Secret NFT

Ternoa is excited to announce the realization of yet another of our founding ideas: the SecretNFT (SNFT). This new privacy-focused, Augmented NFT will be released on our Alphanet in December!

What is a SecretNFT?

The majority of traditional blockchain contents, including NFTs, are visible to anyone who wants to view them. In order for content to remain private, the help of a responsible third party is usually required. For example:

• OpenSea allows owners of specific NFTs to access source files for select collections;
• An artist can grant online access to select files for customers already owning one of their NFTs.

While these methods can work, they present significant drawbacks that add complications and risks. These complications include:

• They require extra steps. The two parties must create or employ an interface to manage the access or transfer of private files. A trusted third party may also be needed for this activity.
• Risk of exposure. Unencrypted files hosted on a blockchain risk exposure to bad actors through hacking.
• A lack of ownership. Since NFTs don’t own or have access to shared files, third-party solutions are necessary to facilitate private transactions.

How Ternoa’s SecretNFT Privacy Solution Works

Ternoa’s SecretNFT provides a complete privacy solution. Our innovative tech allows for secure, encrypted, and decentralized handling of confidential files on or off-chain. This new Augmented NFT also eliminates the need for third-party involvement in transactions.

The SecretNFT leverages two select technologies:

• Shamir Secret Sharing

The Shamir Secret Sharing algorithm is a method for dividing a secret message or piece of information into multiple parts, called “shares”, in such a way that only a certain number of these shares are needed to reconstruct the original secret. This allows a group of nodes to each have a share of the secret, but they can only reconstruct the original message when they all come together.

• Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)

A trusted execution environment (TEE) is a secure area of a computer’s hardware that ensures the code running inside it can be trusted. This means that the code is guaranteed to be unmodified and has not been tampered with in any way. TEEs are typically employed to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information such as passwords and encryption keys. In a TEE, the code runs in a separate, isolated environment from the rest of the system, which helps to prevent any potential security threats from affecting it.

Simply put, each NFT links to a key managed by and secured on the Ternoa network. Some nodes keep a portion of the NFT keys in a private compartment that even they cannot access. Only the NFT owner can make a request and retrieve the secret files.

Decryption is still impossible if one of the nodes becomes compromised, revealing a portion of a key. And to fully ensure the integrity of encrypted files, they are stored on decentralized servers, just like the entire Ternoa blockchain.

SecretNFT Features and Use Cases

Ternoa’s SecretNFT offers a multitude of features and uses applicable to a variety of industries, such as:

Music industry.

Albums are embedded in an NFT whose contents are only available to the purchaser;

Adult entertainment.

NFTs featuring exclusive content is available only to the NFT owner;

Medical records.

NFTs containing health and medical records can be accessed or updated but only by authorized parties.

Luxury goods authentication.

NFTs can contain off-chain proof of ownership and authenticity to combat theft and counterfeiting.

Triggering events.

Upon opening a SecretNFT, other actions can be initiated automatically. These events can include burns, real-world actions, or other predetermined steps.

Event Ticketing.

Off-chain NFTs can prescribe event ticketing access and other controls to suppress secondary sales and black market activities.

Secure sharing of private documents.

SecretNFT facilitates sharing of sensitive documents anonymously and securely.

Watermarks.

An NFT that provides copyright protection to all types of media files.

An Inventive Application for NFTs

Ternoa’s SecretNFT provides a complete privacy solution for managing confidential or personal files. Whether on or off-chain, our SecretNFT removes the need to expose sensitive files or the use of third parties to share confidential or protected material. With these innovative features, we bring more utility to every NFT while adhering to the Web3 philosophy and decentralisation.