1st place for the graduate and Special Award for the promoter in the PIPS competition
Award for the graduate and promoter from the Silesian University of Technology in the 42nd edition of the National Competition of The Polish Information Processing Society (PIPS) MSc. Eng. Patryk Rossa, won first place for the best master’s thesis in the field of computer science, while the promoter of his work Dr Eng. Anna Gorawska from the Department of Applied Informatics, received a Special Award.
The National Competition of The Polish Information Processing Society, (PIPS) is the oldest and most prestigious competition of its kind in Poland. In this year’s edition, both the graduate and his promoter from the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science at the Silesian University of Technology were awarded. MSc. Eng. Patryk Rossa for his work “Cybersecurity of Decentralized Applications” won the first place, while his promoter - Dr Eng. Anna Gorawska - a Special Award.
The work of the graduate focused on the security of decentralized applications based on blockchain networks (i.e. networks without a central unit). Conclusions from the research conducted by Patryk Rossa are key to the DeFi (Decentralized Finance), offering financial services without the need for traditional banking systems, based on blockchain technology and smart contracts.
- In my work, I focused on verifying whether a single tool is able to conduct a comprehensive security audit, capable of detecting all significant security vulnerabilities in smart contracts, i.e. self-service digital computer programs. - explains the graduate.
- My research shows that so far there is no tool that would allow the analysis to be 100% effective. That is why it is important to use a hybrid approach, that is to carry out static, dynamic and, above all, manual audit by an expert – he adds.
The jury appreciated, among other things, the fact that the work provides hard data where previously we relied mainly on the declarations of software producers.
- Errors in the code of smart contracts lead to losses in millions of dollars. My research can be used by audit companies to optimize their processes and development teams that want to consciously build secure decentralized systems – says the M.Sc. Patryk Rossa.
The jury also appreciated the contribution of the promoter Dr Eng. Anna Gorawska, who received the Special Award. It is awarded to the promoter of the awarded work in recognition of knowledge and commitment, the result of which is conducting scientific research and the educational process at the highest level.
- My graduate and I regularly discussed every step of the work, from literature review and problem analysis, through implementation, to analysis and description of the results. At the beginning, I made available an extensive collection of literature (nearly 50 scientific articles), indicating the key review article constituting the substantive basis of the work and defining the scope of the work. I also proposed a research methodology that allowed to verify the results in an orderly manner and correctly describe them from a scientific perspective. It was a long work, with a very satisfying effect – emphasizes the promoter.
78 master’s theses from all over Poland were submitted to the National Competition of the Polish Information Processing Society, PIPS. The evaluation took into account the substantive level and innovative approach to the problem.
- This distinction is important to me because the topic of cybersecurity of decentralized applications is still a new and extremely dynamic area. The award from PIPS and NASK is a confirmation that critical analysis of security audit tools is essential for building trust in blockchain technology - emphasises Patryk Rossa.
Dr Eng. Anna Gorawska emphasizes that success in such a prestigious competition is the result of cooperation of a very talented and hardworking student with an experienced and committed promoter, who share a common research area. - Conducting research in the field of blockchain technology, including the security of decentralized systems for several years, I am extremely happy with this award and treat it as a confirmation of the high level of substantive research conducted by me and the quality of teaching work - adds Dr Eng. Anna Gorawska.
This is not the first award for the graduates of Dr Eng. Anna Gorawska. - My graduates won local competitions and qualified for national finals, among others in the competition of diploma theses Engineer 4Science or in the competition AI4S 2022 in the field of artificial intelligence - says Dr Eng. Anna Gorawska.
In turn, the award for M.Sc. Patryk Rossa is a motivation for further work in the field of cybersecurity. - The results of my research have opened up a few paths for me, which I intend to explore very carefully now, - he concludes.
The organizer of the IT competition, in which our graduate and his promoter received awards was the Polish Information Processing Society, and NASK was the sponsor of awards.
Photo by Mariusz Richtscheid
