Algebraic Curves and Cryptographic Protocols for the e-society

Amb l'augment permanent de l'adopció de sistemes intel·ligents de tot tipus en la societat actual apareixen nous reptes. Avui en dia quasi tothom en la societat moderna porta a sobre almenys un telèfon intel·ligent, si no és que porta encara més dispositius capaços d'obtenir dades personals, com podria ser un smartwatch per exemple. De manera similar, pràcticament totes les cases tindran un comptador intel·ligent en el futur pròxim per a fer un seguiment del consum d'energia. També s'espera que molts més dispositius del Internet de les Coses siguin instal·lats de manera ubiqua, recol·lectant informació dels seus voltants i/o realitzant accions, com per exemple en sistemes d'automatització de la llar, estacions meteorològiques o dispositius per la ciutat intel·ligent en general. Tots aquests dispositius i sistemes necessiten enviar dades de manera segura i confidencial, les quals poden contindre informació sensible o de caire privat. A més a més, donat el seu ràpid creixement, amb més de nou mil milions de dispositius en tot el món actualment, s'ha de tenir en compte la quantitat de dades que cal transmetre. En aquesta tesi mostrem la utilitat de les corbes algebraiques sobre cossos finits en criptosistemes de clau pública, en particular la de les corbes de gènere 2, ja que ofereixen la mida de clau més petita per a un nivell de seguretat donat i això redueix de manera significativa el cost total de comunicacions d'un sistema, a la vegada que manté un rendiment raonable. Analitzem com la valoració 2-àdica del cardinal de la Jacobiana augmenta en successives extensions quadràtiques, considerant corbes de gènere 2 en cossos de característica senar, incloent les supersingulars. A més, millorem els algoritmes actuals per a computar la meitat d'un divisor d'una corba de gènere 2 sobre un cos binari, cosa que pot ser útil en la multiplicació escalar, que és l'operació principal en criptografia de clau pública amb corbes. Pel que fa a la privacitat, presentem un sistema de pagament d'aparcament per mòbil que permet als conductors pagar per aparcar mantenint la seva privacitat, i per tant impedint que el proveïdor del servei o un atacant obtinguin un perfil de conducta d'aparcament. Finalment, oferim protocols de smart metering millorats, especialment pel que fa a la privacitat i evitant l'ús de terceres parts de confiança.Con el aumento permanente de la adopción de sistemas inteligentes de todo tipo en la sociedad actual aparecen nuevos retos. Hoy en día prácticamente todos en la sociedad moderna llevamos encima al menos un teléfono inteligente, si no es que llevamos más dispositivos capaces de obtener datos personales, como podría ser un smartwatch por ejemplo. De manera similar, en el futuro cercano la mayoría de las casas tendrán un contador inteligente para hacer un seguimiento del consumo de energía. También se espera que muchos más dispositivos del Internet de las Cosas sean instalados de manera ubicua, recolectando información de sus alrededores y/o realizando acciones, como por ejemplo en sistemas de automatización del hogar, estaciones meteorológicas o dispositivos para la ciudad inteligente en general. Todos estos dispositivos y sistemas necesitan enviar datos de manera segura y confidencial, los cuales pueden contener información sensible o de ámbito personal. Además, dado su rápido crecimiento, con más de nueve mil millones de dispositivos en todo el mundo actualmente, hay que tener en cuenta la cantidad de datos a transmitir. En esta tesis mostreamos la utilidad de las curvas algebraicas sobre cuerpos finitos en criptosistemas de clave pública, en particular la de las curvas de género 2, ya que ofrecen el tamaño de clave más pequeño para un nivel de seguridad dado y esto disminuye de manera significativa el coste total de comunicaciones del sistema, a la vez que mantiene un rendimiento razonable. Analizamos como la valoración 2-ádica del cardinal de la Jacobiana aumenta en sucesivas extensiones cuadráticas, considerando curvas de género 2 en cuerpos de característica importa, incluyendo las supersingulares. Además, mejoramos los algoritmos actuales para computar la mitad de un divisor de una curva de género 2 sobre un cuerpo binario, lo cual puede ser útil en la multiplicación escalar, que es la operación principal en criptografía de clave pública con curvas. Respecto a la privacidad, presentamos un sistema de pago de aparcamiento por móvil que permite a los conductores pagar para aparcar manteniendo su privacidad, y por lo tanto impidiendo que el proveedor del servicio o un atacante obtengan un perfil de conducta de aparcamiento. Finalmente, ofrecemos protocolos de smart metering mejorados, especialmente en lo relativo a la privacidad y evitando el uso de terceras partes de confianza.With the ever increasing adoption of smart systems of every kind throughout society, new challenges arise. Nowadays, almost everyone in modern societies carries a smartphone at least, if not even more devices than can also gather personal data, like a smartwatch or a fitness wristband for example. Similarly, practically all homes will have a smart meter in the near future for billing and energy consumption monitoring, and many other Internet of Things devices are expected to be installed ubiquitously, obtaining information of their surroundings and/or performing some action, like for example, home automation systems, weather detection stations or devices for the smart city in general. All these devices and systems need to securely and privately transmit some data, which can be sensitive and personal information. Moreover, with a rapid increase of their number, with already more than nine billion devices worldwide, the amount of data to be transmitted has to be considered. In this thesis we show the utility of algebraic curves over finite fields in public key cryptosystems, specially genus 2 curves, since they offer the minimum key size for a given security level and that significantly reduces the total communication costs of a system, while maintaining a reasonable performance. We analyze how the 2-adic valuation of the cardinality of the Jacobian increases in successive quadratic extensions, considering genus 2 curves with odd characteristic fields, including supersingular curves. In addition, we improve the current algorithms for computing the halving of a divisor of a genus 2 curve over binary fields, which can be useful in scalar multiplication, the main operation in public key cryptography using curves. As regards to privacy, we present a pay-by-phone parking system which enables drivers to pay for public parking while preserving their privacy, and thus impeding the service provider or an attacker to obtain a profile of parking behaviors. Finally, we offer better protocols for smart metering, especially regarding privacy and the avoidance of trusted third parties

