ChristopherA
commented
1 year ago Separation Patterns: An Architectural Perspective on Designing Secure Cryptographic Systems"
- Introduction
- Overview of the concept of "separation" patterns and their importance in secure systems design.
- Separation of Concerns in Software Engineering
- Definition and importance of the separation of concerns principle.
- Discuss how the principle applies to cryptographic system design and software development.
- Separation of Duties in Business Practice
- Explanation of the separation of duties (or interests) principle.
- Discuss its role in reducing fraud and errors, and enhancing system security.
- Examples of separation of duties in the context of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
- Separation of Hardware
- Importance of hardware heterogeneity in improving system reliability and security.
- How different hardware implementations can prevent system compromise.
- Separation in Cryptographic Practices
- Discuss separation patterns in cryptographic keys management, including separating seeds and keys.
- Explore the use of multi-signature wallets and their role in enforcing separation.
- Separation of Networks
- Discuss the idea of network segmentation and its role in enhancing security.
- Explore the concept of air-gapping and its application in cryptographic systems.
- Lessons on Separation in Blockchain and Distributed Ledgers
- Discuss how decentralization inherently provide a separation of interests.
- …but there are many forms of decentralization (see DID Rubric)
- incentive design and separation patterns
- Explore various TorGap separations
- Lessons from various form of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) as an example of separation of power in the blockchain world.
- Challenges in Implementing Separation Patterns
- Discuss the complexity and potential pitfalls of implementing separation patterns in practice.
- Discuss potential solutions and strategies for overcoming these challenges.
- Conclusion
- Summarize the importance of various separation patterns in designing secure cryptographic systems.
- Encourage continued exploration and implementation of these principles in future system designs.
- References
- Cite sources and further reading materials for readers who want to explore the topic in more depth.
Curent Draft: https://hackmd.io/aZkGa42WRbeayRBdNykTSg
(incomplete, and needs revision)
Article to respond to criticisms of airgap technology addressed in recent multisig-scenario PR #15, gordian & smart custody practices of functional seperatation/partitioning (such as https://github.com/BlockchainCommons/SmartCustody/blob/master/Docs/Practices.md#separate-seeds--keys), etc.) and separate ecosystem roles.
Other related articles:
Related minor task. Decide on our language here (separation? partitioning? segregation) and make consistent in SmartCustody and Gordian repos.
(Separate articles? General pattern? Look for where you can separate things to improve reliability, reduce collusion, reduce single-service attacks)