GOLDLOCK | NOT THE COLD STORAGE. NOT THE HOT STORAGE. JUST THE RIGHT STORAGE.

joshuaedoja (53)in #crypto • 7 years ago (edited)

INTRODUCTION

A digital asset is something that has value and can be owned but has no physical presence. They exist in binary format and comes with the right to use. Some common examples include: digital currency, data, music, art, design etc. The most sensitive in recent times is the digital currency otherwise known as cryptocurrency.

Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin in the year 2009, and since then onward, the adoption of blockchain technology and and cryptocurrency has increased rapidly. Though the unknown creator of blockchain technology has not been overseeing the project directly, the basic principles of cryptocurrency as an incorruptible and anonymous transactional service remains.

The security of a cryptocurrency and other digital assets is dependent on the level of the security method used to store them. The Korean exchange Coinrail was hacked recently and this that the unregulated nature of cryptocurrencies demands a greater appreciation of security on the owners part. This is not the only cryptocurrency hack case in history, as veterans of the cryptospace will still remember the colossal Mt.Gox hack of 2014, where over 850,000 bitcoins which is now valued at $5.5Billion dollars+ were found to have been stolen from the largest exchange at the time. Because of these historical precedents, this article attempts to focus on how individual cyptocurency investors and managers can personally manage their cryptocurrency wallets and protect themselves from any form hack.

The concept of security and immutability in the physical world may refer to bank vaults or underground bunkers. Well, these terms paints a diiferent picture when it is applied to the blockchain or cryptospace because what is been secured is the private key to your portfolio. Also, blockchains are decentralized, and this means that if you transfer your crypto asset to the wrong person or your asset is being hacked, there is no central authority to whom you can run to for a reversal of transactions.

Every wallet on blockchain have two core components:

Private key:

This is takes the form of a long string of alphanumeric digits. They are to be kept as private as possible because they can be used to verify for the legitimacy of every transaction carried out in your wallet. The private key is like your PIN code to your wallet as in the case of bank accounts. For this reason, it should be stored properly, as a lost private key will result in the irreversible loss of funds in that wallet. This is blockchain, there is no bank to give you another PIN code .

Public key:

This also takes the form of a long string of alphanumeric digits which are often used as broadcasts on blockchain. They are like your account number and thus aid the transfer of funds to and fro wallets.

It is now very clear that these two keys are very important to cryptocurrency investors. While the private keys are most sensitive of both, it is still very important that the public keys be kept as secured also in such a way that you share it with persons that you transact with. It would interest you to know that public keys are derived from private keys by the use of complicated mathematical algorithms. If these algorithms were to be reversed, which if possible would be very difficult, the public keys might be used to generate the private keys. Hence, both keys should be kept as secured as possible. When it comes to digital asset security, the first option that should come to your mind is goldiblock.

WHAT IS GOLDIBLOCK?

Goldiblock is a revolutionized security system for digital assets. It is built on the idea that your data should not be physically connected to the internet when not in use, but that it can be made available and accessible to you from anywhere immediately when you want to make use of it. The system acts as though it were a cold storage system, but this time the cold storage system is offline and does not have anything link online. It is kept this way until the user has any intention to make use of his/her data, then the user can then be granted access online to make use of his data. Immediately the user is done making use of the data, he/she is disconnected from the internet.

CURRENT STORAGE METHODS FOR DIGITAL ASSSETS

It is understood that storing large amounts of cryptocoins on any exchange exposes them to the risk of loss or hack, So, instead of keeping your cryptocoins on an exchange, consider setting up a safe wallet which you own the private keys to. We recommend you ether setup an offline paper wallet or make the small investment in a hardware wallet. Now your cryptocoins are safe at the wallet level. You are now left with the task of securing your private keys as this is now the only access to your assets. Currently, there are basically two distinct ways of securing digital assets and private keys, and they are:

HOT STORAGE:

Hot storage systems refers to any cryptocurrency storage or digital asset storage that is connected to the internet. Generally hot wallets are easier to setup, access, and accept more tokens. Hot storage has proven to be undependable when it comes to key custody due to the fact that anything connected to the internet can be breached and hacked. Over the last two years, 4 billion records has been breached impacting email providers, banks, and credit card accounts, and given that over $1.2billion in Cryptocurrency has been stolen in that same period, it is therefore without doubt that the traditional digital asset storage industry is not 100% safe.

COLD STORAGE:

This involves storing your digital assets and private keys offline i.e away from the internet.The method of cold storage is less convenient than encrypting or taking a backup, thus it is usually done by keeping some money in the system for regular spending and putting the rest in a cold storage device. This reduces the effort of digging out coins from the cold storage every now and then for everyday use. Well, sad to say, but this traditional cold storage solutions does not provide investors with a suitable key management solution for their cryptocurrency. Paper and USB keys can lost, stolen, or damaged. The encrypted cold storage solutions offered by groups like Xapo or Coinbase are not totally accessible, and this does not address most institutional custodial needs. Storing an encrypted key in an inaccessible bank vault maybe viable security for an individual or institution who do not want to trade, but obtaining access to the USB takes days, which is not practical for active asset handling.

