Ontology, a “high-performance public multi-chain project’ and “distributed trust” collaboration platform, has announced that it will be working with TEEX, a decentralized computing platform, to enhance “on-chain data privacy” and security.

As explained in an official Medium blog post, the cooperation between TEEX and Ontology’s developers will involve creating “secure client private key solutions.” This will be achieved by using a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), which is “a black box” located inside computer chips that separates (and isolates) code and its associated data from external software programs.

External Operating Systems, Applications Cannot Access Data In TEE

External operating systems (residing on separate hard drives) are also unable to access the TEE. Applications containing sensitive data are placed inside a TEE in order to prevent hackers from compromising them. A TEE “provides remote verification functions” which allow administrators to determine whether users are “conforming to expectations” including not trying to obtain access to private data.

Ontology’s public blockchain network will be using the “TEEX Layer-2 privacy-preserving computation solution” to create a private smart contract execution environment. Users of this network will be able to write and issue on-chain smart contracts while maintaining data privacy and security. Nodes participating on the Ontology (ONT) network will also be incentivized to use the new development environment.

“Privacy-Preserving” Computation For Blockchains In AI, Biomedicine, Finance

Desktop (OWallet) and mobile (ONTO) client versions of Ontology’s software will also use the TEE to safeguard users’ private keys by offering a secure environment which will prevent them from being leaked. This measure should help ensure that users’ digital assets are safe from hackers. Commenting on the cooperation between Ontology’s development team and TEEX, Dr. Ryan Yu, the co-founder of TEEX, remarked:

Ontology focuses on public chain technology, while TEEX focuses on privacy-preserving solutions. The cooperation between TEEX and Ontology will create the world’s first high-performance MainNet with privacy-preserving computation and lay a solid foundation for blockchain implementation in the fields of AI, biomedicine, and finance.

Smart Contracts Are “Carriers” Of Blockchain-based Applications

Meanwhile, Dr. Xianping Mao, the dean of the Ontology Research Institute, noted: 

Blockchain is essentially an open system. Anyone can query blockchain data through the public interface. Smart contracts are the carriers of blockchain applications, and the security of private data involved in smart contract needs to be protected.

Mao added that TEEX has a “deep understanding” of how to implement effective “data security protection” measures such as those developed by the company’s “trusted computing” solutions. Mao also revealed that Ontology is planning to “explore [other] blockchain security technologies” for private smart contracts through research conducted in cooperation with TEEX.