MADANA, a German cybersecurity and data privacy company, recently announced a partnership with Neo to explore the benefits of confidential computing for blockchains.

Founded in 2017, MADANA specializes in confidential computing, specifically hardware-based Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) technology. TEE refers to a secure, isolated area of a processor where code can be executed with strong security and confidentiality guarantees, making them suited for sensitive applications where trustlessness is required.

The team has considerable existing experience with blockchain, in particular smart contract platforms, having a long-standing partnership with Lisk and contracts deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. Initial collaboration with Neo will focus on the evaluation of NeoFS for use alongside MADANA’s secure processing applications.

Potential applications would involve the use of NeoFS as a decentralized storage platform for data while it is not being actively used, while MADANA’s solutions provide infrastructure for securing data while in use. MADANA has provided a list of several potential real-world use cases across industries including the energy, retail, health, and insurance industries as examples of how privacy-preserving data analytics can be applied. In each of these examples, NeoFS could be used to securely store data analysis results for distribution, or raw data available for sale on the market while it is not undergoing analysis.

For example, a healthcare provider might create private records with medical history for each patient, storing this data securely on NeoFS. This data could then be transferred using MADANA’s “privacy-enhancing technology” to an analytics service, who could interpret the data to provide vital insights to the healthcare service without ever receiving access to any personally identified patient information. The compiled analytics could then be stored back on NeoFS for future distribution.

Protection of data for third-party processing lies at the center of MADANA’s privacy-enhancing technology. The team has acquired a patent for such a solution, in which its automated data protection process for the purpose of processing by third-parties is coupled with blockchain integration to enable transparent remuneration.

In a conversation with Neo News Today, MADANA’s head of blockchain Eugen Salkutzan noted how such an integration could help revolutionize dApps:

“NeoFS is an excellent technology for the Neo ecosystem and it allows dApps to access this highly compatible secure data storage, which is securing data at rest. We have been thinking that additionally, a technology that is securing data in use (while in memory) would benefit dApp developers even more and allow them to create more performant applications that are secured and trusted in every aspect.”

MADANA Services

MADANA offers a range of products, catering to entities such as companies, developers, data scientists and others with a need for confidential computing solutions. Further, Salkutzan also noted interest from government, public services, and other sectors in MADANA’s privacy-preserving solutions:

“We have been able to conduct several projects with leading German companies and consortia in the BFSI sector. For example, one particularly interesting project we worked on last year was building a data connector with a member of the international data spaces association. The insights we gathered from this project allowed us to tailor our products better to the needs of global enterprises that are increasingly seeking data collaboration with partner companies.”

The current services offered by MADANA are:

MADANA Core, intended as a pay-per-use service that enables easy access to TEE secure enclaves, simplifying the creation of trusted applications where sensitive data is being processed. Core also acts as the underlying technology for its other products.

MADANA Enterprise, a project-based service for the development of custom solutions involving confidential computation. The service is noted as ideal for consumer-centric activities and is intended to provide the convenience of enterprise software to closed business ecosystems that wish to make better use of available data without compromising on security or creating risk.

MADANA Platform, an open platform designed to give data producers, analytics providers, consumers, and computation power providers a secure and transparent way to exchange resources and value. This blockchain-based solution aims to use smart contracts and its Ethereum-based cryptocurrency MADANA PAX to handle incentivization, enabling apps to gain insights or monetize data without compromising data privacy at any point.

A representation of the envisioned data exchange market (Source: MADANA)

Salkutzan explained that Platform represents the team’s grand vision for data generation, consumption, and exchange:

“Our long-term goal is to facilitate MADANA Platform and enable all involved parties in digital processes to exchange their assets and values in a secure, efficient and privacy-preserving manner.”

The original announcement by MADANA may be read at the following link:
https://blog.madana.io/neo-and-madana-partnership-59b56b86fb80

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