Blockchain security 2Go starter kit protects digital transactions

“The success of the blockchain system hinges on securing user interaction with the distributed database,” said Stefan Rueping, Senior Principal Security Chip Architecture at Infineon Technologies. “Infineon’s Blockchain Security 2Go starter kit allows to quickly develop convenient access solutions based on security tokens or embedded security chips that significantly increase security level and trust. Both are fundamental for successful adoption of blockchain based services.”

Infineon presented its new Blockchain Security 2Go starter kit at TRUSTECH, the event for digital transactions, that took place in Cannes, 27th to 29th November.

The starter kit contains five NFC smart cards based on Infineon’s security controller with blockchain crypto features for several blockchains. Additionally, an open source android app for Ethereum and Smart contract examples is provided. The NFC smart cards help blockchain system designers to easily integrate hardware-based security and quickly develop first prototypes of the blockchain application.

The security tokens, whether smart cards, dongles or solutions for mobile devices, allow users to securely generate their unique public and private key pairs, authenticate with PIN and sign their data and digital transactions. All the user credentials can be stored in the security controller and hence be protected from remote attacks on software or the micro-architecture and especially from physical attacks in case the token is stolen or lost.

A blockchain is a decentralised digital ledger system of data (chain of blocks) that are cryptographically linked to the previous one.

Though convenient, storing blockchain user credentials on a computer or a cellphone can be extremely risky: an attacker may identify and read out sensitive information such as the highly confidential private key of the user. This could even be done remotely, through software attacks, so that the attacker would have full control over that blockchain identity and its currency, assets, ID and contracts. 

Similarly, if a user forgets or loses the credentials, the usage of the assets is lost as credentials typically cannot be centrally restored. It is essential to increase access security by integrating a token based on hardware security into the application that protects from software and physical attacks alike.

This is supported by Infineon’s Blockchain Security 2Go starter kit which will be available in Q1 2019.