Firm Title: Easy Proof
Founders: Rafael Cordón and Christian Lowenthal
Date Based: February 2023
Location of Headquarters: Guatemala
Quantity of Bitcoin Held in Treasury: N/A
Variety of Workers: 6
Web site: https://www.simpleproof.com/
Public or Non-public? Non-public
Within the age of digital data, how do we all know that information has not been tampered with? Rafael (Rafa) Cordón has a solution.
In efforts to protect the integrity of actual data — particularly authorities paperwork — he created Easy Proof, an organization that safeguards official information by way of the Bitcoin blockchain.
Many got here to know the corporate final yr when it was employed to stop fraud in Guatemala’s presidential election. Nevertheless, Easy Proof’s mission is greater than that.
“We uphold the data integrity of public data,” Cordón advised Bitcoin Journal.
“Elections should not actually our focus. They had been simply the primary use case. We’re centered on [safeguarding] public data — data that is being produced by governments,” he added.
So, how precisely does Easy Proof uphold data integrity?
How Easy Proof Works
Easy Proof leverages Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd’s OpenTimestamps protocol, which makes use of hash capabilities to timestamp data onto the immutable blockchain.
Cordón describes the method in layperson’s phrases as such:
“First, we take the hash of the doc, which could be regarded as the digital fingerprint. Each doc has a really distinctive digital fingerprint, which is a string of characters.
Bitcoin transactions have house for arbitrary textual content, which is known as the OP_RETURN operate. That is analogous to if you’re writing a test, there’s a bit line on the underside proper that claims ‘Memo’ the place you possibly can write arbitrary textual content that reminds you of what this test is for. The OP_RETURN operate could be regarded as a memo house inside a Bitcoin transaction.
Inside this ‘Memo’ house, we embrace the hash, the digital fingerprint. This hash is then included within the Bitcoin transaction. When the transaction is revealed, it will get included in a block, after which it is saved immutably. So, you may have this digital fingerprint saved inside a Bitcoin block that lives in perpetuity.”
Cordón clarified {that a} hash isn’t included for every particular doc however that the hash in an OP_RETURN is the “root hash” of a Merkle tree, which is a tree of hashes for a number of paperwork.
This fashion, OpenTimestamps can attest to an indefinite quantity of paperwork with a single OP_RETURN entry. Merkle bushes will let you effectively show {that a} single piece of information was within the tree.
Be mindful, although, that Easy Proof doesn’t make sure the authenticity of the information it helps to retailer on the Bitcoin blockchain. This nonetheless falls on the federal government or the physique overseeing –say– an election.
Within the case of the Guatemalan presidential election, virtually 200,000 volunteers and observers from completely different political events watched over the voting course of in efforts to stop fraud, the main points of that are outlined within the documentary Immutable Democracy:
Who Is Utilizing Easy Proof?
Cordón and his workforce are in talks with quite a few completely different authorities officers and personal firms that work with governments who’re desirous about using Easy Proof.
“There are two forms of prospects,” defined Cordón. “One is public officers who’re involved about upholding data integrity of their establishments who may get in hassle if data of their establishments is modified with out authorization, and the opposite is expertise distributors who’re employed by governments to generate or course of data who’ve the identical downside of ‘I do not need to be accused of modifying data.’”
Easy Proof has not too long ago secured a second buyer, the id of which Cordón didn’t disclose. The consumer has been contracted by its authorities to develop an software for managing public data, in accordance with Cordón.
“They will not be making their Verification Pages publicly accessible,” Cordón stated.
“As an alternative, they’re going to retailer their proofs privately, with the choice to disclose them if wanted to authenticate paperwork sooner or later. This method serves as a type of digital insurance coverage,” he added.
Cordón believes this method of making personal, verifiable proofs will turn into more and more essential not only for governments however for different establishments and people, as effectively.
Relating to his work with public officers, Cordón pressured one level specifically.
“To ensure that Easy Proof to work, the authorities should need [to use] it,” defined Cordón.
“That was the case in Guatemala. The authorities needed to make use of it as a result of they had been involved of being accused of election fraud,” he added.
Whereas some could have speculated that Easy Proof may have helped stop voting fraud within the latest Venezuelan presidential election, Cordón disagreed.
“In Venezuela, it’s very seemingly that the election authorities did not need to have transparency from the start,” stated Cordón.
Easy Proof solely works if our prospects need transparency. If they do not need transparency, they don’t seem to be going to need [our service],” he added.
Cordón went on to share that Easy Proof appears to be like to work with officers from established democracies world wide.
“I’d by no means need to work with an undemocratic regime,” he shared.
Advancing Easy Proof
Earlier this yr, Carlos Toriello (Carliño) joined the Easy Proof workforce.
Toriello oversaw a vote audit of the Guatemalan presidential election, the outcomes of which Easy Proof helped defend.
“He did the audit as a citizen, as a part of a civil society motion known as Digital Witness, or Fiscal Digital,” defined Cordón. “Digital Witness was taking the paperwork that had been being revealed by the election officers and verifying them towards Easy Proof to test that they had been genuine.”
Toriello crowdsourced a workforce by way of StakWork, a chore app that permits members to earn bitcoin for finishing duties.
1000’s of members labored from their telephones to test the data of votes versus what had been recorded to the Bitcoin blockchain by way of Easy Proof, incomes sats for his or her work.
“Digital Witness confirmed that the election outcomes had been 99% correct,” stated Cordón.
Toriello is now working to have Easy Proof protect the integrity of the outcomes of an election in a US county.
He has been reaching out to US-based Bitcoin meetup teams, encouraging them to assist their county make use of Easy Proof in its subsequent elections.
“The meetups are type of competing to see who’s the primary county within the US that implements this,” stated Cordón.
As a prize, Easy Proof is keen to doc the adoption of its expertise within the US by way of a brief movie, like Immutable Democracy.
“We may help them doc this in a great way by doing a documentary or sending a movie crew to offer them the chance to indicate the world that they are the primary individuals to do it,” stated Cordón.
Past Easy Proof
Whereas Cordón is completely satisfied to have created a software to assist struggle disinformation, he’s additionally effectively conscious that Easy Proof is only one of many defenses that we are going to want towards it.
“We’re very involved with the way in which that AI instruments are evolving,” stated Cordón. “We want issues like Easy Proof as a way to defend us towards AI misinformation.”
Cordón additionally talked about that authorities staff should be conscious of how they produce paperwork and believes that digital signatures can play a task in authenticating paperwork as they’re revealed.
“We’re advising governments to at the very least use digital signers like YubiKey,” stated Cordón. “So, when anyone scans a doc, the one that controls the YubiKey ought to signal it to provide the signature after which it is included into the blockchain.”
Even with expertise like YubiKey, although, Cordón stays involved.
“[There’s difficulty in] proving who generated data and whether or not this digital data was based mostly on an enter solely from the true world or whether or not it was based mostly on enter that was already manipulated,” defined Cordón.
“How are we gonna be capable to show that?” he requested with a stern facial features.
“It is an unresolved query that’s going to turn into crucial within the coming 10 years.”
