – This effectively creates a chain of blocks and it’s this technique that makes a blockchain so secure

The very first block is called the ‘GENESIS’ block with no transaction information and it cannot point to any previous blocks. It acts as a pointer to the entire blockchain.

What are Hashes?

Hashes are products of cryptographic algorithms and they manipulate data. Given an input, it forms an alphanumeric string of a fixed value. This is performed by the Hash Functions that converts data of arbitrary length to a fixed length. Every block in the blockchain uses these hash functions to encrypt its data hence making it secure and hard to decode. These hashes also act as a unique identifier.

Fig 4: Hash Functions
The mentioned hash function ‘msg’ in the figure is a python library to create hash values.

The Blocks Chained

To chain a block to the network, each block must contain the solution to a complex mathematical problem created using a cryptographic hash function. Here is where the concept of Proof-Of-Work comes into play.

The Cryptographic hash function (similar to a puzzle) is irreversible and can only be solved by Brute Force. It typically takes a year for a single node (computer) in the network to solve the problem.

Fig 5: Blockchain Network
Every node in the blockchain network contains its own copy of the blockchain. This makes it a decentralized and a distributed network.

Whenever a node gets added to the Blockchain network, the node receives a wallet that allows it to perform transactions. The wallet would primarily consists of a public Key and a private Key and the hashes of a block are generated using these keys. When a transaction is initiated, the message first gets hashed using the private key, and then broadcasted across the entire network to all the peer nodes. The nodes that receive these transactions, decode the message using the public key and verify its legitimacy. Once verified, the nodes start solving the problem to find the correct answer. The nodes that solves the problem first shares the solution to all the other nodes in the network. The network verifies this Proof-Of-Work and if correct, the block will be added to the chain and the nodes that solved the problem receive a reward in return (Bitcoin in the Bitcoin blockchain). This is called “Mining a Block“.

  Fig 6: The Blockchain

Since mining a block requires a lot of computational power, nodes get together to solve the problem. In this way, it’s faster to solve a problem and the attained reward is shared amongst the participating nodes. Such groups are called as “Mining Pools“.

Understanding the Blockchain Trust Center

Let’s take an example to understand Proof-Of-Work:

 Fig 7: Proof-Of-Work Example

Assume ‘x’ is the hashed value from initiated transaction and ‘y’ is the value that decides the Proof-Of-Work solution. The above mentioned problem (Fig 7) doesn’t have the complexity of an actual cryptographic hash function but the underlying fundamentals remain the same.

The node that receives and picks up the transaction will start solving the cryptographic hash function to find the solution. In the above case, the solution is 5. It is easier to verify this solution than to decode to it. So, once this Proof-Of-Work is sent to the network, the other nodes can easily verify and agree that the mined block can be added to the chain. This implementation of cryptographic algorithms makes blockchain extremely secure.

In Conclusion…

Blockchain has not only changed the way we transact; but it also has revolutionized the internet. Right from security of data to transparency to immutability of its information, blockchain has a solid potential to be the game changer on the internet and many organizations are already moving in this direction. Although, even with such backing, blockchain has its share of drawbacks. It is environmentally flawed and it consumes high energy for every transaction and is also inefficient when it comes to performance.

Nonetheless, the Blockchain technology believes in decentralization of trust. This is the very concept of consensus – it trusts when majority of them say ‘Aye‘ and it rejects when they say ‘Nay‘. That’s where the beauty of it lies!

Now, having known the technology, would you say ‘Aye’ or ‘Nay’? If you’ve made a decision, then hold onto your choice. Only time will answer.

HACKED!

  “A lot of hacking is playing with other people, you know, getting them to do strange things. “

~ Steve Wozniack 

Hello! If you are reading this article, then I have gained access to your brain to implant my thoughts so that we both could have a cognitive handshake. Wasn’t it that easy for me to access some part of your brain’s attention consciously and at your will? If I, sitting in the comfort of my living room, over a cup of coffee, could grab your conscience with not much effort, how long do you think it would take a computer junkie to hack you with no effort at all?

