Cisco Imagines Group Chats on a Blockchain at Patent Filing

Released at Fri, 30 Mar 2018 17:05:22 +0000

“In short, presented herein is a method for achieving empowerment in confidential group communications in terms of a structured list of data blocks representing a tamper-resistant chronological accounts of group membership updates … there are numerous applications of these techniques. 1 such application is empowering end-to-end encryption of instant messaging, content sharing, and content that is streamed. This is beneficial in developing a protocol or application designed to empower confidential group communications”

Cisco is looking at blockchain technology for a means to create confidential group messaging easier and more protected, public figures reveal.
“how group membership is established, communicated, updated, and secured from unauthorized tampering … in the context of vibrant, decentralized, and self-organizing groups”

The first block would “define the initial set of group members” in one possible variant of this system, according to the filing.
In that filing, published last October, the business outlined using a blockchain network to monitor Internet of Things apparatus.

A prior patent application published by the USPTO showed Cisco has been looking at other use cases for blockchain engineering.

In a patent application published  Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the business described how a blockchain could enable individuals to form groups thickly and share documents and other data whilst keeping tabs on membership.

In this variant, the blockchain would specifically be used to document the band members. After cubes would chiefly capture new members being added and old members being eliminated.
The chief in blockchain information, CoinDesk is a media outlet that tries for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict series of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which excels in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
This would solve “common problems” faced with ad-hoc messaging teams, Cisco said, specifically:

The document, which was filed at December 2017, suggests utilizing cryptographic keys shared among team participants to establish a peer peer community – in other words, creating a decentralized group chat with only those members allowed to join it.
Other variations of this system may enable protected file sharing or instant messaging, according to the filing, that continued:

The first player’s device would make the genesis block, along with following communications would generate their own blocks as each member of this dialog adds on.