PepsiCo Advertising Supported with Blockchain ​​Is 28 % More Efficient

Maria Rodríguez
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PepsiCo Advertising Supported with Blockchain ​​Is 28 % More Efficient

Blockchain technology not only allows a faster access to the entire supply chain, but it also works as a barrier to protect the brand and avoid frauds

The applicability of innovative technologies generates surprise among conservative executives. In this case, blockchain technology has revolutionized different ways of supporting data and records.

Blockchain technology also has been an important part in the development of finance in this new era, thanks to the creation of tools supported by a structure of blocks such as Internet of Things (IoT) or smart contracts.

In the advertising case, blockchain technology has made a leap in the way of creating an advertising campaign. Blockchain achieved a considerable level of success above the average. In a recent test conducted by the American multinational company dedicated to the manufacture, commercialization and distribution of drinks and snacks, PepsiCo, it was observed that the advertising campaign implemented with blockchain tools obtained 28 % better results than conventional means.

The test done by the company was made in March of this year in the Asian market. The proof would allow evaluating the scope and impact of advertising developed with blockchain technology through an important partnership with Zilliqa Research, Rubicon Project, Integral Ad Science and MediaMath.

MediaShare revealed that the advertising campaign conducted through smart contracts was, in fact, 28 % more effective compared to conventional advertising campaigns. In addition, the firm indicated that the test was part of a plan called Proton Project, which seeks to guarantee the correct investment for the impressions of advertisements, posters, advertising banners and other means of communication, without risk of suffering frauds. The idea is to maintain the brand as safe as possible.

The company in charge of elaborating the blockchain system used in the test was the prestigious technological firm, Zilliqa Research, which created a system to support the network of smart contracts.

Workers of the company commented that this network will guarantee the transparency of the entire transaction process, including all payments made by the corporation to publishers and partners of the brand. Representatives of the company talked about the reliability of the blockchain system to safeguard all information related to the supply chains since the information is only disclosed to the partners involved in the project and authorized people.

In the press release where the success of the test was revealed, it was mentioned that the company hopes to take advantage of this technology since it can generate a considerable increase in advertising profits, due to its low costs. In this sense, the multinational company PepsiCo plans to continue developing tests of advertising campaigns to further measure the scope and impact of blockchain technology in this area.

Similarly, the Co-founder of Zilliqa Research, Max Kantelia, believes with strong conviction that the use of blockchain technology can improve all commercial and industrial processes of any company, as well as it could modify the entire structure of global media.

“We are proud to work with Mindshare and other leaders and influencers of the global media landscape. This alliance illustrates the power of smart contracts and serves as a reminder that blockchain technology can drive business benefits to industries beyond finance”, he said.

By María Rodríguez

Central Banks of Canada and Singapore Celebrated Cross-Border Payment with Cryptocurrencies

Maria Rodríguez
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Central Banks of Canada and Singapore Celebrated Cross-Border Payment with Cryptocurrencies

The central banks of Singapore and Canada successfully used their blockchain networks to exchange digital currencies cheaper, faster and safer

The Bank of Canada and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) successfully completed an experiment in cross-border payments using cryptocurrencies, according to what MAS explained recently in a press release.

Currently, cross-border payments are quite slow and expensive. Also, it depends on a network of correspondents, which could suffer risks as well as inefficient liquidity. For that reason, there has been a growing number of central banks that have become interested in blockchain technology and in the general ledger.

In order to conduct these transactions successfully, the Bank of Canada and the Monetary Authority of Singapore proposed using the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and digital currencies of the central bank. The main objective is to make these processes more economical, faster and safer.

As part of the experiment, the Monetary Authority of Singapore sent funds to the Bank of Canada without using a third party. The two banks successfully connected their respective national experimental payment networks, which are the Jasper Project of the MAS and the Ubin Project of the Bank of Canada, based on two different DLT platforms.

This is the first test of this type condcuted between two central banks. Its initial potential would be to increase efficiency and reduce the risks of cross-border payments.

Scott Hendry, Bank of Canada’s Senior Special Director of Financial Technology (FinTech), commented: “The world of cross-border payments is complicated and expensive. Our exploratory journey towards the use of DLT is to reduce some of the costs and improve the traceability of these payments. Only through continued collaboration and fundamental research it will be possible for this technology to mature and for policy makers to fully understand its potential”.

Successful Cross-Border Payment

In the experiment, a technique called Hashed Time Contracts (HTLC) was used to connect the networks of both banks and allow the settlement of payment without intermediaries. The banks were advised by Accenture and JP Morgan, which also supported the Canadian network in Corda, and the Singapore network in Quorum, which accelerates cross-border payments.

