Risky business: managing electronic payments in the 21st Century

On June 20 and 21, 2005, the Payment Cards Center of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, in conjunction with the Electronic Funds Transfer Association (EFTA), hosted a day-and-a-half forum, “Risky Business: Managing Electronic Payments in the 21st Century.” The Center and EFTA invited participants from the financial services and processing sectors, law enforcement, academia, and policymakers to explore key topics associated with the challenge of effectively managing risk in a payments environment that is increasingly electronic. The meeting’s goal was to identify areas of potential risk and explore interindustry solutions. This paper provides highlights from the forum presentations and ensuing conversations.

Credible, Truthful, and Two-Round (Optimal) Auctions via Cryptographic Commitments

We consider the sale of a single item to multiple buyers by a revenue-maximizing seller. Recent work of Akbarpour and Li formalizes \emph{credibility} as an auction desideratum, and prove that the only optimal, credible, strategyproof auction is the ascending price auction with reserves (Akbarpour and Li, 2019). In contrast, when buyers' valuations are MHR, we show that the mild additional assumption of a cryptographically secure commitment scheme suffices for a simple \emph{two-round} auction which is optimal, strategyproof, and credible (even when the number of bidders is only known by the auctioneer). We extend our analysis to the case when buyer valuations are $\alpha$-strongly regular for any $\alpha > 0$, up to arbitrary $\varepsilon$ in credibility. Interestingly, we also prove that this construction cannot be extended to regular distributions, nor can the $\varepsilon$ be removed with multiple bidders

SwitchWare: Accelerating Network Evolution (White Paper)

We propose the development of a set of software technologies ( SwitchWare ) which will enable rapid development and deployment of new network services. The key insight is that by making the basic network service selectable on a per user (or even per packet) basis, the need for formal standardization is eliminated. Additionally, by making the basic network service programmable, the deployment times, today constrained by capital funding limitations, are tremendously reduced (to the order of software distribution times). Finally, by constructing an advanced, robust programming environment, even the service development time can be reduced. A SwitchWare switch consists of input and output ports controlled by a software-programmable element; programs are contained in sequences of messages sent to the SwitchWare switch\u27s input ports, which interpret the messages as programs. We call these Switchlets . This accelerates the pace of network evolution, as evolving user needs can be immediately reflected in the network infrastructure. Immediate reconfigurability enhances the adaptability of the network infrastructure in the face of unexpected situations. We call a network built from SwitchWare switches an active network

The Utilization of Cryptocurrencies by the Terrorist Group as an Alternative Way of Hawala for Illicit Purposes

Kemajuan bidang teknologi dan komunikasi pada kenyataannya banyak disalahgunakan oleh kelompok teroris. Kelompok teroris menggunakan salah satu teknologi transaksi keuangan daring berupa cryptocurrency untuk tujuan ilegal. Hal ini dikarenakan tradisi hawala yang sudah tidak memungkinkan lagi untuk dilakukan dan terdapat beberapa prinsip cryptocurrency yang memberikan peluang lebih besar bagi kelompok teroris untuk bertransaksi serta mencari dana untuk kegiatan operasional mereka. Makalah ini ingin menjawab bagaimana kelompok teroris menggunakan kecanggihan teknologi saat ini berupa cryptocurrency sebagai jalan alternatif dari tradisi hawala untuk tujuan ilegal, dan apa bentuk tindakan penanganan yang baik bagi masalah ini. Makalah ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi cryptocurrency dari sisi sistem, cara penggunaan, tradisi transaksi tradisional hawala, dan bentuk konkret penggunaan cryptocurrency oleh kelompok teroris. Makalah ini juga akan membahas tentang peluang aktor non negara lainnya seperti perusahaan teknologi swasta dalam membantu menangani penyalahgunaan cryptocurrency. Makalah ini menggunakan organizational approach terorisme dan konsep digital counterterrorism

The Cotton and Sugar Subsidies Decisions: WTO's Dispute Settlement System Rebalances the Agreement on Agriculture

Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

Trends in crypto-currencies and blockchain technologies: A monetary theory and regulation perspective

The internet era has generated a requirement for low cost, anonymous and rapidly verifiable transactions to be used for online barter, and fast settling money have emerged as a consequence. For the most part, e-money has fulfilled this role, but the last few years have seen two new types of money emerge. Centralised virtual currencies, usually for the purpose of transacting in social and gaming economies, and crypto-currencies, which aim to eliminate the need for financial intermediaries by offering direct peer-to-peer online payments. We describe the historical context which led to the development of these currencies and some modern and recent trends in their uptake, in terms of both usage in the real economy and as investment products. As these currencies are purely digital constructs, with no government or local authority backing, we then discuss them in the context of monetary theory, in order to determine how they may be have value under each. Finally, we provide an overview of the state of regulatory readiness in terms of dealing with transactions in these currencies in various regions of the world

Spectre and Cloud : An evaluation of threats in shared computation environments

The processor flaws used in the Spectre and Meltdown attacks have had uncharacteristically large media impact, even gaining coverage in main-stream media. This is despite the fact that this type of exploit has not been used in any real world attacks and is unlikely to target consumers, as simpler attack vectors still remain highly effective. However, because Spectre affects any processor which uses speculative execution, with little hope for a "silver bullet" in the near future, Spectre seems to be here to stay. While Spectre might not be very relevant to the consumer market, it is quite relevant where safety is usually paramount: the cloud. It promises cost reduction and safety through offloading maintenance and updating tasks to gigantic providers like Amazon’s AWS. But how secure can the most up-to-date platform be, if the used hardware is inherently flawed to the core? This paper provides a high level explanation of the Spectre attack, shows potential Spectre attack vectors in a shared cloud environment and discusses some defensive measures

Regulation for E-payment Systems - Analytical Approaches Beyond Private Ordering

Technology-driven payment instruments and services are facilitating the development of e-commerce; however, security concerns beleaguer their implementation, particularly in developing countries. This article considers the limits of private ordering in the regulation of e-payment systems. It uses Nigeria to exemplify a developing country that is increasingly pushing for the adoption of a regulatory framework for e-payment systems based on private ordering. It argues that, although technical standards and self-regulation by the financial industry are important, law is an essential regulatory mechanism that is largely absent. The article proposes that law be used as a mechanism to set and compel compliance with technical and industry standards, thus building trust, catering to public interest concerns and legitimizing the regulatory process