diff --git a/privacy-track/module-01-chain-analysis/WORKSHOP.md b/privacy-track/module-01-chain-analysis/WORKSHOP.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..33a240f --- /dev/null +++ b/privacy-track/module-01-chain-analysis/WORKSHOP.md @@ -0,0 +1,132 @@ +This plan replaces the one in README.md + +# 0:00–0:10 — Set the investigation + +Give everyone access to the same private Signet node. + +Present one realistic case: + +We know: + +- Address A received funds from a ransomware payment. +- We know the approximate time and amount. + +We want to find: + +- Where did the funds go? +- Which addresses appear to belong to the same actor? +- What behavioral pattern is being used? +- Where does our evidence become uncertain? + +Don't explain what an input/output/UTXO is. Assume all of that. + +# 0:10–0:30 — Investigation 1: Fund tracing + +Students work directly with bitcoin-cli / RPC. + +Give them only the starting address. + +Their task: + +1. Identify relevant transactions. +2. Follow the funds. +3. Record the path. +4. Identify splits, consolidations and dormant periods. +5. Produce a small graph of the flow. + +5-minute group discussion: +Different groups will usually choose different interpretations of the same flow. That's useful. + +# 0:30–0:50 — Investigation 2: Address attribution + +Now give them: + +We know: +- 3 addresses belong to Exchange X. + +We want to find: +- Which other addresses are likely controlled by Exchange X? + +Students investigate using evidence such as: +- common-input relationships +- consolidation +- sweep patterns +- change behavior +- repeated transaction structures +- temporal patterns + +Crucially, require: +- Address -> evidence -> confidence, rather than simply "I think these belong together." + +This introduces the distinction between clustering and attribution. + +# 0:50–1:00 — Break / compare findings + +Put 2–3 competing attribution hypotheses on the screen. + +Ask: +> Which evidence actually increases confidence? + +This is where I would introduce the idea that on-chain attribution is usually probabilistic rather than cryptographic proof of ownership. + +# 1:00–1:30 — Investigation 3: Behavioral analysis + +Give them a cluster containing, say, 30–50 addresses. + +Don't tell them what the entity is. + +We know: +- These addresses are related to one organization. +We want to find: +- What kind of organization/activity does the cluster resemble? + +Have them calculate/visualize: +- transaction frequency +- active periods +- holding time +- fan-in / fan-out +- transaction-size distributions +- number of counterparties +- consolidation behavior +- periodic sweeps +- dormant → active transitions + +The important part is that **the answer isn't a label**. + +They should produce something like: + +"This cluster appears to operate as a payment processor because..." + +# 1:30–1:50 — Red team / blue team + +This is the part I think would make the workshop distinctive. + +Give them a deliberately simple detection rule: + +> Detector: flag clusters with high fan-out + short holding times + repeated transactions. + +Split the room: + +Blue team: improve the detector. + +Red team: construct synthetic Signet behavior that causes the detector to fail without simply changing the underlying economic story. + +Then compare: + +- What did the detector catch? +- What did it miss? +- Which features were actually useful? +- Which were easy to manipulate? + +This turns chain analysis into an adversarial problem rather than another blockchain tutorial. + +# 1:50–2:00 — Final investigation + +Give everyone one final question: + +> We know: Address A is connected to Entity X. +> We want to find: What is the strongest evidence that Address B is also controlled by X? + +Each group gets 60 seconds to present its conclusion. + +Finish by showing the "ground truth" that you built into the Signet scenario.