Emercoin and Microsoft Azure have announced that Emercoin Blockchain Engine is added to Azure Marketplace. The app will enable developers to use Emer blockchain system within Microsoft Azure environment.
ForkLog asked Stanislav Polozov, director for implementation at Emerlabs, as to how the platform currently works, its capabilities and general state of affairs in the industry.
FL: Tell us more about Emerlabs. What’s the connection between Blockchain Engine and Emercoin? Is it the same team working on all those projects?
Stanislav Polozov: Actually, yes, for now it’s the same team. We plan to make Emerlabs our scientific center for advanced research in new cryptocurrency math and experimental blockchain technologies. Emercoin will mostly be about cryptocurrency development, as it is the backbone for all our projects. Blockchain Engine is an out-of-the-box product for integration in businesses and projects willing to use blockchain technology without spending too much on adapting their IT infrastructure thereto.
FL: Following the announcement of your partnership with Microsoft, Emercoin’s price experienced significant upsurge. However, since then it has nearly halved. Do you expect it to upsurge again, and why?
SP: Frankly, cryptocurrency market now, and I mean all kinds of coins, is now controlled by speculators who force significant fluctuations of price. There are lots of events impacting the spirits. No one can say for sure where the market would head to tomorrow.
There’s also some artificial pumping of some, or even most, cryptocurrencies. I personally doubt about cryptocurrencies whose daily turnover across exchanges exceeds 5 to 10% of the entire monetary mass. It’s a definitive sign of speculative manipulations.
We’re working on enhancing fundamental features of our system and user-friendliness. So I reasonably believe that all those activities will cause the price to grow in the long run. If we consider time spans of year or two, that’s exactly what’s happening.
FL: Late May, there were interesting news suggesting that Russian watches manufacturer Raketa will record their certificates of authenticity on Emercoin blockchain seeking to minimize counterfeiting risks. What about that project?
SP: Currently we’re working together on producing specifications and production charts for the project using emcDPO technology.
FL: Raketa even conceded inputting user info in the ledger using Blockchain Engine. Are there any results so far?
SP: Once the implementation is complete, the customers will have that option. They may remain anonymous, however, even in that case they will be able to prove their ownership of the unique item.
FL: Apart from Raketa, is there someone else interested in your network security services?
SP: Raketa is interested in our other services. There are emcSSL and emcSSH for network security, with occasional addition of emcDNS. There are some other companies, both domestic and foreign, interested therein. For instance, Galactic Global, a VoIP provider from India, partnered with our project. HashCoins.com of Estonia has been using our SSH and SSL solutions to administer its distribution networks for a year now.
FL: This February, Emercoin Group partnered with OpenLedger. How is your joint work going?
SP: OpenLedger has already added Emercoin to their list of traded instruments. There are some negotiations concerning implementation of our security technologies in their infrastructure.
FL: What do you think about the recent The DAO incident? Is security an issue for other blockchain systems?
SP: What happened to The DAO was very predictable and obvious. The same goes to its backbone currency, ETH. The problem lies in the very concept. The system is built in a way that any connected computer is forced to execute arbitrary code added with each new block. First, it makes Ethereum’s ‘distrubuted global computer’ a single processor unit (there are many machines, but they actually do just one thing). Second, it facilitates writing programs capable of causing undesired consequences, both anticipated by the author and not.
If I owned a multimillion business, I wouldn’t be happy to face the entire system’s failure, loss of all crucial data or transfer of all available assets to the attacker’s account.
FL: What’s the use of the services found in Blockchain Engine? What are they, actually?
SP: First of all, it’s EmcSSH, an expansion of standard SSH network administering protocol. Thanks to storing public keys and access control lists on the blockchain, the service becomes more secure and convenient. It completely excludes distributed attack known as ‘man in the middle’, and solves the issue of single administrator.
