Automata Network taps on Microsoft Azure to bring a paradigm shift in TEE-backed security for millions of users
Automata Network, a modular attestation layer that extends machine trust to Ethereum, leverages Microsoft Azure’s confidential compute offerings to bring hardware-enforced trust to the blockchain. Microsoft Azure Attestation allows for remote attestation of Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) like Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel SGX). The process verifies that software binaries are running confidentially on a trusted hardware platform, which forms the very foundation of confidential computing.
- Hardware-based isolation enforced by Intel SGX enables code to run in sanitized compartments
- Microsoft Azure Attestation routinely establishes trust in the state of the TEE and the integrity of software running in the enclave
- Automata Network has developed several real-world applications supported by fully-attested confidential enclaves. These include 1RPC, a Web3 relay with over 3.5 million monthly active users, and Proof of Machinehood, a framework to prove the authenticity of machines on-chain.
In addition to these developments, Automata Network utilizes Microsoft AzureAI capabilities including Azure OpenAI Service to develop a private chatbot . This bot leverages the advanced natural language processing capabilities of the generative AI tool, providing Automata Network with a robust tool for supporting internal business units and streamlining internal processes.
1RPC is a Web3 relay that currently supports over 48 networks, including mainstay blockchains such as Ethereum, Polkadot, and BNB Chain. The privacy-preserving relay shields over 3.5 million monthly active users from metadata exposure and collection, and offers anti-phishing protection with transaction sanitizers which are designed to preemptively identify and stop malicious transactions. Having protected over 15 billion requests, its enclave infrastructure is hosted in Azure, which employs Intel SGX Data Center Attestation Primitives (DCAP) to perform remote attestation on the hardware environment.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Automata Network, as it demonstrates how Microsoft Azure can enable transformation in the AI and blockchain field. By combining our confidential compute and Azure OpenAI Service technologies, Automata Network is creating a new benchmark for TEE-backed security and private AI solutions in the blockchain sector. Their inventive use of our platforms shows the potential of secure, decentralized technologies.”
Rashmi Misra, General Manager, AI, Data & Emerging Technologies, Business Development at Microsoft.
Intel SGX enables the creation of encrypted areas in memory, known as enclaves, where code and data are protected from unauthorized disclosure or modification. Azure’s confidential computing prevents unwanted data access from system administrators and service providers, and third-party developers can delegate security-sensitive tasks to take place inside those enclaves. Having a larger, representative base of independent actors — which in this scenario includes the cloud vendor, the service provider, and the end user — ensures that the overall system is more resistant to centralizing forces such as collusion or bribery.
Proof of Machinehood empowers applications that need not rely on computation or economic staking to verify the authenticity of the machines they run on. Machine attestations offer verifiable claims about the identity, configuration, and operational attributes of computing devices, and provide a new paradigm for distributing and allocating trust. Products and services can be built that prioritize more meaningful and balanced ownership among stakeholders. Backed by Proof of Machinehood, testnet faucets allow users to attest and receive tokens without social verification or third-party downloads and extensions.
About Automata Network
Automata Network is a modular attestation layer that extends machine-level trust to Ethereum by leveraging optimistic rollups and zero-knowledge proofs in its Proof of Machinehood approach. The application-specific rollup allows on-chain verification for out-of-protocol computation, which creates an unbroken chain of trust that extends upwards through the entire Web3 stack.
