Staging, 4thTech dID, dMail, dChat & dNotary Testing Platform

To enable E2EE private dMail & dChat Web3 communication, 4thTech is developing multi-chain (i.e. Ethereum, Tolar, Substrate, Solana, Moonbeam & TRON) infrastructure. Overall 4thTech is enabling any user to secure their online communication with blockchain security and encryption. While most of the 4thTech protocols are already in production, a staging environment has been set up to clone the production environment and enable individuals or organisations to test drive the solutions before onboarding.

Intro

Until 2022, 4thTech’s main focus was developing a public multi-chain end-user Web3 privacy-enabled communication infrastructure. At the beginning of 2022, a white-label framework was beginning to take shape to also enable enterprises to access or integrate this technology. Staging as the first step enables project partners to test drive 4thTech products (i.e. dID, dMail, dChat, dNotary) and protocols (i.e. FOURid, FOURdx, FOURns and FOURim) in a non-production environment. 4thTech Staging currently supports Kovan, SI-Chain, Edgeware DevNet, Solana DevNet, Moonbase TestNet and TRON Nile TestNet. Open to the general public, 4thTech Staging uses free TestNet tokens (i.e. Kovan ETH, SI-Chain TOL, Solana DevNet SOL, Moonbase DevNet GLMR DEV and TestNet TRX) to power the blockchain transaction.

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4thTech Evolution

The evolution of 4thTech reaches back to 2018 when the first beta or 1.0 was deployed in production proving the 4thTech concept of E2EE dMail. The 1.0 was an Ethereum-based W2W data exchange protocol (i.e. FOURdx). The SI-Chain (i.e. Enterprise HashNet-based DLT protocol with up to 50k TPS) integration and network support followed in 2020, which is now open to the public as a part of the staging environment. The 4thTech 2.0 update in 2021 brought production data notarization (i.e. FOURns), upgraded on-chain identity (i.e. FOURid), FOURwaL support for all Chromium and Firefox browsers and added Substrate and Solana blockchain support. The coming 3.0 UI-platform update will be the biggest up-to-date. Besides many new features and features upgrades, it will bring new L1 support, design unification and platform decentralization.

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4thTech Staging

Usually staging is set up to replicate the production environment, test code or updates to ensure quality under a production-like environment before application deployment. In most cases, staging is not open to the public domain. This was also the case for 4thTech, but with the need for Enterprise testing, Staging now serves as a pilot platform and is opened to the public.

Even though the 4thTech Staging environment is a replica of the production environment, there are still some key differences such as; (1) different web platform access links (staging.4thtech.io instead of app.4thtech.io); (2) the production environment uses public MainNet blockchains, while Staging uses TestNets and pilot DLT network SI-Chain, and; (3) production environment transactions use valuable MainNet tokens for gas, as Staging uses free TestNet tokens.

FOURid & X.509 interoperability

Online identity is crucial to digital transformation and essential to any individual or organisation. X.509 digital identity certificate standard is well established in Web2 but does not solve the identity challenge in Web3. To address this issue, 4thTech developed a hybrid solution that creates a link between off-chain X.509 users’ online identity and on-chain blockchain wallet address. Supported also in 4thTech Staging, the FOURid enables individuals or organisations to test drive on-chain identities and discover useful use cases.

💡 FOURid Explainer: 4thTech’s on-chain identity or FOURid connects entities, organizations, and individuals in a decentralized internet. FOURid connects wallets when data is exchanged and serves as the public key exchange point between users. With its native design, the FOURid identified data and its owner. It can be used also to assign digital cryptography-based identity certificates, such as X.509 to different entities such as individuals or organizations. To clarify further, the FOURid provides wallet address verification of an individual or an organisation by creating a link between an X.509 user’s online identity and blockchain wallet address.

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Supported Networks

In a non-production multi-chain environment, 4thTech Staging supports; (1) Ethereum Test Net Kovan; (2) HashNet protocol-based SI-Chain (i.e. Slovenian national blockchain testing infrastructure); (3) Edgeware TestNet; (4) Solana DevNet; (5) Moonbase TestNet, and; (6) Nile, TRON Testnet.

