IOTA rolls out Stronghold’s beta in preparation for Chrysalis

• The IOTA Foundation has announced the release of Stronghold’s “Boden Fortress” beta.
• The “Capture the Flag” challenge will pay out $5,000 to anyone who can breach Stronghold’s security.

While the Chrysalis update is set for April 28, IOTA Foundation is readying the components that will complement its launch. One of them is Stronghold, whose beta version was made available yesterday. In a new edition of IOTA Talks co-founder Dominik Schiener celebrated the event and defined Stronghold as “a password manager” integrated into the Firefly wallet.

According to the official announcement, the component will also be a key part of IOTA Identity. Its cryptographically secured database protects users’ private keys so that they are “never revealed.” In addition, its features allow it to create a secure communication channel between different applications with an innovative protocol called Noise.

The Beta version of Stronghold has been dubbed “Boden Fortress,” IOTA Foundation said:

This version offers guarantees about the API, client logic and snapshot format – which will only change if security vulnerabilities are found. Being at this stage qualifies Stronghold for a full external audit, the completion of which will be a milestone that Stronghold needs to reach for the publication of its stable 1.0.

For the user, Stronghold’s functionality should be almost imperceptible. However, its use cases, such as IOTA Identity, give the end consumer full control over how, where, and when an application has access to personal data. Thus, the IOTA Foundation with Stronghold makes an important contribution by creating a “secure architecture pattern” to change insecure practices in multiple industries.

Firefly, a gateway to IOTA’s digital economy

Over the next few months, users will be able to count on documentation material, tutorials, and specifications on Stronghold and its integration with other projects, IOTA Foundation clarified. In the AMA, Schiener highlighted the importance of Stronghold within Firefly. IOTA’s team’s experience with Trinity wallet was instrumental in this component’s development, as the IOTA co-founder stated:

With Firefly and Chrysalis you are not only holding your tokens, you are strongholding them. That alone is a reason to use Firefly (…). The vision is not for it to be a wallet, the vision is for it to be this new gateway to these decentralized economies so that you can hold your other digital assets with Stronghold and Firefly or you can have your digital identity. This will be an exciting step towards a more secure and decentralized future.

In parallel with the “Attack-a-thon” for Chrysalis, the IOTA Foundation also announced the “Capture the Flag” (CTF) challenge for Stronghold. Users will be able to participate until April 21 of this year. The prize for the person who manages to breach Stronghold’s security and obtain the seed will be $5,000 in  IOTA.