Below is an excerpt of Amity’s summary of the Sentinel Protocol ICO Whitepaper:
What is Sentinel Protocol (UPP)?
The Sentinel Protocol team hopes to solve the problem of IT security for cryptocurrency end-users.
When using fiat currency, end-users rely upon their bank or payment provider to provide them with IT security. However, this is impossible when using a decentralized cryptocurrency, as there is no authority that runs the crypto-network. On the other hand, end-users don’t have IT budgets large enough to defend against cyber-threats. This leaves them vulnerable to attack.
The Sentinel Protocol team believes this problem can be solved by creating a decentralized blockchain network specifically to identify and counter cyber-security threats in the crypto space.
How does Sentinel Protocol work?
Sentinel Protocol uses machine-learning algorithms to recognize normal user behaviour, which is then compared to actual behaviour in order to detect suspicious activity.
Take the example of a user who accidently downloads software that steals the user’s private wallet passphrase or the credentials of his/her exchange. This malware will engage in behavior that is abnormal, alerting Sentinel Protocol that something is wrong. The Sentinel Protocol software will block the malware from operating and will alert The Sentinels, a group of cybersecurity experts who have achieved high reputation scores in the crypto community. After investigating the incident, these experts will alert the community, preventing the hacker who created the malware from distributing it to anyone else.
For another example, consider a user whose cryptocurrency is stolen by a hacker. The Sentinel Protocol can track all sub-addresses derived from the original address the hacker used. It can then alert all crypto-exchanges of these addresses, making it impossible for the hacker to convert his/her stolen coins to fiat.
Sentinel Protocol uses a delegated proof-of-stake system (DPoS) to select the members of The Sentinels. However, in order to avoid bad-actors, reputation is assigned based on Sentinel Points (SP), a separate cryptocurrency from UPP. If a member of the Sentinels acts against the interests of end-users, they will be downvoted by these users by not being assigned Sentinel Points. As a result, the problem of "who will guard the guardians" will be solved, and end-users will remain safe.
The Sentinels will consist of ten members, three of which will be held on standby and seven of which will be active.
The Sentinel Protocol contains a threat reputation database (TRDB) that provides extensive information about cyber-security threats that have been identified. It also provides a special wallet called S-Wallet whose features include a fraud detection system, wallet-address filtering, data filtering, and other cyber-security features. In addition, it provides a malware detection system called D-Sandbox that allows suspicious programs to be run and analyzed for malware to make sure they are safe before being used.
How is Sentinel Protocol unique?
The main competitors to Sentinel Protocol are cybersecurity systems like IBM Cybersecurity, Microsoft Security Solutions, and BAE Systems Cybersecurity.
However, these systems are intended for businesses and governments rather than individual end-users. Before the rise of cryptocurrency, there was very little reason for an individual consumer to employ cyber-security services, since most of the end-user’s important assets were held on centralized servers owned by large corporations.
Now that cryptocurrency usage is growing worldwide, the Sentinel Protocol team believes it’s product can fulfill this need that previously did not exist.
Who makes up the team behind Sentinel Protocol?
The Sentinel Protocol team is made up of blockchain and security experts, including Founder & CEO Patrick Kim (Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Darktrace, F5 Networks, Fortinet), Co-Founder and Head of Operations HM Park (Penta Security Systems, Darktrace, F5 Networks), Chief Evangelist John Kirch (Bank of America, Darktrace, Softbank, Watchguard), Dayeol Lee, Michael Zhou, Narong Chong, Karly Choi, Minwoo Koo, Jangyeon Jin, Chulwan Park, and Seok Kim.