Psyching! Isn’t it?

We usually spend most of our free time indulging ourselves in social media. Statistics say that users spend an average of 40-50 minutes on Facebook, 20 minutes on Tumblr, 30 minutes on Instagram and 15 minutes on both twitter and Snapchat per day. And then there’s Whatsapp, the official gateway to have a long-lasting friendship. If one is on all these platforms, then it comes to almost 8% of his or her day, excluding the time spent on Whatsapp (Aren’t we online all the time?). Well, 8% of one’s day may as well seem less when compared to other errands that we go through. But, what if we lose 8% of our day for 365 days at a stretch? That comes to around 500 valuable and productive hours that we could have used to keep ourselves fit, learn a language or even develop a new habit.

Hackers are always looking out for something on the net. The moment they spot an interesting thing, they shall not think twice to exploit its vulnerabilities. So if you think you are safe, am afraid that you are not.

Let me justify that with a simple example of Facebook itself. When you sign up for a new account you give all your basic credentials like: Name, DOB, E-mail ID and your Gender. Once you setup your account you also provide them with your city of residence, city of birth, relationship status, sexual preference, employment details, your hobbies, and religious views and so on and so forth. Oh gosh! So much information that even your parents don’t know about? That’s awakening.

More so, they do monitor your entire online life. As in, details about the videos you’ve watched, your friend list, comments you’ve liked, comments you’ve posted, how much time you spend online, location status and what not. Your profile is also up for sale and it’s a non-secretive business model of Facebook. All those information were not voluntarily taken from us, instead it’s us who gave it to them involuntarily on a silver platter. It is hard to keep track of our online and offline activities and maintain our privacy. To strike a balance between the two takes effort.

 

“Hacking is like sex. You get in; you get out; and hope that you didn’t leave something that can be traced back to you.”

Who could forget about the infamous hacks that happened in the past? When a hacking group calling itself “Guardians of Peace” broke into Snapchat’s archived emails which described about their startup ambitions and also loads of personal photos being leaked? Wouldn’t that man who put his blood and soul into it be devastated? Not to mention the abominable iCloud hack too, that went frenzy on the net which gave the world an entrance to the personal lives of celebrities.

A hack might be ephemeral as well, something that infects your system for just a while which is mostly left unnoticed. It’s difficult not to be paranoid about our online activities and be careless about it. It’s left to us to save ourselves from a possible identity theft that may result in us being enslaved by others. The truth is that, it’s not in our hands anymore unless we specifically make an effort to restrict our exercises on cyberspace.

We aren’t ethically hacked; but, aren’t we are psychologically hacked? Every act that we undertake on a social platform is a fitting evidence that we are counter dependent on a virtual world to give us the license to say that we lead a communal life on the Internet. Facebook likes defining one’s popularity, number of comments on a post showing how jobless people are, interminable friend list that actually says how lonely a person is, Instagram posts, tweets and what not. We all know none of it actually matters, but it doesn’t stop us from practicing it every single day. The hack is so intense and unrecognizable that we all do it unconsciously fooling our conscious mind hoping to have an adrenaline rush so that we could feel AWESOME about ourselves. Oh yeah! Such BS!!!!….

All that being said, if given a chance to wipe all your identity on the Internet, would you do it? Well, even if you do, how secure are you anyway?

“In the end, you have nothing in the Cyber World. It’s just a fake identity. “

                                                                                                                       

 

Engineering Chores!

Hello everyone. I Am Niranjan Balasubramani, a computer science engineering student at RNS Institute of Technology, Bangalore. In my first article, I would like to write about the engineering education in India. Why engineering is the preferred degree? And why aren’t we able to provide quality engineers?

