Blockchain is an emerging technology, no standards have been established on the requirements to securely operate blockchain networks in the cloud, IBM said. The company hopes the security guidelines will help drive adoption of blockchain, she said.
Big Blue launched announced a new framework today for securely operating blockchain networks, as well as new services on the IBM Cloud that are created to meet existing regulatory and security requirements, the company said. “While there is a sense of urgency to pioneer blockchain for business, most organisations need help to define the ideal cloud environment that enables blockchain networks to run securely in the cloud”.
The IBM security framework for cloud-based blockchain networks has an auditable operating environment with comprehensive log data to support compliance and forensics. The company tasked its security experts, cryptographers, hardware engineers and researchers to create new cloud services for trusted blockchain networks. The new features are geared toward enterprise clients in the financial services, government, and healthcare sectors.
It has opened IBM Garage in New York City this month to work with clients for design and development of applications.
IBM in February announced it was offering a cloud-based service to allow developers to set up blockchain networks and test and deploy related apps. The security framework includes tamper-resistant storage of crypto keys and protection around cryptographic modules to detect and respond to unauthorized attempts at physical access.
IBM has been an active participant in collaborative industry efforts devoted to blockchain development. The security framework also enables blockchain peers to run in protected environments to prevent leaks through shared memory or hardware. Eiji Ueki, director and executive vice president, NTT DATA, said that blockchain is a highly innovative and promising technology.
IBM announced Friday a new set of offerings involving blockchain, the encrypted database architecture best known for its use with Bitcoin. IBM’s announcement may lay the foundation for other organizations and enterprises to get involved in with blockchain technology.
The beta release of IBM Blockchain on Bluemix offers access to the latest Linux Hyperledger code for developers looking to run blockchain environment quickly to start building applications. “You don’t want bad actors like a VM manager in the host provider to see when transactions are coming in or trying to perform interrogations that could give them sensitive information”.
Date: May 4, 2016