Table of Links Abstract and 1. Introduction Abstract and 1. Introduction 2 Related Work and 2.1 Technology Convergence Approaches 2 Related Work and 2.1 Technology Convergence Approaches 2.2 Technology Convergence Measurements 2.2 Technology Convergence Measurements 2.3 Technology Convergence Models 2.3 Technology Convergence Models 3 Data 3 Data 4 Method and 4.1 Proximity Indices 4 Method and 4.1 Proximity Indices 4.2 Interpolation and Fitting Data 4.2 Interpolation and Fitting Data 4.3 Clustering 4.3 Clustering 4.4 Forecasting 4.4 Forecasting 5 Results and Discussion and 5.1 Overall Results 5 Results and Discussion and 5.1 Overall Results 5.2 Case Study 5.2 Case Study 5.3 Limitations and Future Works 5.3 Limitations and Future Works 6 Conclusion and References 6 Conclusion and References Appendix Appendix 5.2 Case Study To illustrate the practical implications of our findings, we examine the evolution of proximity indices between ”Public-key cryptography” and ”Blockchain,” as depicted in Figure 4. A notable interpolation rate of 46% is evident. This can be attributed to the sparse interactions between both technologies from 2002 to 2012, reflecting the early stages of blockchain development in the cybersecurity domain. Consequently, during this phase, indices remained relatively stagnant. It’s important to note that this interpolation rate, though steep, doesn’t significantly bias our indices between ”Public-key cryptography” and ”Blockchain”; instead, it accurately reflects the non-interactive phase between these technologies. A significant surge in the proximity indices is evident from 2017 onwards, with the indices for common keywords and collaboration based on incremental h-indices being particularly prominent. This suggests a robust correlation between the variables ”common keywords” and ”collaboration,” indicating a notable number of authors simultaneously exploring both public-key cryptography and blockchain technologies. Additionally, there is a marginal increase in mutual citations between the two technologies. While citation-based indices exhibit modest growth, it could be attributed to their inherent construction rather than a lack of interaction between the two technologies. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that a tangible technological convergence occurred between blockchain and public-key cryptography from 2017 to 2021. This convergence is highlighted by the increasing adoption of public-key cryptography in blockchain platforms during this period. Techniques like digital signatures, based on public-key cryptography, became integral to verifying blockchain transactions. Furthermore, the integration of zero-knowledge proofs, also based on public-key cryptography, gained traction in blockchain frameworks to validate assertions without revealing the underlying data. In conclusion, our findings highlight a pivotal phase of technological convergence between blockchain and public-key cryptography spanning 2017 to 2021. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY 4.0 DEED license. This paper is available on arxiv under CC BY 4.0 DEED license. available on arxiv Authors: (1) Alessandro Tavazz, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland, Institute of Mathematics, EPFL, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland and a Corresponding author (tavazale@gmail.com); (2) Dimitri Percia David, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland and Institute of Entrepreneurship & Management, University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HES-SO Valais-Wallis), Techno-Pole 1, Le Foyer, 3960, Sierre, Switzerland; (3) Julian Jang-Jaccard, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland; (4) Alain Mermoud, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland. Authors: Authors: (1) Alessandro Tavazz, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland, Institute of Mathematics, EPFL, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland and a Corresponding author (tavazale@gmail.com); (2) Dimitri Percia David, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland and Institute of Entrepreneurship & Management, University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HES-SO Valais-Wallis), Techno-Pole 1, Le Foyer, 3960, Sierre, Switzerland; (3) Julian Jang-Jaccard, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland; (4) Alain Mermoud, Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science and Technology, Building I, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