THE GOLDIBLOCK SOLUTION

Goldiblock is built based on three main ideas, and these ideas are:

Users need access to their personal data quickly, but only occasionally and for short periods of time. Otherwise, online data is more useful to hackers than rightful owners.

personal data (including private keys must be secured from physical contact and related human error, and fully backed-up.

Personal data and private keys must be quickly accessible when needed.

How does goldilock achieve the three premises?

Goldilock makes sure that the wallets are stored offline through a physical airgap mechanism (1), and this makes it isolated and unaccessible to the internet and thus to the hackers. However, the user can access their data and wallet over the internet whenever and wherever they want to, and in a highly secured way as goldilock utilizes a non-IP mechanism for internet access(2). Users are provided with a dedicated URL and also access credentials such that wallets are accessed over a highly encrypted connection(3).

You would agree with me that a hacker will require enough time working on ways through which he would be able to access your secured data online. He would have to break alot of encrytion codes before he will finally get access to it. Well with the way goldiblock is designed, it is 100% unlikely that a hacker will allowed that much time in decrypting your stuff online. Goldiblock allows that you will be online for just the shortwhile during which you will be needing your data. With this i do not see any possibility of a hack scenerio.

HOW DOES GOLDIBLOCK ENCOURAGE MASS ADOPTION?

Since the major reason why most institutions display sluggishness when it comes to crypto-adoption and crypto-investment is because of the issue of insecurity in key storage. Now that goldilock has come to provide a lasting solution to this problem, these institutions can start running back to blockchains and cryptocurency as they no longer have to dread that their keys will be compromised by hackers, stolen, misplaced, confiscated or even destroyed.

WHY IS NEO THE PLATFORM CHOICE FOR GOLDIBLOCK?

Goldilock choose NEOas its choice platform because NEO is a non-profit, community-based blockchain project that uses blockchain technology and digital
identity to Digitize assets, Automate the management of digital assets using smart contracts, and Realize a “smart economy” with a distributed network. With these combined, NEO will build a highly secured blockchain that will be recognized by enterprises and governments. These are the exact guiding premises of goldiblock.

NEO is distinguished from its fellow blockchain smart contract competitors because it is endowed with the following features:

Aims for Regulatory Compliance

we all know that in large companies and government settings, all physical transactions and assets are subject to auditing. Reason along that same angle too, if there large companies and governments are going to operate on the blockchain, these institutions will also require the ability to audit digital assets and transactions. Digital identities will need to be known and verifiable. This is exactly what NEO is committed to to achieving. NEO make use of the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) X.509 standard for identity, which means that NEO will have the ability to issue and confirm digital identities. NEO is building this digital identity mechanism into their ecosystem.

Utilizes a Superior Consensus Mechanism

NEO utilizes an improved form of the Proof of Work (e.g. Bitcoin) and Proof of Stake (e.g. NXT) consensus mechanisms entitled “Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance” (dBFT). This dBFT is a modification of the Proof of Stake protocol whereby holders of NEO tokens vote for delegates, and the delegates must reach a consensus on acceptable transactions.

Processes Transactions Faster

Since NEO makes use of the “Delegated Byzantine Fault Tolerance”, it therefore means that it would not be requiring thosands of mining machines in order to complete a resource-expensive algorithm to verify transactions. With this dBFT consensus mechanism, the blockchain can process more than 10,000 transactions per second without any accompanying fees for transaction.

These features automatically qualifies NEO to be the ideal platform for a secure wallet utility token. These features are in total alignment with Goldilock’s mission to ensure that consumers are transacting business on the blockchain in the most secure and efficient way possible.

HOW CAN INSURANCE COMPANIES BENEFIT FROM GOLDIBLOCK?

Most, if not all, existing insurance companies are known to store their information online and as such are prone to experiencing security issues. These companies employs the highest layers of security protocols available today, and invest million in cyber security. With all these in place they are still in constant fear of being compromised, since the data they store is extremely personal for their clients and any form of security breach would mean a "bye bye" to their prospering business.

Just imagine how the security status of their clients data would be if they integrated with goldilock. Goldilock will provide them with an incredibly unique storage solution hence the slogan; it is "not hot storage, not cold storage, just right storage." Storage in such a way, that sensitive digital data of their client can finally be fully protected.

HOW WILL BANKS BENEFIT FROM GOLDILOCK?

During the course of a negotiation between goldilock team and the representatives of one of the three largest banks in the United States, they were informed of the banks' opinion that the application Goldilock solution will allow them to provide “a safer and more convenient” wire transfer process than they currently offer their clients. Goldilock will provide a secured backend solution for bank account and transfer management.

GOLDILOCK TOKEN

The LOCK token is registered as in NEP-5 token on the NEO Blockchain. It governs and audits all operations or transactions performed on the Goldilock ecosystem. The auditing mechnanism formed by the LOCK token in combo with the smart contract logic and the audit information is written on Goldilock's own private blockchain.

The LOCK token is also needed to access a Goldilock wallet. With the LOCK token, activities of users' nodes can be recorded and provided when needed, while encrypting and LOCKing away user-owned data from everyone including the Goldilock team. The LOCK token is also to be accepted means of subscription payment for individual users.
There are 1 billion LOCK tokens, out of which 670 million has been offered for sale to the Public by Q3 2018 and the others distributed as shown in the image below.