Hassan Maishera
Cryptosat, a startup focused on launching satellite-based Trusted Execution Environments (TEE) into low-Earth orbit, has announced a strategic partnership with Dfns Labs, the research arm of web3 wallet infrastructure and security firm Dfns.
In a press release shared with Cryptowisser, the two entities have partnered to create and test the blockchain industry’s first “Space Wallet.”
Space Wallet is designed to protect sensitive, high-value transactions, and it takes advantage of an innovative threshold signature scheme with a satellite as a co-signer to prevent physical access-based attacks.
The threshold signature schemes make it possible for private key shares to be distributed between multiple signers, who must all provide their approval for a transaction to be confirmed.
The protocols included in the wallet reduce the risk of a single point of failure. By hosting one of the signers on a Cryptosat satellite in space, Dfns’s Space Wallet puts attacks beyond the reach of even the most motivated attackers.
Cryptostat revealed that its satellites are located in low-Earth orbit and therefore remain completely inaccessible even to the most well-funded, state-sponsored hackers.
The company also leverages advanced monitoring techniques to ensure that any attempt to get close to its satellites will be detected.
Transactions are executed using a novel threshold signature scheme called Flexible Round-Optimized Schnorr Threshold Signatures (FROST), designed by cryptographers Chelsea Komlo and Ian Goldberg and implemented by Dfns Labs for resource-constrained satellites.
While commenting on this latest development, Dr. Yan Michalevsky, Cofounder of Cryptosat, stated that;
“We’re glad to support Dfns in the implementation of its threshold signature scheme with Cryptosat’s satellites as co-signers. It’s a great example of how we can leverage space as a perfect, physically-isolated environment for the level of security institutional wallet solutions require.”
Dr. Jonathan Katz, Chief Scientist of Dfns, added that;
“Space Wallet offers an unprecedented level of security for threshold signatures. It also demonstrates that threshold signature schemes can be efficient enough to deploy in resource-constrained environments.”
To increase transaction security, Cryptosat ensures all transactions are fully auditable.
Whenever a transaction is spoofed by compromised ground-based infrastructure, the crypto-satellite’s immutable transaction audit ledger will log the incident, providing data that can be used to track the attacker responsible.
The platform’s satellites can also enforce additional security measures, such as requiring confirmation if the transaction amount exceeds a certain value.
Cryptosat is a company that builds and launches satellites that power blockchain and cryptographic protocols. Founded by Yonatan Winetraub and Yan Michalevsky, Cryptosat's team has a background in aerospace engineering, applied security, and cryptography.
Meanwhile, Dfns is a cybersecurity company providing wallet infrastructure for Web3. Dfns is an API-first KMS designed to provide app developers with secure, plug-and-play access to blockchains based on a decentralized, MPC-driven key management network with built-in recovery mechanisms, operated by error-and-attack-resilient tier 3+/4 data centers.
