ARMONK, N.Y., April 29,
2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Since blockchain is an emerging technology,
until now there has been little clarity on the requirements to
securely operate blockchain networks in the cloud. To help speed
the adoption of blockchain for business, IBM (NYSE:
IBM) today announced a new framework for securely
operating blockchain networks, as well as new services on the IBM
Cloud that are designed to meet existing regulatory and security
requirements.
Blockchain networks are built on the notion of decentralized
control, but some cloud environments leave back doors open to
vulnerabilities that allow tampering and unauthorized access.
Working with teams of security experts, cryptographers, hardware
experts and researchers, IBM has created essential new cloud
services for tamper-resistant, trusted blockchain networks.
"Clients tell us that one of the inhibitors of the adoption of
blockchain is the concern about security," said Jerry Cuomo, vice president, Blockchain, IBM.
"While there is a sense of urgency to pioneer blockchain for
business, most organizations need help to define the ideal cloud
environment that enables blockchain networks to run securely in the
cloud."
After working with hundreds of clients, startups and developers
building blockchain applications, IBM is addressing their security
needs in several ways, including cloud services with the highest
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS 140-2) and
Evaluation Assurance Levels (EAL) in the industry to support the
use of blockchain in government, financial services and healthcare.
The company is also making it easier to use IBM's code based on the
Linux Foundation Hyperledger Project in any environment, and
offering services on Bluemix, IBM's cloud platform, to help
developers quickly build applications.
With the opening of the IBM Garage this month in New York City, IBM is also working with
clients such as BNY Mellon to accelerate the design and development
of a unique application for securities lending, using a blockchain
network to trade and transfer assets. "At BNY Mellon, we are
actively exploring blockchain's potential to better serve our
clients and our company," said Suresh
Kumar, CIO, BNY Mellon. "With this new initiative, IBM is
providing an environment that will allow companies like us to
collaborate more easily and more securely and in a more
standardized way, which is critical to advancing meaningful use
cases for blockchain."
Defining a Security Framework for Blockchain in the
Cloud
Built to help businesses quickly host secure,
tamper-resistant networks and scale to thousands of users, IBM
Cloud will allow production blockchain networks to be deployed in
minutes, running signed, certified and tested Docker images with
dashboards and analytics as well as support.
These new cloud services have been optimized for cloud-based
blockchain networks by providing an auditable operating environment
with comprehensive log data that supports forensics and compliance.
Tamper-resistant storage of crypto keys and complete protection
around the cryptographic module detects and responds to
unauthorized attempts at physical access. Additionally, the IBM
Cloud services enable blockchain peers to run in protected
environments to prevent leaks through shared memory or
hardware.
"Blockchain is a highly innovative and promising technology.
However there are a lot of issues to be solved for enterprise
systems," said Eiji Ueki, director
and executive vice president, NTT DATA.
"IBM's new blockchain cloud service is directly trying to
address those issues. We believe this will help accelerate the
maturation of blockchain technology."
IBM's Blockchain for Hyperledger Now Available on
DockerHub
For organizations that need the flexibility to
run blockchain on different cloud servers or devices, a signed,
certified distribution of IBM's code submission to the Hyperledger
project is now available on Docker Hub. Ongoing updates will
provide new features including dashboards, analytics, chat support
and exclusive network services.
IBM Blockchain for Bluemix Provides Developers New
Flexibility
For application developers who want to get a
blockchain environment running almost instantly and start building
applications, the beta release of IBM Blockchain on Bluemix
provides access to the very latest Linux Hyperledger code, updated
as the code continues to emerge. Whether on Docker Hub or IBM
Cloud, IBM Blockchain supports multiple industries and diverse use
cases.
"Bluemix Services make it easy for Factom developers to work
with IBM Blockchain code," said Paul
Snow, Chief Architect of Factom. "IBM is the single largest
contributor to open source technology and the Internet would not be
what it is today without their contributions. Exploring blockchain
technology with IBM is exciting and our approaches are
complementary. We are thrilled to see how they will help grow the
industry."
Join IBM during the Consensus Building Blocks Hackathon 2016,
where developers will be challenged to use IBM's blockchain service
on Bluemix to rapidly build innovative applications incorporating
services such as IBM Watson, IBM Internet of Things, The Weather
Channel Data and others. Voting, risk management, finance,
healthcare, insurance, supply chains and IoT are some of the
systems that are poised for dramatic change using blockchain
networks.
For more information, visit: www.ibm.com/blockchain.
Contact:
Holli Haswell, IBM
hhaswell@us.ibm.com
720-396-5485
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ibm-launches-first-highly-secure-blockchain-services-for-financial-services-government-and-healthcare-on-ibm-cloud-300259992.html
SOURCE IBM