Engineering is a prestigious degree. A social obligation and it’s a guarantee of an average career. Like a coin which has two sides, it has its advantages and disadvantages. We can mutter and blame engineering for the things it doesn’t provide. But how many of us realize that the system has been there for decades and it’s not going to change anytime soon? How many of us accept engineering for what it is and embrace it? How many of us work on our own flaws?

We, Indians, are trend followers. Not trend setters. The Indian education system teaches us to be logical and as a result we become good at mathematics and analytical thinking. But the westerners learn things in a whole lot different way. Their education system is skill-oriented, whereas Indian system is knowledge-oriented. Westerners are good at applying their knowledge practically and are more pragmatic when it comes to educating themselves. They believe in learning through immersion. We learn things from books and by practice.

To know the main reason behind why engineering has become so popular in India, we need to look at it in a historical context:
India got its independence in 1947 after being ruled by the British for more than two centuries. Post-independence we had huge sterlings and didn’t have an infrastructure of our own. When the first-generation computers were being invented in the US, we were trying to adapt to our own system after the British rule. The leaders of India thought the best way to move forward was to develop the infrastructural and industrial abilities of the country. Our first goal was to be self-reliant. And this led to engineering. The first IIT was set up in Kharagpur in 1951 which had 10 branches. Then many institutions were set up all over the country and people’s interest in engineering grew immensely. Engineers were respected because they brought out a societal change which benefited human needs at large.

As years passed by, more and more people got interested in engineering and India was brimming with prosperity in the education sector. The fact that most Indians choose to do masters outside India also has a story to it. In the 1990s, India was on the verge of bankruptcy. As a result, many people from India went to abroad for higher studies and to work for them because they gave Indians a very good pay. The westerners got intelligent candidates in return. That’s how engineering got its name in our educational system and doing masters outside India got its prominence. This has made engineering more valuable than other streams of education.

According to statistics, nearly three thousand engineering colleges have been set up in India with a capacity of 1.4 million seats across 36 courses approved by the All India Council of Technical Education as of 2012. 65% of the colleges are from South India and rest from the North. If we consider the number of engineers graduating every year, it is not an easy task to get a job. As we dig more into the statistics, it gets daunting.
(The statistics mentioned are approximate figures.)

Right from our childhood, we are brought up in a way either to become a doctor or an engineer. It’s become the common goal of every student. In the process of creating an excellent education system, we have started numerous institutions everywhere to provide engineering education to almost everyone. By doing so, we have forgotten to concentrate on the quality of education provided. A single institution cannot be blamed; a single stream cannot be the culprit. The flaws of our education system are immense. It’s at the core of the system itself. To correct it and set it right will take another educational revolution.

Instead of blaming the system for everything, aren’t we responsible for its flaws?
We are the ones who caused it. Why can’t we find a solution to solve it?

The complaints of any engineering student are that it’s frustrating, futile, senseless and an outdated syllabus which is uninteresting in every aspect. And being an engineering student, even I feel the same as well. As I think about how to make engineering life better and productive, I realize that even we are to be blamed. Every stream has its core strength. And it’s in our discretion to choose what’s best for us. If a chosen subject isn’t suiting us, we always have the opportunity to change our stream once we get over it. Life doesn’t end after engineering. This is how we have made it and this is how it’s bound to be. It’s high time that we comprehend the education system and try to fit in instead of whining about it. Because, when we accept the world for what it is, the going gets a lot easier. Just like an old saying, “When you are going through hell, keep going”.

I’ve tried my best to fit into engineering and the field that I’ve chosen. Sometimes it’s frustrating and sometimes it’s interesting. Never is it stable. But that’s life. The vicissitudes that we go through which brings a spice to human race. I would like to share something from an article which I found whilst researching about the education system. They quoted, “Don’t waste your brain power – become an engineer”. That, to me, is sarcasm at its best for the way engineering is been taught. I hope all the engineers out there will get what I mean.

I’ll leave you all with one thought. Most of us say we don’t love what we are doing. Well, do we know what we love? If you do, then that’s a start!