Call for Papers

 
Financial Cryptography and Data Security 2020

Twenty-Fourth International Conference
February 10–14, 2020
Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Financial Cryptography and Data Security is a major international forum for research, advanced development, education, exploration, and debate on information security with a specific focus on financial and commercial systems. Original works on all aspects of financial security and privacy are solicited, from fundamental theory to real-world deployments. Submissions need not be exclusively concerned with cryptography. Systems security, economic or behavioral perspectives, and interdisciplinary efforts are particularly encouraged.

Financial Cryptography and Data Security has two submission tracks, a blockchain track that serves as the premier venue for cryptocurrency and blockchain research (subsuming the prior BITCOIN workshop), and a traditional track focusing on security and cryptography in all other financial and payment systems.

Topics of particular interest for the traditional track include all aspects of (non-blockchain) payment and financial systems, in particular:

• Access Control
• Anonymity and Privacy
• Applied Cryptography
• Auctions and Incentive Design
• Authentication, Identification, and Biometrics
• Banking and Financial Services Security
• Behavioral Aspects of Security and Privacy
• Certification and Audits
• Cloud Computing and Data Outsourcing Security
• Contactless Payment and Ticketing Systems
• Digital Rights Management
• Economics of Security and Privacy
• Electronic Commerce Security
• Electronic Crime and Underground Markets
• Fraud Detection and Management
• Game Theory for Security and Privacy
• Legal and Regulatory Issues
• Phishing and Social Engineering
• Reputation Systems
• Smart Contracts and Financial Instruments
• Smartcards, Secure Tokens, and Secure Hardware
• Trust Management
• Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) Security and Applications
• Usability and Security
• Voting Systems
• Web Security

Topics of particular interest for the blockchain track include, but are not limited to:

• Applications Using or Built on Top of Bitcoin
• The Bitcoin Protocol and Extensions
• Blockchain Applications
• Case Studies (e.g., of adoption, attacks, forks, scams, …)
• Cryptocurrency Adoption and Transition Dynamics
• Digital Cash and Payment Systems
• Distributed Consensus Protocols
• Distributed Ledgers
• Economic and Monetary Aspects of Cryptocurrencies
• Economics and/or Game Theoretic Analysis of Cryptocurrency Protocols
• Forensics and Monitoring
• Fraud Detection and Financial Crime Prevention
• Legal, Ethical and Societal Aspects of (Decentralized) Virtual Currencies
• Peer-to-Peer Networks
• Permissioned and Permissionless Blockchains
• Proof-of-work, -stake, -burn
• Real-world Measurements and Metrics
• Regulation and Law Enforcement
• Relation of Cryptocurrencies to Other Payment Systems
• Smart Contract Analysis and Tools
• Transaction Graph Analysis
• Usability and User Studies

Papers from both tracks may be reviewed by the same program committee and will be presented from Monday to Thursday of the conference week, without parallel sessions to the extent possible. The workshops, as in previous years, will be held in parallel to each other on Friday.

Important Dates

Randomized deadline

Many security conferences, including this one in the past, have claimed a firm deadline only to extend it by several days as the deadline approached. Keeping with the tradition started last year, we will implement a randomized deadline in a verifiable way.

All papers must be registered by Tue Sep 17, 2019. This means the titles, authors, abstracts, topics, submission options, conflicts, etc. (everything except the final PDF of the paper) must be entered into the submission system by this date. This date is firm and will not be extended.

On September 17, 2019, we will announce (in this space) a block height on the Bitcoin blockchain that we expect to be found the following day.

The selected block height is 595500.

Once the block of that height is found and confirmed, let the last hex digit of the hash of that block be L. Then the FC20 paper submission deadline will be September (20+ceil(sqrt(L))), 2019. In table form:

When the paper submission deadline has been determined in this way, this page will be updated, and that deadline will be firm. The program chairs' interpretation of the above algorithm is final.

The FC20 firm submission deadline is Mon Sep 23, 2019.

If this is too complicated, you are welcome to submit a final PDF any time before Sep 20, 2019, which is guaranteed to be before the deadline.

Submission

Submissions are sought in the following categories:
(i) regular papers (15 pages LNCS format excluding references and appendices),
(ii) short papers (8 pages LNCS format in total),
(iii) systematization of knowledge papers (20 pages LNCS format excluding references and appendices),
(iv) panel and workshop proposals (2 pages), and
(v) posters (1 page).

Papers must be formatted in standard LNCS format and submitted as PDF files. Submissions in other formats will be rejected. All papers must be submitted electronically according to the instructions and forms found here and at the submission site. For each accepted paper/poster the conference requires at least one registration at the general or academic rate, and paper authors must sign the IFCA copyright form when submitting the final version. Alternatively, individual papers can be published as fully open access—the publisher charges authors a fee for this (currently EUR 38 per page).

Original submissions: Authors may submit only work that does not substantially overlap with work that is currently submitted or has been accepted for publication to any other peer-reviewed conference/workshop with proceedings or a journal. We consider double submission serious research fraud and will treat it as such. Note that it is acceptable for papers to appear in non-peer-reviewed formats (for example, as technical reports or in online archives such as ePrint). In case of doubt contact the program chairs for any clarifications at fc20chair@ifca.ai.