1. Kovan, Ethereum TestNet — dID, dMail, dNotary

Kovan TestNet is a fast, reliable, Proof of Authority (PoA) Ethereum test blockchain publicly accessible for Ethereum developers. 4thTech enables Kovan to power the following protocols, de-apps, and clients; (1) FOURwaL (i.e. multi-chain wallet); (2) FOURid (i.e. identity protocol that connects wallets when data files or messages are exchanged and serves as the public key exchange point between users); (3) FOURdx (i.e. open-source W2W E2EE dMail & data file exchange), and; (4) FOURns (i.e. uses a file checksum to check for potential data changes during the FOURdx data exchange).

⚙️ FOURdx Smart Contract on Kovan
➡️ KOVAN Explorer

2. SI-Chain, HashNet Protocol — dID, dMail, dNotary

In February 2020, 4thTech joined the Slovenian national blockchain testing infrastructure called SI-Chain. Supported by the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, powered by HashNet and Telemach, Si-Chain was established in November 2019 with the intent to enable the testing of existing and new blockchain applications for the public and private sectors.

4thTech enables SI-Chain to power the following protocols, de-apps, clients; (1) FOURwaL (i.e. multi-chain wallet); (2) FOURid protocol (i.e. on-chain identity); (3) FOURdx protocol (i.e. open-source W2W E2EE dMail & data file exchange), and; (4) FOURns protocol (i.e. data file verification & notarisation).

✅ Allow CORS Chromium add-on is needed to run SI-Chain
⚙️ FOURdx Smart Contract on SI-Chain
💡 Read More (GOV article)
💡 Read More (Medium article)

3. Substrate Edgeware — dID, dMail, dNotary

In April 2021, 4thTech started to support Edgeware, a Polkadot Substrate smart contract chain. With over eight months in development, 4thTech Edgeware support was a crucial step toward Polkadot ecosystem interoperability.

4thTech enables Edgeware to power the following protocols, de-apps, clients; (1) FOURwaL (i.e. multi-chain wallet); (2) FOURid protocol (i.e. on-chain identity); (3) FOURdx protocol (i.e. open-source W2W E2EE dMail & data file exchange), and; (4) FOURns protocol (i.e. data file verification & notarisation).

*(Edgeware TestNet coming soon)

4. Solana DevNet — dID, dMail, dChat, dNotary

Up to now, on-chain instant messaging would be hard to achieve due to slow blockchain network speed, congestion and Layer 1 transaction cost. With the arrival of the Solana blockchain fast execution apps on-chain, messaging has the potential to become a reality. To address this issue in 4thTech, developed and deployed a unique, safe solution, which leverages the Solana blockchain and enables end-to-end encrypted, immutable, wallet-to-wallet short messaging.

4thTech enables Solana to power the following protocols, de-apps, clients; (1) FOURwaL (i.e. multi-chain 4thTech wallet); (2) FOURid (i.e. identity protocol); (3) FOURdx protocol (i.e. open-source W2W E2EE dMail & data file exchange); (4) FOURns (i.e. data file verification & notarisation protocol), and; (5) FOURim protocol (i.e. open-source W2W E2EE on-chain messaging)

⚙️ FOURdx Smart Contract on Solana DevNet
⚙️ FOURim Smart Contract on Solana DevNet

5. Moonbase TestNet — dID, dMail, dNotary

Moonbase is the first Moonbeam TestNet. It aims to provide developers with a place to start experimenting and building on Moonbeam in a shared environment. Since Moonbeam will be deployed as a parachain on Kusama and Polkadot, the is built to be able to reflect production configuration. For this reason, TestNet needed to be a parachain-based configuration rather than a Substrate development setup.

4thTech enables Moonbase to power the following protocols, de-apps, clients; (1) FOURwaL (i.e. multi-chain wallet); (2) FOURid protocol (i.e. on-chain identity); (3) FOURdx protocol (i.e. open-source W2W dMail & data file exchange), and; (4) FOURns protocol (i.e. data file verification & notarisation).

⚙️ FOURdx Smart Contract on Moonbase TestNet

6. Nile, TRON TestNet — dID, dMail, dNotary

In addition to TRON Mainnet, there are public several testnets available. These are networks used by protocol developers or smart contract developers to test both protocol upgrades as well as potential smart contracts before deployment to Mainnet. The Nile TestNet is used to test new features of TRON, and the code version is generally ahead of the mainnet.

