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DECSYS

The Decentralized Systems Group at SBA Research focuses on fundamental and applied research in the field of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. Current projects explore, consensus mechanism, self-sovereign identities, and cross-chain interoperability mechanisms. To industry partners we offer technical workshops, feasibility studies, project consulting, and contract research.

A GLANCE BEYOND THE HYPE

Following the introduction of Bitcoin and the swift rise of cryptocurrencies, blockchain and distributed ledger technologies have received global attention not least from governments, industry and research institutions. While cryptocurrencies as distributed, trustless and self-governing systems aim to provide an alternative to traditional fiat currency structures, the underlying technologies have shown applicability to a wide range of domains beyond financial services. As such, we have witnessed first deployments of blockchain-based application prototypes facilitating, inter alia, transparent record keeping, auditable supply chain management and machine-to-machine communication of autonomous (IoT) agents.

However, a closer analysis of the current state of the technical concepts, implementations and tool support reveals these systems are bleeding edge technology and mainstream adoption is a long way ahead. Furthermore, there exists no one blockchain to be used as golden hammer for all use cases and problems, while secure and efficient inter-chain communication has yet to be developed.

Hence, thorough analysis of requirements, applicability and technical feasibility are of vital importance when deciding upon whether to replace/extend existing systems by/with blockchain-based solutions. Thereby, the core question is not whether “blockchain” is applicable but which of the existing approaches is most suitable.

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Research

More information about DECSYS Research here.


The Decentralized Systems Group participates in the following research projects:

SecKey

SecKey: New approaches for secure key management

The SecKey project is a joint research initiative between SBA Research, the… Read More

FeatureCloud

Privacy Preserving Federated Machine Learning and Blockchaining for Reduced Cyber Risks in a World of Distributed Healthcare

The FeatureCloud project develops privacy preserving federated machine learning mechanisms, especially for health-care related settings. Read More

DIdentity & DApps

Distributed Identity & Distributed Applications

The DIdentity & DApps project addresses some of the most pressing questions in the area… Read More

BITCRIME

Prosecution and prevention of organized financial crime with virtual currencies

BITCRIME was a bilateral German-Austrian research project. The aim of the joint project was the… Read More

is a senior researcher at SBA Research and leads the Decentralized Systems Research Group. He is also senior research fellow at the Faculty of Computer Science, at the University of Vienna and a member of the Workflow Systems and Technologies (WST) Research Group at the University of Vienna.

is researcher at SBA Research.

is researcher and security analyst at SBA Research.

The following scientific partners and company partners are / have been working closely together with the Decentralized Systems Group:


Teaching

Education is a core activity of SBA Research, and complements and supports our core, research-intensive activities. We aim at providing high-quality of education in postgraduate and undergraduate studies as well as secondary education, continuing education and in trainings. SBA Research is strongly affiliated with the Institute of Software Technology and Interactive Systems of TU Wien.

 

 


Bachelor | Master | PhD - Thesis Supervision

We currently offer BSc, MSc and PhD Thesis supervision, inter alia, on the following topics:

  • Bitcoin scalability simulations
  • P2P networking aspects of cryptocurrencies
  • Alternative consensus/mining methods
  • Alternative applications and designs of blockchain-based consensus systems
  • Bitcoin wallet Security
  • Altcoin evaluation and categorisation
  • Cross-chain interoperability
  • Privacy vs transparency in cryptocurrencies

Self-proposed topics are welcome as well.

Students interested to do an internship or pursue a thesis (B.Sc., DI, M.Sc., or Ph.D.) are kindly advised to contact us via E-Mail.

To contact the team, please reach out to the individual team members.