Research paper submission: Paper submissions should be uploaded through the conference submission website, where authors should also report any conflicts with program committee members. A conflict exists if an author has the same affiliation as a committee member, has ever acted as their PhD supervisor or been supervised by them, or if they have been co-authors on a paper within the past two years.

Anonymous submission: Regular and short research paper submissions must be anonymized with no author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, or obvious references. Failure to properly anonymize submitted papers is grounds for a desk rejection without review. It is acceptable (but by no means required) for submitted papers to be published online in non-anonymous form (e.g., on authors' websites or archives like ePrint or arXiv.org). Program committee members will be instructed not to actively seek to de-anonymize papers.

Panel, poster and workshop submission: Poster submissions and workshop/panel proposals should be sent by email to fc20chair@ifca.ai and should not be anonymized.

Re-submission to affiliated workshops: Papers that are submitted but ultimately not accepted to the main conference may be considered for acceptance at one of the associated workshops. If you would like to take advantage of this, please indicate this preference when submitting your paper.

Regular Research Papers

Research papers should describe novel, previously unpublished scientific contributions to the field, and they will be subject to rigorous peer review. Accepted submissions will be included in the conference proceedings to be published in the Springer-Verlag Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series. Submissions are limited to 15 pages in standard LNCS format excluding references and appendices. A total page restriction may apply for the printed proceedings version. Committee members are not required to read the appendices, so the full papers should be intelligible without them.

Short Papers

Short papers are also subject to peer review; however, the intention is to encourage authors to introduce work in progress, novel applications, and corporate/industrial experiences. Short papers will be evaluated with a focus on novelty and potential for sparking participants' interest and future research avenues. Short paper submissions are limited to 8 pages in standard LNCS format in total. The paper title for short papers must include the text "Short Paper:". Accepted submissions will be included in the conference proceedings. The authors of some submissions not accepted as regular research papers may be offered the option of acceptance as a short paper.

Systematization of Knowledge Papers

We also solicit Systematization of Knowledge (SoK) papers. To be suitable for publication, SoK articles must provide an added value beyond a literature review, such as novel insights, identification of research gaps, or challenges to commonly held assumptions. SoK paper submissions are limited to 20 pages in standard LNCS format excluding references and appendices. Accepted submissions will be included in the conference proceedings. A total page restriction may apply for the printed proceedings version. Committee members are not required to read the appendices, so the full papers should be intelligible without them. The paper title for systematization of knowledge papers must include the text "SoK:".

Panel Proposals

We especially would like to encourage submissions of panel proposals. These should include a brief description of the panel topics, as well as of the prospective panelists. Accepted panel sessions will be presented at the conference. Please feel free to contact us directly if you would like to further discuss the suitability of a certain topic. Panel submissions must not be anonymous and should be up to 2 pages, sent to fc20chair@ifca.ai.

Posters

The poster session is the perfect venue to share a provocative opinion, interesting established or preliminary work, or a cool idea that will spark discussion. Poster presenters will benefit from a multi-hour session to discuss their work, get exposure, and receive feedback from attendees. Poster submissions should be a 1-page abstract (in the same LNCS format) describing the poster. Please keep in mind that the poster deadline is later than the main paper submission deadline. Poster proposals must not be anonymous and should be sent to the posters chair at fc20chair@ifca.ai.

Workshop Proposals

Proposals for workshops to be held at FC20 are also solicited. A workshop can be a full day or half day in length. Workshop proposals should include: (i) a title; (ii) a call for papers; (iii) a brief summary and justification, including how it would fit into the greater FC scope; (iv) a (tentative) Program Committee and its Chair(s); (v) one-paragraph biographies for key organizers; and (vi) the expected (or previous, if the workshop has been held in previous years) number of submissions, participants and acceptance rates. Workshop proposals must not be anonymous and should be sent to fc20workshops@ifca.ai.

The Rump Session

FC20 will also include the popular "rump session" held on one of the evenings in an informal, social atmosphere. The rump session is a program of short (5 minutes), informal presentations on works in progress, off-the-cuff ideas, and any other matters pertinent to the conference. Any conference attendee is welcome to submit a presentation to the Rump Session Chair (to be announced at the conference). This submission should consist of a talk title, the name of the presenter, and, if desired, a very brief abstract. Submissions may be sent via e-mail, or submitted in person in the morning on the day of the session.

Student Stipends

IFCA is seeking funding to continue its program of financial support specifically for students attending FC, and students are encouraged to submit work in anticipation that funding will be found. Previous grants prioritized students presenting at the conference or associated workshops and students fresh to the field, but all students are encouraged to apply. If you are interested in applying for stipend support, please email the FC20 general chairs at fc20general@ifca.ai with subject line "student stipend" and a letter of support from your thesis supervisor or home institution confirming your student status and stating that a stipend would help make it possible for you to attend the conference.

Program Chairs

Program Committee

This conference is organized annually by the International Financial Cryptography Association.