About DISTRESS
1st Workshop on Decentralized Immutable Secure Tamper-Resistant Encrypted Searchable Storage
DISTRESS 2026 is the first edition of a workshop dedicated to the intersection of blockchain immutability and privacy-preserving searchable encryption. As decentralized applications increasingly handle sensitive data, we face a critical challenge: how to enable efficient, private search over encrypted data while maintaining the verifiable integrity guarantees that blockchains provide.
The workshop aims to bridge cryptographic advances in Searchable Symmetric Encryption (SSE) with practical blockchain systems, addressing real-world constraints like gas costs, on-chain footprint, and regulatory compliance. We bring together researchers and practitioners from cryptography, blockchain engineering, distributed systems, and AI/LLM retrieval to design the next generation of verifiable, private decentralized storage.
Workshop Focus
Developing practical architectures that combine on-chain verification with off-chain encrypted storage, enabling private yet accountable search in decentralized environments such as healthcare, supply chains, and regulated data marketplaces.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Pratyay Mukherjee
Principal Researcher
Hashgraph
Topics of Interest
Technical areas relevant (but not limited) to blockchain-based encrypted search and storage
Searchable Symmetric Encryption
- Dynamic and multi-user SSE schemes
- Verifiable SSE
- Richer query
- Privacy-preserving index
- Forward/backward privacy in SSE
Blockchain Integration
- Gas-optimized on-chain verification
- State channels & rollups
- On-chain key management & revocation
- Cross-chain searchability
- Blockchain integration in SSE
Storage Architectures
- IPFS/Filecoin with on-chain anchoring
- Decentralized object stores
- Data availability proofs
- Merkle/accumulator commitments
Performance & Security
- Leakage analysis & suppression
- Access-pattern mitigation
- Benchmarking blockchain-SSE systems
- Formal verification of smart contracts
Applications
- Private LLM/retrieval-augmented generation
- Decentralized healthcare records
- Supply-chain transparency
- Regulated data marketplaces
- Encrypted blockchain databases
Economics & Incentives
- Token economics for search services
- Incentive-compatible query processing
- Decentralized governance of indexes
- Compliance enforcement mechanisms
Important Dates
All deadlines are at 23:59 AoE (Anywhere on Earth)
Paper Submission Deadline
Full papers (6-8 pages), posters. Submit through EasyChair using IEEE conference template.
Notification of Acceptance
Double-blind peer review with at least 3 reviewers per submission. Based on novelty, technical soundness, and relevance.
Camera-ready Submission
Final versions for IEEE ICBC 2026 proceedings. Accepted papers will be submitted to IEEE Xplore®.
Workshop Day
Half-day workshop at IEEE ICBC 2026 in Brisbane, Australia. Featuring keynote, paper presentations, poster presentations, and discussions.
Note: All accepted papers will be published in the IEEE ICBC 2026 workshop proceedings and submitted to IEEE Xplore®. Authors of accepted papers are expected to present their work at the workshop.
Keynote Speaker
Featured keynote at DISTRESS 2026
Dr. Pratyay Mukherjee
Speaker
Dr. Pratyay Mukherjee
Principal Researcher
Hashgraph
Title: To Be Announced
Abstract: To Be Announced
Bio: Dr. Pratyay Mukherjee is currently a Principal Researcher at Hashgraph with previous roles as a Senior Director of Research at Supra, a (Senior) Researcher at Swirlds Labs, Visa Inc., and as a postdoc at UC Berkeley. He holds a PhD in Computer Science from Aarhus University (2015), an M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Kharagpur (2011), and a B.E. in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering from Jadavpur University (2008). His research centers on theoretical and applied cryptography, focusing on the analysis, design, and formalization of practical cryptographic problems. Recently, he has been mostly focusing on the application of cryptography in the blockchain space.
Organizers & Committee
Workshop chairs and program committee
Program Committee (more names to be added)
Debasish Pattanayak
IIT Indore, India
Debrup Chakraborty
ISI Kolkata, India
Stefanie Roos
RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau, Germany
Nilanjan Datta
TCG Crest Kolkata, India
Sanjay Bhattacherjee
University of Kent, UK
Manish Kumar
IIT Madras, India
Laltu Sardar
IISER Trivandrum, India
Mayank Raikwar
University of Oslo, Norway
Anisur Rahaman Molla
ISI Kolkata, India
Avijit Dutta
TCG Crest Kolkata, India
Subhabrata Samajder
TCG Crest Kolkata, India
Dhiman Saha
IIT Bhilai, India
Susil Kumar Mohanty
IIT Jodhpur, India
Sayantan Mukherjee
IIT Jammu, India
Samir Kundu
SOA University Bhubaneswar, India
Rakesh Awasthi
Mastercard
Paper Submission
Submit your research to DISTRESS 2026
Paper Types
- Full papers: Up to 8 pages (excluding references)
- Posters: A3 format
Review Process
- Double-blind peer review
- Each paper reviewed by ≥ 3 PC members
- Criteria: novelty, technical soundness, relevance
- Accepted papers in IEEE ICBC proceedings
Formatting
- Use IEEE conference template
- PDF format only
- Anonymous submission (no author names/affiliations)
- Submitted via EasyChair
Submission Portal
Submit your paper through the EDAS submission system.
Submission Deadline
30 March 2026 (AoE)
Submission Link
For questions about submission, contact the organizers.
Join us at DISTRESS 2026
Be part of the first workshop dedicated to blockchain-based encrypted search and storage. Submit your research, attend the workshop, and help shape this emerging field.