David Treat, global blockchain lead for Accenture, called the test “a big milestone for the modernization of cross-border, cross-currency transactions”.

Thanks to the success obtained in the project, both financial institutions published a report called “Jasper-Ubin Design Document: Enabling Cross-Border High Value Transfer Using Distributed Ledger Technologies”. In this document, different designs of cross-border settlement systems are proposed, describing the implementation of HTLC and its limitations.

The document also promotes the investigation of DLT interconnectivity mechanisms and alternative network models to foster collaboration among central banks. In fact, both institutions encourage the global financial community to take advantage of these findings.

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Financial Technology (Fintech) Officer of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS for its initials in English), considers blockchain projects as a challenge and invites other central banks to join the global collaboration for the benefit of the financial industry in general.

“The next projects from the central bank’s blockchain can continue by bringing the exploration of technology together with political questions about the future of cross-border payments”, he said.

MAS believes that the Ubin Project will bring tangible results next year and that there is still more potential to be discovered in Distributed Ledger Technology.

By María Rodríguez

China Uses Blockchain Platform in Judicial Cases

Maria Rodríguez
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China Uses Blockchain Platform in Judicial Cases

The blockchain system for Chinese courts is used mostly for resolution in cases related to the Internet world

Currently, China has become one of the countries that has had the most adoption of blockchain technology. In this way, Distributed Ledger Technology works in multiple areas of the economic and industrial sector. But, according to the Global Time News Agency, the judicial system in the Asian country is being supported by a blockchain platform that allows it to finally resolve some cases. The new system is increasingly used in the courts of justice.

Beijing has become the world capital in the use of blockchain technology. One of its many advances is the development of important projects related to blockchain. Although the adoption of cryptocurrencies has not had the same support, the acceptance of cryptocurrencies will depend on the commercial growth that may be generated in global markets.

About this method that has been implemented in the Chinese judicial system, during the forum related to Protection of Intellectual Property of China, the president of the Beijing Internet Court, Zhang Wen, commented that the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), as well as the use of the blockchain has had a great impact on the justice system, so these technologies are being used effectively to take some judicial decisions.

In this way, Zhang Wen explained that some state courts use blockchain technology for handling information and collecting data, with the intention of providing the necessary evidence for the resolution of the case. He added: “The parties decided to leave the court instead of litigate 40 cases, thanks to the convincing proofs blockchain offers. This encourages the development of social credibility in the country”.

In the same vein, the report details how the system is used as well as the number of courts the system employs to handle information. The Internet Court of Beijing is the second one with these characteristics in the country. According to the official data shared by direct sources of the courts, about 14,904 cases have been processed since its establishment in mid-2018.

In the report, it is also explained that most of the Internet Court cases are legal disputes associated with the use of the Internet in the country. Representatives of the Internet Court say these cases are large in numbers and with little financial compensation. But the new blockchain system allows to reduce costs, as well as to process information almost instantly.

Artificial Intelligence as Support for Judicial Cases

In another sense, during the speech of Zhang Wen, in the High Level Forum on China Intellectual Property Protection, he also explained that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been applied to the concrete decision making in different real cases. “In the current use of AI as a decision-making assistant, efficiency is prioritized over accuracy. A human judge is ultimately responsible for the final decision. But we’re walking to the future when we see an AI judge sitting on the podium”.

Last September, the Supreme Court of China, declared that the system of authentication of evidence that is processed with these new technology, is totally valid for the resolutions in the judicial system.

By María Rodríguez

Microsoft Outlook E-Mail Accounts Harmed by Hackers who Seek to Steal Cryptocurrencies

Willmen Blanco
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Microsoft Outlook E-Mail Accounts Harmed by Hackers who Seek to Steal Cryptocurrencies

The company says that either a hacker or a group of hackers have accessed a Microsoft customer support account to obtain users’ private information

Users of Microsoft’s e-mail service, Outlook, are claiming that the security of their accounts has been compromised. Multiple victims assert that the attackers have accessed keys, passwords and confidential cryptographic information, which have allowed them to steal their funds in cryptocurrencies.

Outlook Accounts Hacked

Microsoft confirmed that some user accounts of the company’s e-mail service have been compromised. The company explained that either a hacker or a group of hackers have accessed a Microsoft customer support account, from which they managed to access information related to users’ e-mail accounts.

Microsoft said that the attackers could only access metadata such as the subject lines of the e-mails and the names with whom the users of the affected accounts maintained communication.

