An alliance for a standard: Cryptowerk and Ferrari electronic in dialogue

Chris Helbing: Which potential do you see in the NGDX format with blockchain option?

Bernhard Hecker: NGDX gives us the possibility to use Blockchain concretely. So far there are few concrete fields of application. It offers us a unique opportunity: it is the technology that creates the level of trust on the Internet that has been lacking until now.

Chris Helbing: This is not from you, though. It's from the inventor of the Netscape Navigator, Marc Andreessen. 

Bernhard Hecker: That's right. The blockchain creates trust in digital processes, it is a Digital Trust Engine. It functions like a Distributed Ledger, a distributed account book. Each participant owns it in equal shares. What is once written in the blockchain is there forever. Those who use them simplify the workflow, minimize costs and make processes auditable. The exchange of documents and the time of the exchange can be proven indisputably. For example, the timely submission of the tax return to the tax office with the correct sales tax figures. 

Or imagine how beautiful the world would be for Elon Musk with blockchain if he could simply prove that the driver of the Tesla accident car deactivated the autopilot seven minutes before his accident in March 2018. Which seems to have really happened. Tesla has this in a log file, but Tesla can't prove clearly whether the log file was manipulated afterwards. 

Chris Helbing: If the data or at least the checksum of these were in the blockchain, this would not be a problem. 

Bernhard Hecker: Exactly. Another example: Cryptowerk is currently working for a telecommunications and IP provider. In the future, the provider wants to be able to prove with certainty whether interrupted connections go to his account or not. One idea is to anchor access to their infrastructure in the blockchain. This kills two birds with one stone and creates trust: The blockchain is an objective instance. Connections and errors become detectable. 

Chris Helbing: To further minimize the risk, you write the data into several blockchains. Because not all blockchains will prevail in the long run. However, companies must archive and prove documents over a very long period of time. In terms of taxes, it is ten years, in the pharmaceutical industry 25 years and in aircraft construction 30 years. In order to make this possible for our customers despite possible changes in the blockchain platforms, Cryptowerk writes in several blockchains. 

Bernhard Hecker: And ensures that the data can also be migrated in an emergency. If a new technology prevails in five years, we can migrate the data to the new solution via our interface. Including time stamps of the first exchange. 

Chris Helbing: Our cooperation significantly reduces the costs for our customers. If you currently want to anchor the transmission of a fax in the blockchain for ten years, you pay a total of around four dollars for the whole process. And wait up to ten minutes. This does not make sense in terms of time or business management. Cryptowerk's API solves the problem: we don't just write one transaction via your API when you make an entry in the blockchain. But up to one million. 

Bernhard Hecker: And all this works automatically, independent of people, places, infrastructures, time and place. NGDX plus blockchain option is like an all-round worry-free package. Compare it to a signature: For the signature I have to create a certificate and share it with everyone who wants to verify the data. The problem with these certificates is that they expire at some point.

Chris Helbing: The exchange via the blockchain is easier overall, even in the application: Companies do not need their own blockchain connection, no bitcoins and no one to deal with the topic. Once activated, the process runs via our document exchange server, which opens the Cryptowerk API - everything works automatically. The companies save a lot of money, time, effort and trouble.

Bernhard Hecker: The exchange with the blockchain connection is not only easier than with classic certificates. It is also secure. Because your customers do not exchange data with us. We only receive the hash value of the documents. From this we cannot deduce what is in the documents, what the documents look like or who has worked on them. Strictly speaking, we don't even know that these are documents. So no sensitive data is exchanged. 

Chris Helbing: The last one who really sees the content is the document exchange server. It is available at our customers' premises. The server creates the hash value, which ends up in the blockchain. So you don't have any additional problems with data protection. 

Bernhard Hecker: Our common goal is to create a global standard. Ferrari electronic and Cryptowerk want to optimize the exchange of information between people. With the connection to the blockchain Ferrari electronic goes an innovative way. We want to bring information into a format that can be automated and processed more efficiently than before - and in a legally compliant manner. With NGDX and Blockchain as additional security.

Chris Helbing: Yes, it is about providing a technology that everyone can handle. A technology that will be used in 30 years' time and that works worldwide to provide transparency in the transmission chains. With compatibility with other solutions and transparency in the protocols used, we are opening NGDX to the market. Our path does not end on the telephone line. Why shouldn't we send documents directly via IP and different clients on this technological basis in the future? Legally secure, auditable, encrypted and yet transparent with no need for a central control authority at all.