Tech conglomerate IBM has recently been awarded a patent for a blockchain-based secure system. The patent filing was published on U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website Tuesday, October 2. As IMB explains in a document first filed in September 2017, the technology enables the detection of security breaches within a network by connecting all the monitors to a chain configuration, which registers all events in the network. This, in turn, might help to prevent different sorts of hacks. According to a detailed explanation provided by IBM, a monitor can be easily intruded upon in a regular system as "none …

The U.S.’s second-largest bank, Bank of America (BofA), has filed a new patent for adapting multiple digital signatures in a distributed network, according to a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filing published September 18. The new patent proposes a system for managing data communication from Internet-connected devices. The document underlines that “the invention provides automated determination of which devices are communicating to which third-party entities and, in some embodiments, the type of data being communicated to such third-party entities.” BofA’s proposed system addresses devices within an Internet of Things (IoT) environment, describing how each of the Internet-connected devices will …

IBM has won a patent for the autonomous self-servicing of networked devices that form part of its Autonomous Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Telemetry (ADEPT) environment. The patent, first filed in late June 2016, was awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) September 18. IBM first unveiled a proof-of-concept (PoC) for ADEPT in partnership with Samsung back in March 2016. The system uses a blockchain protocol as a basis for a distributed network of devices — what Samsung has called “a sort of decentralized Internet of Things (IoT).” As IBM explains as a background to its new patent filing, “IoT controllers …

IBM has applied to patent a system that would use blockchain tech to tackle privacy and security concerns for drones, according to a filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) September 20. The computing giant first filed the patent in March 2017, detailing how blockchain could be used to securely store data associated with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) — more commonly known as drones. The patent notes that a blockchain system can provide “effective techniques for managing data related to a UAV [...] particularly when a security risk level is considered to be relatively high.” According to …

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss’ company has filed a new patent for “securely storing digital assets,” the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) revealed Tuesday, September 4. The Winklevoss IP, LLC patent, entitled “Systems and methods for storing digital math-based assets using a secure portal,” includes a new method that allows for the division of a digital asset account “into a plurality of private key segments,” providing more secure technology for cryptocurrencies. The patent states: “Private keys for a multi-signature account may be stored as backups, e.g., in secure storage, which may be difficult to access, and may be used in …

China’s central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBoC), is extending the activities of its Digital Currency Research Lab beyond the country’s capital, local media outlet CNstock reports September 5. The news reveals that the lab has opened a new fintech research center in Nanjing, the capital of China’s eastern Jiangsu province. The establishment of municipal fintech centers is reportedly intended to support the PBoC’s testing of its recently developed digital currency prototype, as the bank steers the prototype to production. The Jiangsu center has been established in partnership with the municipal government, Nanjing University, the PBoC’s Jiangsu branch, and …

U.S. retail giant Walmart has applied to the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) to patent a blockchain system for deliveries, according to an official patent document released August 30. The new patent aims to provide a technology for running “in-field authenticating of autonomous electronic devices” to enable secure deliveries. The patent specifies that “[i]n exemplary embodiments, two autonomous electronic devices, such as delivery drones or household autonomous robots, can authenticate each other using embodiments of security procedures described herein.” The patent is entitled “Systems, Devices, and Methods for In-Field Authenticating of Autonomous Robots” and was filed in January 2018 …

The U.S.’s second-largest bank, Bank of America (BofA), has applied for another blockchain patent on the development of a secure crypto storage system, according to a patent document published by the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) August 23. The patent, entitled “Block Chain Encryption Tags,” describes a system of recording and storing cryptocurrency-related transactions that are handled by enterprises. In short, the invention offers a system of data security for blockchain networks by implementing encryption and linking data units to the blocks of a certain blockchain. In the patent document filed on April 18, 2018, the North Carolina-based bank …

Tech giant IBM has applied for a blockchain patent for the development of transaction data identifiers based on nodes, according to a patent document published by the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) Aug. 16. The system described in the patent, entitled “Node Characterization in Blockchain,” intends to introduce a method of data extraction from nodes on a blockchain network in order to identify different types of transactions. Specifically, any operation on blockchain may possess a node or a number of nodes that can carry useful information about the character of transactions. According to the document, the described specification would …

American bank holding corporation Capital One has filed a patent application for the implementation of blockchain technology in user authentication, according to a filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) August 16. According to the document, the inquiry is a continuation of a patent application submitted by Capital One to the USPTO in June 2017. The proposed system is designed to receive, store, record, and retrieve authentication information for a user in multiple blockchain-based member platforms. The filing says that recording of users’ personal data in blockchain can “enable members of the authentication system to retrieve user …

A patent by U.S. crypto exchange and wallet provider Coinbase proposes a new mechanism for further securing Bitcoin (BTC) payments, according to a filing published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) August 14. The filing claims that existing systems do not adequately address concerns “that the private keys of [users’] Bitcoin addresses may be stolen from their wallets,” when making payments, and in particular when checking out on a merchant page. Coinbase is therefore applying to patent a so-called “key ceremony” solution, which would involve encrypting private user passphrases into “masterkey key shares.” These shares are then combined …

Two new patents from Microsoft reveal that the tech giant is looking to bolster its blockchain solutions with the use of trusted execution environments (TEEs), according to two filings published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) August 9. Both applications outline how the use of TEEs could further improve security within a consortium blockchain network, which requires that specific nodes are endorsed to act as validator nodes (VNs) on the blockchain. As Microsoft’s first patent filing indicates, TEEs can help to improve the security of such networks in the following way: “In one example of the technology, a …