Dr. Deepak Puthal

Title of the research page: Architecting the Future of Secure and Intelligent Distributed Systems

This work perfectly encapsulates the most critical challenge facing modern computing: safely managing the exponential growth of decentralized data and devices. These challenges are vital because the coming era, defined by 6G and massive IoT deployments, necessitates moving beyond outdated, centralized security models.

The research focuses on developing adaptive, lightweight, and resilient security architectures essential for next-generation distributed and resource-constrained environments, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing. The work is characterized by significant and synergistic contributions across cybersecurity, blockchain technology, and applied Artificial Intelligence (AI).

A primary architectural contribution is the pioneering of adaptive security models specifically designed to overcome the limitations of traditional, heavy protocols. This includes the development of the Software Defined Perimeter (SDP), an AI-based framework that shifts defense mechanisms from static network boundaries to dynamic, identity-based access control, intelligently adapting security policies based on granular user and device specifications. Furthermore, the research has fundamentally advanced blockchain applicability for distributed security. Recognizing the prohibitive energy cost of conventional Proof-of-Work, novel, resource-friendly consensus mechanisms have been engineered, such as Proof of Authentication (PoAh), explicitly tailored for low-power IoT devices. This innovation is complemented by PUFChain, a hardware-assisted blockchain system that integrates Physical Unclonable Functions (PUFs) to establish unforgeable, hardware-level device identity, significantly enhancing data integrity and device security simultaneously.

The influence of this work extends to cryptographic innovation with the creation of CryptoCliqIn, a graph-theoretic cryptography method based on Clique Injection, offering a novel paradigm for secure communication. These contributions collectively lay essential groundwork for the resilient and intelligent operation of future decentralized digital ecosystems.