In a scientific achievement that adds to the research output of the University of Basrah, Maha Kadhim Khabar, a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science at the College of Education for Pure Sciences, has successfully published a peer-reviewed research paper in *Scientific Reports*—a journal under the global *Nature* portfolio—titled:
**“BMSVP: Blockchain-based Message Signing and Verification Protocol for Security Enhancement in Smart Grids”**
The research was conducted under the supervision of Professors Zaid Amin Abdul-Jabbar and Mohammed Abdul-Ridha Hussein. It focuses on enhancing the security of smart electrical grids by utilizing blockchain technology, elliptic curve cryptography, and bilinear pairing. The objective is to secure exchanged messages, bolster communication reliability, and provide resilience against cyberattacks.
Experimental results demonstrate a 22.36% reduction in communication costs compared to the benchmark systems evaluated in the study, while maintaining relatively low computational overhead. Furthermore, the protocol’s scalability was assessed using the *Hyperledger Sawtooth* platform.
This achievement is the result of an international research collaboration involving scholars from universities in Iraq, China, Kenya, India, and Hungary. It reflects the advancement of scientific research at the University of Basrah and highlights the capacity of postgraduate students to contribute to the development of technical solutions for global challenges—particularly in the fields of cybersecurity and the protection of critical infrastructure

.