But the problem was much worse, since Microsoft confirmed that the hackers have also been able to access e-mail content from a large number of Outlook, MSN and Hotmail e-mail accounts.

Recently, numerous victims have indicated what they believe may be one of the reasons that motivate the breach: stealing users’ cryptocurrency accounts. In Jevon Ritmeester’s opinion, a user who warned of the data breach, in an e-mail message, referring to the popular Kraken cryptographic currency exchange:

“The hackers also had access to my inbox, which allowed them to reset the password of my Kraken.com account and withdraw my bitcoins.”

Modus Operandi

Ritmeester believes that the hackers configured an e-mail forwarding system: each time an e-mail mentioned the term “Kraken”, their account automatically forwarded it to a Gmail address supposedly controlled by the attackers.

This system would include e-mails that deal with the resetting of passwords and Bitcoin withdrawal requests sent by the exchange platforms. Actually, that is how Ritmeester noticed the theft and the modus operandi of the attackers.

Ritmeester explained that when he was checking the trash bin in his account, he found e-mails requesting the reset of the password and the transfer of Bitcoin from his Kraken account. He asserted that the attackers withdrew 1 Bitcoin from his account (around US $5,300 at the current exchange rate).

“Unfortunately, I did not have 2FA (two-factor authentication) on Kraken.com because I assumed that all my accounts were well protected with long and unique passwords. I think this is still the case, but this leakage from Microsoft came from within.”

If Ritmeester had had the two-factor authentication activated on Kraken, he could have been saved from the attack. In that case, the hackers would have had to violate his cell phone to access the code that would allow them to obtain the bitcoins.

Victims’ Complaints

Ritmeester seems not the only person whose cryptocurrencies have been stolen by hackers because of Microsoft’s security breach.

“My account was hacked as a direct result of this,” wrote Reddit user shinratechlabs. This user added that he lost “25,000 in cryptography” although it is not clear to what currency it refers, or if it is the amount to fiat change.

“Exactly the same happened to me, only much fewer funds were stolen. All this is disgusting,” said another Reddit user, Mickey_ficke.

A Microsoft spokesman commented on the matter and told the medium Motherboard on Monday:

“Customers who believe that they have been impacted beyond what is indicated in the company’s notification should contact the Microsoft support team for assistance.”

In response to the actions of the company, Ritmeester said:

“I feel that Microsoft is trying to conceal that crime and is not serious about it.

Holding Microsoft Responsible

Originally, various media reported data breach in Outlook, to which Microsoft said that it only affected e-mail metadata and customer information. However, after Microsoft received evidence that the content of the e-mail had also been affected, the company was forced to revise its statement.

Microsoft was already fully aware that the content was exposed. In addition, the company had already sent notification e-mails of infractions to victims in which it said the same. Subsequently, the company announced that the violated customer support e-mail account had been closed.

At that time, Microsoft also said that this access was used as part of the so-called “iCloud unlocks”. These unblocks seek to compromise the iCloud account of a target to eliminate the factory lock of the iPhone, which is an Apple security feature that prevents thieves from restoring stolen devices to factory settings and selling them.

Ritmeester spoke with the half Motherboard about the attack on his account and stressed that he plans to file a police report to make the company responsible for the damage:

“I think Microsoft speaks […] lightly about this leak. And I think there are many users who have suffered damages in one way or another, since there is a lot of sensitive information in an inbox […] I am planning at least to file a police report and thinking about holding Microsoft responsible for the financial damage and for the fact that a lot of my personal information may leak in the near future.”

By Willmen Blanco

UK-Based FCA Approves 8 Blockchain Projects for their Regulatory Testing Environments

Willmen Blanco
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UK-Based FCA Approves 8 Blockchain Projects for their Regulatory Testing Environments

This project is conducted by the English Financial Conduct Authority so that companies test new products and services within a controlled environment. A total of 29 companies have been accepted, among which stands out the Stock Exchange Group from London

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) from the United Kingdom said to 29 companies that they have been accepted within the fifth call in its regulatory framework for testing environments or sandboxes.

Launched in 2017, the British regulator’s sandbox provides companies with a secure environment to test their new products and services. It is open to any business or commercial entity that is authorized, or to unauthorized companies that request authorization, as well as to the companies that operate in the technological field.

Out of the 29 firms accepted in the last period, 8 companies decided to use Blockchain technology or the distributed ledger technology (DLT) to provide their products and services.

This is the fifth call made by the agency to date. According to an official announcement from the FCA, a total of 99 applications were received, which is the largest number until now.

