Security Analysis of POLARIS

Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies provide networks a method to ensure trust in the network while not relying on a central authority, or even any individual node in the network. Moreover, these technologies enable secure transaction and recording keeping within the network by using distributed consensus to verify the actions of users and cryptographically linking blocks of transaction with one another. A crucial component of the security of these technologies is the use of a secure commitment scheme for users to submit transaction to the network before execution, thus keeping users honest. Additionally, it is important for the details of verified transaction to remain secret until the appropriate time to complete the transaction. While traditional blockchains and distributed ledgers attempt to achieve the previous security needs they are still unable to address a core limitation of the protocols themselves. Traditional blockchains and distributed ledgers are unable to provide a fair ordering of transactions. This project aims to prove the security and functionality of the POLARIS protocol which addresses the two listed security needs and provide a consensus on the correct order of transactions for the network.

Faculty Supervisor:

Atefeh Mashatan

Student:

Dawson Brown;Brian Goncalves

Partner:

TrustWave

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Ryerson University