Cisco will patent correspondence on blockchain

Cisco is considering using blockchain technology to securely exchange confidential messages in a group chat.

In a patent application published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the company described how blockchain technology could be used to create groups, share files and other information. This will address issues that individual communication groups have faced, such as how to grant group membership, how to exchange messages, how to remove and add members, and how to ensure security against unauthorized access in dynamic, decentralized and self-organized groups.

The company proposes to use cryptographic keys shared by group members to create a network between independent nodes. That is, the company is going to create a decentralized group chat that will be accessible to authorized persons.

The first participant's computer will create a primary block, and subsequent communications will create their own blocks as each member joins the conversation.

The first block will determine the initial number of group members in one possible version of this system. In this version, the blockchain will be specifically used to record group members. Subsequent blocks will mainly record the addition of new members and the removal of old ones. Other versions of the system may include secure file sharing or instant messaging.

“This is a method of achieving authorization in confidential group messages under conditions of an ordered list of data blocks representing an immutable chronological record of updated information for group members. There are many uses for this method. One such method provides end-to-end encryption for instant messaging, content sharing, and streaming media. This will be useful when developing a protocol or application designed to provide confidential group communication,” the application says.

According to https://www.coindesk.com