BlockChains and CORA

Allow me to briefly illuminate the similarities, and differences between BlockChains and CORA.

BlockChains are incredibly resilient, and beyond the control of any “one”. This makes BlockChains ideal for online currency, which was the apparent rationale that drove its creation.

CORA on the other hand was originally developed with a single purpose – to provide unbreakable data security – which encryption alone cannot deliver. 

While CORA has surprised us at CORAcsi.com with additional applications, such as securing one’s online, digital footprint, this is a byproduct of its primary mandate – security.

Hence I targeted a “distributed methodology”, but more than “just a distributed methodology”. I insisted upon the following characteristics:

Points B and D above are pivotal to understanding the difference between BlockChains and CORA as a means of securing data and protecting one's online digital footprint.

For online currency, I personally cannot imagine a better technology than BlockChains.

decentralized, peer-to-peer

The BlockChain is a decentralized implementation. Decentralized, peer-to-peer implementations have been around for years - "bitTorrents" that utilize many duplicates: seeds (files) and catalogs (routing tables).
The design of the BlockChain is beautiful; it is persistent, independent and versatile.

Regarding security, decentralized peer-to-peer systems violate requirement “B” above, by removing the requirements that:

1. The data can be quickly and permanently “shut down”.
2. The fragments are highly controlled and secured by professionals (not seeded to unknown computes, perhaps even home computers).

CORA must remain “centralized” so that it can be controlled and if necessary, shut down to prevent unauthorized individuals, teams, companies, or countries from viewing data that belongs to another. Moreover, CORA will not place packages (seeds) in multiple locations, nor on personal computers.

As stated in my earlier blog, executables in a BlockChain should make the global community extremely uncomfortable!

Executables violate requirement “D”, namely that each fragment must be inactive. Perhaps sterile is a better word! 

CORA is committed to using packages that inactive and can be shut down permanently if required.

Blockchains - Concepts and Connections

BitCoin

I often reflect about, well just about anything and everything. As I mused about BlockChains, I imagined that the paper accredited to Satoshi Nakamoto's gave rise to the BlockChain frenzy. An incredible concept and implementation that is ideal for the online currency that is "BitCoin":

1. redundant
2. decentralized
3. robust
4. a natural propensity towards security (as the number of blocks increase).
5. global

The following video can be found in IEEE SPECTRUM's article entitled "The Future of the Web Looks a Lot Like Bitcoin"

As with every pathfinder who proves a new concept, others are quick follow. Near the end of this article the author talks about the push to include executables in BlockChains. There are many articles and blogs that can be found about BlockChains, in particular I would like to draw your attention to the following:

BlockChain executable

O'REILLY's "Understanding the blockchain"

Blockchains and Online Dispute Resolution: Smart Contracts as an Alternative to Enforcement

Mike Hearn's blog "Developing apps for block chains"

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itnews reports "Ransomware uses blockchains for decoder delivery"

In Ethereum landing page (as of June 5, 2016) one doesn't have to look far to read "Build unstoppable applications".

I know it sounds good, or great, however, we need to slow down for a moment and think about it! In a perfect world, we would all accept the same definitions for honor and integrity.. We would all know the difference between right and wrong, good and evil.

In a perfect world, I doubt that anyone would understand or care about a virus, worm, Trojan or malware. In a perfect world, a zero-day attach or vulnerability would only be found in the popular writings of a science fiction author with an incredible imagination.

Caution

Our world is not perfect - not yet! A zero-day vulnerability is "by definition" one that hasn't been considered or planned for! Do you see the danger in building "unstoppable applications"? Allow me to rephrase this:

Do you recognize the danger in an environment that allows for the building of:

• unstoppable viruses
• unstoppable worms
• unstoppable zero-day attacks

Yes, I know, we will build in safeguards, just like we do with Computers and Servers, and yet, someone always finds a way (sounds a lot like Jurassic Park).

Bottom line: Blockshains are ideal for an online currency that is decentralized. Once this moves to anything that can be "executed", there must be a "centralization" - a way to control these "seeds" of "potential disaster".

Upcoming Blog

Stay tuned for one of my upcoming blogs which contrasts this "decentralized distributed environment" with CORA, a Context Ordered Replacement Algorithm from CORAcsi that allows for the implementation of a centralized distributed environment.