Onclave Networks Awarded Grant From the National Science Foundation to Enhance Blockchain Security
By Onclave Networks, Inc.
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November 4, 2021 (Security Television Network) — Program recognizes companies with potential of ‘transforming scientific and engineering discoveries into products and services with commercial and societal impact’
Onclave Networks, Inc. has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to conduct research and development on methods to make blockchain transactions more secure, and reduce their financial and environmental costs.
Blockchain is a decentralized database technology where data is cryptographically secured in blocks that are linked together to form a chain of data. The most common use for blockchain has been as a ledger for transactions, but any form of data can be stored in a blockchain. As cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, have grown in use, security, scalability, and energy consumption have become significant roadblocks to greater adoption.
Today’s blockchains require a substantial amount of computing resources as more transactions are added to the blockchain. These resources can be vulnerable to cyberattacks, and they also use a significant amount of energy. In fact, the computing resources required to mine bitcoin are expected to create the largest carbon footprint in the world within the next three years.
Onclave believes that its unique methods of blockchain segmentation and multipath design used in the Onclave TrustedPlatform™ address the current inefficiencies inherent in today’s blockchain solutions. Onclave’s solution enables the defining of computing resource boundaries, thus, eliminating the exponential processing demands of today’s blockchain technologies.
The NSF grant program’s purpose is “transforming scientific and engineering discoveries into products and services with commercial and societal impact.”
Onclave’s research will benefit society by reducing the cost of widespread utilization of blockchain technologies in a digital society, enabling inclusive adoption while maintaining the fidelity of data, increasing security of digital transactions, and reducing computing resources.
“NSF is proud to support the technology of the future by thinking beyond incremental developments and funding the most creative, impactful ideas across all markets and areas of science and engineering,” said Andrea Belz, division director of the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships at NSF.
“With the support of our research funds, any deep technology startup or small business can guide basic science into meaningful solutions that address tremendous needs.”
“We are honored to receive this grant from the National Science Foundation and to have the agency recognize the potential applications of our blockchain technologies integrated into enterprise network security solutions,” said Jim Taylor, CTO of Onclave Networks, Inc.
Onclave has been at the forefront of the shift from a traditional centralized security stack to edge security. Extending on the Zero Trust network security principles, the Onclave TrustedPlatform™ discovers all endpoints and cryptographically separates OT/IoT from the IT network — significantly reducing the overall attack surface. The platform continuously monitors and manages all secured endpoints for anomalous behavior before granting access, allowing visibility and trusted communications between remote users, devices, applications, workloads, data centers and public cloud environments.
About the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Programs:
America’s Seed Fund powered by NSF awards $200 million annually to startups and small businesses, transforming scientific discovery into products and services with commercial and societal impact. Startups working across almost all areas of science and technology can receive up to $2 million to support research and development (R&D), helping de-risk technology for commercial success. America’s Seed Fund is congressionally mandated through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The NSF is an independent federal agency with a budget of about $8.5 billion that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering.
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Dr. James Halldrhall@security20.com(202) 607-2421
