Sentinel Protocol
Overview
Sentinel Protocol addresses the need for protection against the rapidly growing threats which come with the decentralization of cryptocurrency. The primary security concern regarding the decentralized ecosystem is that users are widely susceptible to hacks, without having the resources to identify the hacker. By utilizing the power and benefits of decentralization, Sentinel Protocol binds cryptographic functions and intelligence-based algorithms for threat analysis in order to create a secure and innovative blockchain network protecting the user community from cybercrime. The Sentinel Protocol team has designed this platform not only to protect individual crypto holders, but also big exchanges and institutions dealing in blockchain transactions. The decentralized system detects unknown patterns from attackers, disseminates this information through the network, and blocks the transaction before it is executed. Users are thus protected through collective intelligence while still maintaining the autonomy of the decentralized network.
UPP (Uppsala Points) is the circulation currency, whereas Sentinel Points can only be earned through contribution within the Sentinel Protocol. While Sentinel Points can be converted into UPP, UPP and other fiat currencies cannot be converted into Sentinel Points. Users can earn Sentinel Points by reporting hacker’s wallet or IP address, reporting hacking incidents and upvoting Sentinels who have helped them.
Team
The motivation to start a security platform stemmed from Uppsala Foundation and Sentinel Protocol founder Patrick Kim’s loss of nearly 7000 Ether from the geth-mist wallet. With 10 years of experience in the cybersecurity industry, Kim, along with Co-founder Hae-Min Park, started the Sentinel Protocol to combat the cybercrimes persisting in the blockchain ecosystem. Before joining Sentinel Protocol, Hae-Min Park worked as account manager for Darktrace and F5 Network. Chief Evangelist John Kirch was a former Regional Director at Darktrace, as well as VP for Penta Security Systems in Asia/Japan.
Key Features
The Security Intelligence Platform for Blockchain(SIPB) has the unique features of Threat Reputation Database(TRDB), a machine learning(ML) engine integrated security wallet called the S-Wallet, as well as a distributed malware analysis sandbox D-Sandbox. The Threat Reputation Database deals with the problems arising from the centralized database of security firms, as well as lack of information sharing between the security vendors. By utilizing collective intelligence, TRDB collects informations about hacker wallet addresses,faulty URL/URIs, and other malicious malware. Only security experts can update the TRDB to eliminate errors. Users can contribute to the database either through manual reporting or auto-reporting.
As for the end-user software program, the S-Wallet serves as an antivirus software for cryptocurrency. While typical antivirus software deals with threats through continuous updates from known signatures, it is unable to respond to unknown threats. S-wallet provides the services of cryptocurrency wallet address filtering, URL/URI filtering, data filtering and fraud detection. D-Sandbox is where a potential threat is reported via a ticket system and evaluated using collective intelligence. The benefits of D-Sandbox are that it is extremely cost effective due to infinite scaling through distributed system, and resolves the waste of computing power in Proof of Work(PoW).An Interactive Cooperation Framework(ICF) enables Sentinels and end users to interact through the Sentinel Portal. Users can obtain knowledge and assistance with respect to security issues.
Future Developments
Sentinel Protocol will launch its mainnet on 18 July 2018 as part of the Phase 2-Proof of Protection. A detailed report of the TRDB feature will be integrated into mainnet.Phase 3-Self Purification will be carried out in the months of November and December, with the testing and release of the beta version of machine learning engine, and launch of the D-sandbox. The last phase in 2019 is the Self Evolution which will witness the integration of the Fraud Detection System into the mainnet.
Risk and Opportunity
For the protocol to be successfully implemented, it is paramount to have cybersecurity experts. A Pre-Sentinel recruitment program was conducted to start the onboarding process, but indicated heavy reliance on B2B partnerships in order to grow the number of Sentinels within the ecosystem.At present, the team at Sentinel Protocol has not yet established any significant partnerships that would foster the growth of Sentinels in the network.The protocol also does not make clear as to what extent Sentinel Points and UPP incentives given to enterprise partners will prove viable.
Although the SIPB with all the features will not be launched until 2019, a promising outlook can be observed with the release of most of the important components such as the beta version of the SIPB and mainnet launch scheduled in June.The Sentinel Protocol ICO has also formed various partnerships with exchanges such as Kyber Network,and wallets like Coinmanager in Korea that will integrate the TRDB for identifying addresses. Undoubtedly, there is a strong and urgent need for a security platform in the cryptospace, and the Sentinel Protocol team aims to provide this solution with strong partnerships and community support.
Disclaimer: Cryptomover is not a licensed financial advisor. The information presented in this piece is an opinion, and is not purported to be fact. Cryptocurrency is a volatile virtual commodity and can move quickly in any direction. Cryptomover is not responsible for any loss incurred by following this advice.
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