- The eco Association is working together with well-known partners on a Blockchain Governance Framework
- Interested parties are invited to join the network of trust as consortium partners
A blockchain based on a network of trust: eco – Association of the Internet Industry and the Institute for Internet Security if(is) of the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences are currently working towards this goal, together with five other well-known consortium partners. “The aim of the collaboration is to create a governance framework – that is to say, a basic framework for implementing suitable steering mechanisms for a consortium blockchain,” explains Prof. Pohlmann, Board Member for IT Security in the eco Association and Head of the Institute for Internet Security if(is).
Companies, blockchain users and experts, along with research institutes and associations, are currently defining the processes that lead to a trustworthy blockchain: This ranges from the design of the individual nodes, through the decision for cryptographic procedures and update rules, and on to the details of the cooperation between the consortium partners.
Standards for sovereign consortium blockchains
The first version of the eco Blockchain Governance Framework (eBGF) is to be published on 25.11.2020 and subsequently updated in appropriate cycles. In future, it is to serve as a standard for the operation of secure and trustworthy blockchain infrastructures. The aim is to create an instrument that will become established for a wide range of trusted services as part of digitalisation. Possible applications include the certification of documents, the assignment of time stamps, authorizations, certificates, etc..
“Irrespective of their technical context, there are still no established standards on the market for syndicated blockchains,” according to Prof. Pohlmann. Often, the challenges and problems regarding technical governance and network operation are similar: What are the requirements for security and trustworthiness? How are backups and monitoring of the nodes organized, and how are software updates and configurations implemented? Further questions relate to the definition of resources for creating redundancy.
Consortium partners creating a network of trust
The following partners have already agreed to participate in the creation of corresponding standards within the eco Blockchain Governance Framework:
- esatus AG
- Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
- govdigital eG
- Institute for Internet Security if(is) / Westphalian University of Applied Sciences
- Max Planck Digital Library / Max Planck Society
- regio iT gesellschaft für informationstechnologie mbh
- TrustCerts GmbH
- eco – Association of the Internet Industry
“There is a great deal of interest, both in Germany and elsewhere around the world, in consortium blockchain solutions. Together with our partners, we are creating the standards for a trustworthy and sovereign blockchain in Germany and Europe,” says Kevin Wittek, who, as Blockchain Research Group Leader, is responsible for the project at the Institute for Internet Security if(is). “Anyone interested is welcome to participate in this process.” The consortium is open to companies and organisations that wish to become part of the network of trust. Interested parties can register for the working group by email to blockchain@eco.de, and further information is available in the eco Blockchain Governance Framework (eBGF) GitHub project .
