REMME was put under the microscope at a recent hackathon, where a number of solutions were suggested for maximising the REMME PKI (d) protocol. Ideas were traded busily at the hackathon, as participants proposed ways of implementing REMME in a myriad of settings.

REMME and Magento: A Match Made in Blockchain Heaven?

One idea was to introduce REMME authentication — without the need for a login and password — as a Magento plugin. Magento is of course one of the world’s most used and trusted e-commerce platforms, powering a who’s who of big name retailers across the globe.

During registration a REMME certificate would be generated for the user, negating the need for data to be saved on the server; instead the user would sign it on the blockchain. A neat two-way solution with benefits to both the end user and the online portal’s administrators.

However, some participants envisaged possible difficulties in integrating, noting that Wordpress would be much simpler for this exercise than Magento. Nonetheless, it’s an intriguing concept and one which may yet prove workable.

REM Token Migration: Worth Pondering

The migration of tokens based on nascent atomic swap technology was proposed and fervently discussed in this animated cryptosphere.

Atomic swaps, the cryptographically powered smart contract technology enabling parties to trade tokens without the risk of either defaulting, involves an automated, centralized bot to ensure transactions go off without a hitch.

The migration mechanism from Ethereum to REMChain — the native REMME blockchain — is one of the key parts of REMME’s tokenomics and has a huge impact on its monetization model. It’s required for generating certificates on the REMChain and rewarding mastenodes for their work. The team’s task was to propose a means of atomic swap realization.

Implementing an Access Hierarchy

Hierarchies govern the management of the planet, so they’re a pretty big deal. The hackathon team thought REMME keys could play a part.

In essence, the management of access rights to various documents could be determined by a hierarchy implemented on the basis of the REMME protocol. Namely, the editor, the creator, read only, reading and editing.

Everyone wants a clear, coherent system of access to sensitive documentation, with a reliable and securitised system in place, so the reasoning goes. The hackathon team envisaged REMME as a key that determined the level of access necessitated by the document.

Using a REMME key, it would be possible to create subsidiary keys for granting access rights to lower levels of the hierarchy, with users compelled to log in to the file rather than the web service. Documents would be stored centrally but the keys would be wholly encrypted.

Of course, it would be necessary to provide relevant architecture for the hierarchy and encryption of keys.

And Finally: Linking the Mesh Network

Yet another idea proposed by the team was to use the REMME protocol as a means of access to the mesh network. The technology underpinning mesh networks has great potential as part of the Internet of Things. The participants in such a network are typically M2M devices such as routers, banking payment terminals or smartphones. There are two types of participants: devices that maintain a network and those which only use it.

Architecture of mesh networks allows for significant scaling capacities for example to achieve internet distribution without wires. But the transmission speed is lower with mesh networks and it is often more difficult to administer such a network. Nevertheless, mesh networks are useful where is no possibility to construct a network on wires, no public internet, or limited WiFi connection. A condominium can have two connections, for example, and the rest of the rooms can be connected through a mesh network.

From the point of view of data transfer security, a mesh network connects small devices and sensors that transmit data to each other. We want to ensure the security of such a network, so that hackers under the guise of device emulation cannot seize the data. For example, in agriculture, where automation is set, it’s vital that these systems are protected.

To gain access to a mesh network, using the hackathon solution proposed, you would require a device with the REMME certificate. In this way, a user could be excluded simply by withdrawing his or her certificate.

However, potential development difficulties abound with this one. For a start, it would be tricky to ensure the operability of the protocol on low-power devices, even after deploying the client REMME on the router.

Participants suggested mulling over the strategy of M2M solutions as part of REMME implementation for the IoT.

We welcome these hackathons as an exercise in brainstorming, and in discovering the many ways in which the REMME protocol can be used as a base for enhancing cybersecurity in every facet of the digital world.