4thTech enables Nile, TRON TestNet to power the following protocols, de-apps, clients; (1) FOURwaL (i.e. multi-chain wallet); (2) FOURid protocol (i.e. on-chain identity); (3) FOURdx protocol (i.e. open-source W2W dMail & data file exchange), and; (4) FOURns protocol (i.e. data file verification & notarisation).

⚙️ FOURdx Smart Contract on Nile, TRON TestNet

Staging Storage

Very similar to production, Staging storage different itself only in on-chain storage, where it saves the needed protocol data on TestNets instead of on MainNets. 4 databases are forming in the 4thTech Staging system;

1. MySQL database is used to store; (1) user nicknames; (2) platform settings; (3) user wallets, and; (4) RSA public key for data encryption. Data exchange within the MySQL database is protected with an HTTPS connection and a firewall. In the case of a user request, it is possible to delete any user-related data to comply with GDPR. Decentralized database storage will be available in the near future;
2. data file cloud repository is used for the temporary 7-day storage of encrypted data files exchanged between wallets in the FOURdx process. The decryption of the data files is possible only with a private key of the user. The Data file cloud repository is protected by a firewall. In the case of a user request, it is possible to delete any user-related data to comply with GDPR. Decentralized data storage will be available in the near future;
3. local storage is used to store; (1) FOURwaL private keys; (2) FOURim short messages, and; (3) user-initiated backup of conversations, data files and reports. The security of local storage is in the user’s domain;
4. blockchain (i.e. Kovan, SI-Chain, Edgeware TestNet, Solana TestNet, Moonbase TestNet & Nile, TRON TestNet) is used to store; (1) a link to the encrypted metadata file and timestamp (i.e. FOURdx); (2) encrypted message, timestamp and sender address (i.e. FOURim). The overall security of the blockchain network depends on its decentralization, while access security depends on the user’s private key safety measures.

How to use 4thTech Staging Environment

(1) DL & setup FOURwaL (follow the link below);
(2) Login to the UI-Staging platform (follow the link below);
(3) Airdrop DevNet/Testnet tokens to the FOURwaL Accounts (available in the accounts tab);
(4) To your preference click the “dMail/New” or “dChat” TAB;
(5) Add new contact by pasting the FOURwaL DevNet/TestNet (i.e. Ethereum, Substrate, Hashnet, Solana or TRON) recipient address (available in the recipient FOURwaL account section);
(6) Start using dMail, dChat, dNotary;
(7) Check your transactions by clicking on the Explorer links available on the platform.

🔗 FOURwaL Chromium DL
🔗 FOURwaL Mozzila DL
🔗 4thTech UI-Staging Platform
🔗 Kovan test token airdrop
🔗 SI-Chain test token airdrop
🔗 Solana test token airdrop (select the DevNet)
🔗 Moonbase TestNet token airdrop
🔗 Nile, TRON TestNet token airdrop

🔗 Allow CORS Chromium add-on is needed to run SI-Chain

Manual & Tutorials

🔗 4thTech Wiki Guides
🔗 FOURdx (dMail) Video Tutorial
🔗 FOURim (dChat) Video Tutorial

Disclaimer

All content provided herein, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, and images (the “Content”), is the property of Block Labs Luxembourg S.a r.l., a legal entity established under the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, registered with R.C.S. Luxembourg under N B263508 at the following address: 41, rue du Puits Romain, z.a. Bourmicht (Atrium Business Park), L-8070 Bertrange, Luxembourg (the “Company” or “we”). It is protected by copyright and other laws that protect intellectual property and proprietary rights. You are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Content for the sole purpose of obtaining information about the 4thTech technology and other educational purposes. We have done our best to ensure that the Content is accurate, updated, complete, and provides valuable information, but neither do we guarantee nor take any responsibility for its accuracy and/or completeness. The Content is not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as legal, financial, tax, or any other professional advice, sale or offer for sale of any securities, and/or crypto-assets. The Company is not engaged in rending of and/or is not licensed to render any of the crypto-asset services and/or financial services, such as investment or brokerage services, capital raising, fund management, or investment advice.

Staging, 4thTech dID, dMail, dChat & dNotary Testing Platform was originally published in /4thtech on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.