La Sapienza - Università di Roma

Abstract: In recent years, cryptocurrencies have surged in popularity, with exchanges processing transactions for billions of US dollars each month. The rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has attracted thousands of inexperienced investors. However, despite this rapid expansion, the cryptocurrency industry remains loosely regulated, as establishing clear regulations is a complex and evolving challenge, especially in decentralized platforms.

This combination has created a breeding ground for fraud and cyber threats, where malicious actors exploit security vulnerabilities and devise schemes to deceive investors and steal their funds. These fraudulent activities not only result in significant financial losses but also undermine trust in blockchain technology, ultimately hindering its broader adoption.

In this seminar, we will examine security risks in the blockchain ecosystem, with a particular focus on cryptocurrency market manipulations. We will present recent research focused on identifying and quantifying these threats, while also proposing advanced mitigation strategies to enhance blockchain security.

Speakers:

Alberto Maria Mongardini is a postdoctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, specializing in computer security and privacy. His research focuses on fraud and scams in Online Social Networks and blockchain security, particularly cryptocurrency market manipulations. His works have been published in top security conferences and journals, including USENIX Security, ACM KDD, and IEEE TIFS.

Francesco Sassi is a postdoctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, where he works on computer security, systems, and blockchain technologies. His research explores blockchain security, cryptocurrency market manipulations. Francesco's work has been recognized with multiple publications in top security conferences and journals like USENIX Security, ACM IMC, and ACM TOIT.

Affiliation: Department of Informatics, Sapienza University of Rome.

Registration: Students are not required to register for this event.