On Reliability of Smart Grid Neighborhood Area Networks

With the integration of the advanced computing and communication technologies, smart grid system is dedicated to enhance the efficiency and the reliability of future power systems greatly through renewable energy resources, as well as distributed communication intelligence and demand response. Along with advanced features of smart grid, the reliability of smart grid communication system emerges to be a critical issue, since millions of smart devices are interconnected through communication networks throughout critical power facilities, which has an immediate and direct impact on the reliability of the entire power infrastructure. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of reliability issues posted by the smart grid with a focus on communications in support of neighborhood area networks (NAN). Specifically, we focus on network architecture, reliability requirements and challenges of both communication networks and systems, secure countermeasures, and case studies in smart grid NAN. We aim to provide a deep understanding of reliability challenges and effective solutions toward reliability issues in smart grid NAN

Gap analysis of research, technology, & development activities

Most energy usage of buildings throughout their life cycle is during the operational stage (~80%). The decisions made in the conception and design stages of new buildings, as well as in renovation stages of existing buildings, influence about 80% of the total life cycle energy consumption. The impact of user behaviour and real-time control is in the range of 20%. ICT has been identified as one possible means to design, optimize, regulate and control energy use within existing and future (smart) buildings. This books presents a collection of best practices, gap analysis of current research and technology development activities, a research roadmap, and a series of recommendations for ICT supported energy efficiency in buildings. Key research, technology, and development priorities include: integrated design and production management; intelligent and integrated control; user awareness and decision support; energy management and trading; integration Technologies. The vision for ICT supported energy efficiency of buildings in the short, medium, and long term is advocated as follows: Short term: Buildings meet the energy efficiency requirements of regulations and users; Medium term: The energy performance of buildings is optimised considering the whole life cycle; Long term: New business models are driven by energy efficient “prosumer” buildings at district level – long term

Data Challenges and Data Analytics Solutions for Power Systems

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

The role of communication systems in smart grids: Architectures, technical solutions and research challenges

The purpose of this survey is to present a critical overview of smart grid concepts, with a special focus on the role that communication, networking and middleware technologies will have in the transformation of existing electric power systems into smart grids. First of all we elaborate on the key technological, economical and societal drivers for the development of smart grids. By adopting a data-centric perspective we present a conceptual model of communication systems for smart grids, and we identify functional components, technologies, network topologies and communication services that are needed to support smart grid communications. Then, we introduce the fundamental research challenges in this field including communication reliability and timeliness, QoS support, data management services, and autonomic behaviors. Finally, we discuss the main solutions proposed in the literature for each of them, and we identify possible future research directions