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Staff Profile

Dr Aydin Abadi

Lecturer in Cybersecurity

Background

Aydin Abadi is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the School of Computing, at Newcastle University. Aydin is a researcher and expert in the field of computer science, security, privacy, and cryptography, particularly known for his work in privacy-enhancing technologies. His main research interests include:


  • Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning and AI, such as
  • Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning


  • Developing other Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs), such as
  • Private Set Intersection (PSI)
  • Secure Multi-party Computation (MPC)
  • Time-lock Encryptions/Puzzles
  • Oblivious Transfers


  • Post-quantum Cryptography, such as
  • Post-quantum Oblivious Transfer


  • Financial Technology (FinTech)
  • Developing provably secure online payment systems
  • Dealing with online payment fraud (including traditional banking and decentralized payment frameworks)
  • Cryptanalysis of online payment systems


  • Cryptanalysis
  • Identifying security of state-of-the-art security mechanisms


  • Blockchain, Smart Contracts, and their Applications
  • Verifiable Computation
  • Cloud Computing Security



Professional Contributions and Recognitions:


One of the hallmark achievements of Aydin Abadi's career (so far) is his involvement in the STARLIT project. This initiative, developed in collaboration with the company Privitar, aims to advance privacy-enhancing technologies, a critical area in today's digital landscape where data security and privacy are of paramount importance. The project's success was recognized at an international level when it was awarded the joint first prize in the UK-US Privacy Enhancing Technology Prize Challenge in 2023. This prestigious competition seeks to encourage and reward innovative solutions that protect privacy while allowing for the responsible use of data. The STARLIT project and its recognition have further amplified Aydin Abadi's impact, with recognition from high-profile institutions such as the White House and the UK Government reflecting the project's importance and relevance in the global conversation on data privacy. During his PhD studies at the University of Strathclyde, Aydin earned the Euan Minto Prize in 2015, awarded for the best paper authored by a research student in the Computer Science Department.



Academic Background:


Before Joining Newcastle University, he worked as a (a) Senior Research Fellow at UCL, (b) Lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire, and (c) Research Associate in Blockchain Lab, at the University of Edinburgh. Aydin completed his (i) PhD, in Secure Multi-Party Computation (i.e., PSI) at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, (ii) MSc, in Computer Science, at the University of Leeds, (iiI) BSc, Software Engineering, University of Lahijan, Iran, and (iv) Diploma, Mathematics and Physics, Iran.



Other Profiles:


  • His "Google Scholar'' can be found here.
  • His ''DBLP Profile'' can be found here.
  • His ''GitHub profile'' can be found here, which contains the codes of the open-source software and decentralized apps (Dapps) he has developed.


Research

Aydin Abadi's research centers on the field of privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs), which aim to protect individuals' data privacy in an increasingly digital and interconnected world. His work spans several key areas within this domain, including secure data sharing, and practical cryptographic protocols.


Key Areas of Research:

  • Developing Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs): Aydin's work in PETs focuses on developing methods that enable data to be used and analyzed without compromising individual privacy. This involves creating algorithms and systems that allow for the extraction of useful insights from data while ensuring that sensitive information remains confidential. PETs are essential in sectors like healthcare, finance, and government, where data privacy concerns are paramount.


  • Secure Data Sharing: Aydin also focuses on secure data sharing, which involves designing frameworks and protocols that allow multiple parties to share data securely. This research is particularly relevant in collaborative environments, such as joint research projects or inter-organizational data exchanges, where data integrity and privacy must be maintained. He has developed several Private Set Intersection (PSI) solutions that achieve the above objective while keeping the overall cost low.


  • Developing Core Cryptographic Primitives: His contributions extend to developing cryptographic protocols that underpin secure communication and data protection. These protocols ensure that data is encrypted and can only be accessed by authorized individuals or systems. 
  • Aydin's research in this area includes enhancing the security and efficiency of Oblivious Transfer (OT) protocols. OT is widely used in scenarios where privacy is critical, such as secure voting systems, private information retrieval, and secure auctions. By ensuring that the sender cannot determine which piece of data the receiver obtained, OT helps protect the privacy of the receiver's choices, while also preventing the receiver from accessing more data than authorized.
  • Time-lock puzzles are another cryptographic construct that Abadi has explored. These puzzles are designed to delay the retrieval of a secret for a specific period of time, regardless of the computational power available. They are used in scenarios where information should not be accessible until a certain time has passed, effectively locking the data until the puzzle is solved.


  • Financial Technology (FinTech): In the domain of FinTech, Aydin's work involves designing secure payment systems that ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of transactions. He leverages cryptographic protocols to secure online payment processes, protecting both consumers and merchants from various forms of fraud, such as Authorized Push Payment Fraud. In this context, he has developed several solutions for decentralized payment systems and traditional online banking.


  • Cryptanalysis: He has also discovered security vulnerabilities in several publicly known solutions that were initially thought to be secure and were accepted at prestigious venues.



Publications