Cai Liang, Deputy Dean of the Software College of Zhejiang University: Do a good job of blockchain and implement the "four-character tactics" of "management, learning, innovation and use"

friends:

Happy New Year.

Today is the first day of 2020. From the birth of the blockchain in 2009 to today, it has been over ten years. From infrastructure to the underlying technology platform to industry applications, the blockchain has flourished in various fields. So, where should the blockchain go in the next decade?

In the past two months, I received hundreds of invitations to report, covering the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Yan'an Cadre Academy of China, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Science and Technology, local ministries, and governments. As a blockchain scientific researcher, I am very excited to witness that learning blockchain has come to fruition from the slogan. Different from the prevalence of coin speculation in previous years, this time the "blockchain fever" came in time and is of profound significance.

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However, as a grassroots practitioner of the application and promotion of blockchain technology, what I want to discuss at this moment is not the "hot" of the blockchain, but how to think calmly and advance research and judgment in this boom, in order to live up to the times New opportunities.

I. Learn the spirit of speech deeply, system deployment and application

In the eighteenth collective learning meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC on the afternoon of October 24, the General Secretary emphasized: We must regard blockchain as an important breakthrough in independent innovation of core technologies, clarify the main attack direction, increase investment, and focus on conquering a batch of Key core technologies will accelerate the development of blockchain technology and industrial innovation.

Learning and implementing the spirit of the speech, and actively promoting deployment in many places, the blockchain has become the "strongest air outlet" of the moment. From the government to the enterprise, from not talking about the blockchain to trying to embrace the blockchain, the "on-chain" boom of the blockchain once spread. During my visits and exchanges, I found that blockchain technology has been highly valued by government agencies in various places, and various support policies have been continuously introduced. Faced with the "fast food chain" behavior of many government departments or large institutions, I would like to talk about two major issues that need to be focused on.

Hidden dangers of network security. As the underlying system that carries high-value digital assets, the blockchain will face more severe security challenges than traditional Internet systems. Once there are defects in system design or implementation, they can be easily used by criminals, causing serious economic losses. In the process of laying out the blockchain, local governments or related departments have insufficient understanding of this part. I mentioned in the report by the Ministry of Public Security that although the illegal acts we encounter are scammers under the banner of blockchain or illegal fundraising, but with the launch of a large number of blockchain systems, they are undoubtedly informing criminals We moved valuable information assets and digital assets onto the blockchain, and in the follow-up we faced not only scammers but also “robbers” armed with teeth. The frequency and intensity of cyber attacks facing blockchain systems are unprecedented in traditional Internet systems.

The collaboration between the data on the chain and the data off the chain. During the visit and communication, we found that the layout of the blockchain in many places has not been comprehensively planned. Because blockchain technology is not a panacea, and the problems of today's performance and storage waste of blockchain systems do exist, this means that it is impossible for users to bring all applications onto the blockchain. When a small part of their system is on the blockchain, but there are still a large number of systems that are still traditional centralized systems, you will find that many new problems have arisen. Because the two sets of systems have different basic organizational and management thinking, you will find it difficult to manage both systems at the same time, not to mention the two systems in user management, identity authentication, data expression models, and storage models. , Audit models, etc. are completely different. Local governments and application units at all levels should attach great importance to advance research and judgment of new problems and hidden dangers that may occur after the blockchain goes online, and must make comprehensive planning and preparations for the overall scheme design.

Second, do a good job of the blockchain and implement the "four-word formula"

"Management"-to explore the technical research and industry application of blockchain on the premise of being manageable and controllable. China's blockchain industry is at a high-speed development stage, and new applications and new formats are rapidly landing. If there is no industry standard or regulatory system, it will bring a series of security risks. Because of the distributed and multi-centralized nature of the blockchain, the regulation of the blockchain is more difficult than traditional information systems. At the same time, the technical architecture and application scenarios of public and alliance chains are different, resulting in different regulatory difficulties. Due to the lack of a security access mechanism for public chains, participants do not need real-name authentication, which makes their supervision difficult. Once violations occur, it is more difficult to control the impact through technical means, and more tough technical means may be required to intervene. The alliance chain has a relatively complete admission control mechanism, and the identity of each participant is also endorsed by the relevant institutions as trust, which is relatively more controllable and more suitable for regulatory requirements.

“Learning” —Out of the technical comfort circle, there are still key technologies to be broken in the blockchain. The scientific and technological research on the core technology of the blockchain is of great significance for China to seize the commanding heights of the new round of information technology development. At present, major countries in the world are accelerating the development of blockchain technology and formulating related strategic plans. From Libra to central bank digital currencies, blockchain has already caused fierce discussion and technological competition around the world. Through in-depth research on core blockchain technologies (such as consensus algorithms, smart contract engines, privacy protection mechanisms, cross-chain interoperability technologies, on-chain and off-chain collaboration mechanisms, etc.), promote the transformation of achievements with strategic value and form internationally leading blocks The achievements of chain technology innovation and the application of industrialization are very important for China to seize the high ground of scientific and technological innovation.

"Creation"-We must adhere to self-research, independent and controllable blockchain with Chinese characteristics. Blockchain technology has been developed for 10 years, and it is still in the early stage of technological innovation. The gap between the development level of China's blockchain technology and that of the United States and Western countries is not large. And other aspects have made a good start. According to the current development trend, the blockchain may become an important infrastructure of the Internet in the future. We must actively implement, strive for the initiative in the development of blockchain technology, vigorously develop domestically controlled blockchain technology platforms, and fully reflect the Chinese characteristics in the development and deployment of blockchain systems, rather than relying entirely on foreign open source platforms. .

"Use"-At this stage, blockchain is an expensive technology, and it is used where it is really applied. Blockchain technology is a new driving force for the development of the digital economy and an important supporting technology for the social credit system. We must fully understand the core value of blockchain technology, actively explore and expand the implementation of technology, give full play to the advantages of universities, universities, research institutes, and accelerate the support of blockchain The application of chain technology in the fields of finance, government affairs, social governance, industrial manufacturing, etc. has landed, and jointly build a more comprehensive industrial application ecology.

Today is the first day of 2020 and the beginning of a new decade of blockchain.

In the practice of working on the blockchain, I gradually realized that the blockchain is a new generation of highly comprehensive information technology, and more professionals need to work tirelessly for it. Blockchain 2020, solid progress, Kaige forward, we are witnesses, but also strugglers.

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Cai Liang, Deputy Dean of School of Software, Zhejiang University, Executive Deputy Director of Zhejiang University Blockchain Research Center, Executive Deputy Dean of Zhejiang Blockchain Technology Research Institute, concurrently serving as Deputy Director of the Blockchain Professional Committee of the Chinese Computer Society, China Ke Vice Chairman of the Blockchain Alliance. Professor Cai Liang served as an expert in the study materials writing group of the Central Political Bureau on October 24, and is also an invited expert of the National Network Information System to study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. He has participated in the formulation of informatization standards of many authoritative organizations such as IEEE, the Central Network Information Office, the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the National Health and Medical Commission.

Original link: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/EhHtYU9Z5dxosaYq5UUvGw

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