Metrarc’s Trusted Ring™ addresses the issue of how to secure permissioned blockchain transactions in a permissioned distributed ledger (such as Hyperledger) where one of the significant challenges is on maintaining the integrity of the ledger in the presence of a limited level of computing power of the nodes. This is achieved by employing a proof of stake function derived from the digital signature of the mining and transaction nodes by augmenting the security provided by a traditional mining rotation and proof-of-work function by integrating Metrarc’s novel ICMetric™ authentication technology based on Digital Signatures. The ICMetric™ is derived from the operating characteristics of the actual ledger nodes, significantly incorporating characteristics which are not static in nature but may vary and are hence not easily forged.

The potential impact of the technology is significant, in that the ability to detect the presence of compromised nodes in any permissioned blockchain application is a big step in the blockchain security. To this end, our Innovate UK funded feasibility study has been able to show that trusted ring signatures may indeed be derived from permissioned blockchain nodes.