It’s a very useful solution in practical terms. It allows scaling IT infrastructure without any administration expenses. Sounds fantastic, but it’s true. Server equipment manufacturer and data processor HashCoins has been successfully using it for two years. Their comments are all positive. The technology could unburden lots of internet access providers and companies owning lots of servers and various appliances.
Then, there is EmcSSL, an expansion of standard user protocol SSL. It stores digital prints of user certificates in the blockchain, authorizes users and makes remote website access completely secure.
The solution outruns traditional password systems in terms of security. Usually, you have to memorize all of them, and still some on can intercept them. The service is also very easy: a certificate, once created and submitted through your browser, instantly creates a secure connection,and instantaneous authorization and signing in.
Another service of ours is Emc InfoCard. These are electronic visiting cards stored on the blockchain that can be linked to EmcSSL certificates. They allow for structured storage of any user data, which makes web surfing more convenient.
Just remember filling in sign-up forms at different web sites. It’s all the same all over again. If a service supports emcSSL and InfoCard, you’ll have your personal account immediately upon signing up. It would save much time. As InfoCard is linked to a particular certificate, you may choose what information to provide to the new site when you sign up.
EmcTTS is a digital timestamp. The service enables timestamping any documents on the blockchain. It’s an irreplaceable service for insurance contracts and similar agreements. It also covers copyright issues, patent problems, etc.
Inputting any data in the blockchain effectively makes a timestamp. Any document is linked to a block where it’s located, while the data blocks are connected by an indestructible chain of mathematical authenticity that can’t be compromised. Thus, you may be sure to determine the time of your record’s submission. Now we’re in the process of creating a small yet useful public service enabling anyone to have a TTS for their document, image or musical track. We’re not planning to charge any fees.
EmcDPO is a digital proof of ownership. The service is useful to confirm your title for any kind of property having unique ID’s: car VIN’s, cadastral numbers of land plots, real estate certificates, software license numbers, etc. If you sell or transfer an asset, the owner automatically loses the ownership right, which passes to the new owner.
This technology will seriously lower the attractiveness of stealing property and counterfeiting. Some scam schemes involving real estate will become downright impossible.
There also is Emc ATOM, a two-sided transaction with no third party involved. There’s EmcUDS, an indisputable digital signature.Those technologies require adjustment now, but their potential is comparable to the vaunted smart contracts, while the security level will be way higher.
EmcDNS is a service for creation of super-reliable networks, and for protection against switching DNS. This technology, dare I say it, is one of those opposing centralization and monopolization of internet infrastructure. Do you know that hundreds of domain names owned by entrepreneurs of Crimea have been cancelled for political reasons? Had they known about emcDNS, losing dot-com address wouldn’t impact their businesses that seriously. The service would also make domain zone spoofing impossible. Therefore, it’s suitable for creating super-reliable networks.
Finally, there’s EmcLNX, a system for instant payments for clicks in an ad network.
That’s a step towards advertisement decentralization. On the one hand, advertising is seriously regulated; on the other hand, monopolists have sliced and diced the market, and nearly rob advertisers while advertising platforms are under-profiting. Nobody prevents you from creating a distributed ad network and place ads relevant to the site’s subject while rejecting definitely inappropriate ads. You may have your money immediately, once your link is clicked on, and pay no intermediary.
FL: What of those solutions is most demanded on the market?
SP: The existing IT infrastructure is ready to accept (and currently implements) emcSSH and emcSSL. They don’t have to change anything, while the positive effect is evident. EmcDNS may make it easy to have your own domain name for a hundred years at a price ten times lower than that offered at ICANN-controlled market. The world is on the threshold of the internet of things, so emcDPO is a very timely solution. Advertising market involves billion profits that Google or Yahoo have. The community may save all those money and feel more independent using emcLNX. The new era will be the era of transparency, so there’ll be place for ATOM and emcUDS-based smart contracts.
Interview source:
http://forklog.net/emerlabs-cryptocurrency-market-is-now-controlled-by-speculators/