Among the companies that applied, most belong to the financial sector. Some of the applicant companies are originally from the United Kingdom, but there are also some from other countries.

Important Companies on the List

Among the proposals that were accepted by the FCA the most prominent are digital identity solutions, tokenization platforms in the issuance of financial instruments and services aimed at improving the access of vulnerable consumers to financial services.

In addition, among them are some important companies such as the London Stock Exchange Group, which announced that it plans to integrate DLT into its securities trading venues.

Standard Chartered Bank also joined the regulatory platform. The banking institution, which is headquartered in London, is planning tokenization of retail deposits.

Diro Labs, an identity verification service that operates with Blockchain technology, is also part of the list. The Blockchain service can verify any individual or document directly and in an auditable manner.

Similarly, Fintech Delivery Panel Partners struggle to allow consumers to gain control of their digital identities, as well as to guarantee that the identities verified in the ports of the companies comply with the obligations of Know Your Customer (KYC) and due diligence.

Other projects include the management of real estate investments, a cash flow management platform and a platform called Fractal, which facilitates the financing of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and the securitization of debt through the digitization of credit applications.

Support for the Blockchain Ecosystem

The aim of the FCA with the call is to offer companies the opportunity to test their products and services in a controlled environment. In order to do this, the time for launching into the market is reduced at a lower cost. Among the objectives is to identify adequate ways to protect consumers’ investment, as well as provide them with better access to financing.

Each test conducted in the environment provided by the FCA must have a clear objective and be conducted on a small scale. In this way, companies can test their innovations for a limited time, with a specific number of customers.

This is how the FCA explained it in a statement that says, “Tests will be conducted in the short term and on a small scale,” and it adds:

“We work closely with each firm to agree on the test parameters and establish adequate guarantees for the consumer.”

The British government has been working hard to provide a friendly framework for businesses related to Blockchain. There is still some lack of regulatory certainty around cryptocurrencies, but initiatives like this offer the necessary security and support for companies that wish to operate and grow within the sector.

By Willmen Blanco

Companies Will Be Assisted in the Design and Creation of Tokens by Enterprise Ethereum Alliance

Willmen Blanco
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0
Companies Will Be Assisted in the Design and Creation of Tokens by Enterprise Ethereum Alliance

The consortium seeks to teach companies how to generate tokens that are appropriate to their needs, and they will hold workshops and create a repository to share their advances

A conglomerate of organizations that are part of Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has launched an initiative that seeks to help companies design and create tokens appropriate to their particular needs.

The project is called the “Token Taxonomy Initiative” and it aims at addressing an existing need to clearly define and classify the tokens in order to better understand their use and implementation, according to what the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) published in a note on its blog last April 17th. The objective is to establish a more global concept of this type of crypto assets “in non-technical and inter-industrial terms, using everyday analogies of the real world so that anyone can understand them.”

The initiative will be chaired by Marley Gray, board member of EEA and Head of Microsoft’s Blockchain division. This technology company participates in the plan together with other renowned companies, such as Accenture, Banco Santander, Blockchain Research Institute, Clearmatics, ConsenSys, Digital Asset, EY, IBM, ING, Intel, JP Morgan, Komgo, R3 and Web3 Labs, inter alia.

Regarding the work methodology, the Executive Director of EEA, Ron Resnick, explained that they will work within an open-ended framework, which both technologists and non-technologists can access. The process will include a series of workshops and a GitHub repository, where the findings and test data will be connected with the implementations of existing tokens within different Blockchain networks.

In this way, it will proceed with the establishment of a standard taxonomy and a common language in order to accelerate the adoption of crypto assets, thus making it easier for employers in general to create tokens that allow them to meet their specific trading needs. Regarding this, Resnick emphasized the role that the standardization of the tokens created within all Blockchain networks will fulfill in order to support the tokenization process that is under way within the current economy.

The standardization of tokens to work anywhere could be the key to one of the greatest economic opportunities in modern history. Like the standards that led to the increase of electronic commerce on the Internet, the application of standards to tokenization will allow companies to use tokens to serve, or provide access to a set of goods, financial assets, securities, services, value or content, through the applications of the business block chain.

Ron Resnick, Executive Director of EEA.

In this way, it is considered that the companies that are part of the alliance will be able to take advantage of the potential of all the tokens that are issued within different Blockchain platforms, so as to facilitate the transformation of the business models that are offered through various decentralized applications.

The work for this standardization initiative will be conducted in parallel with the activities that have been done since its creation in 2017 by the members of Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, in order to develop the technology and applications of Ethereum for the scope of their respective business activities.

By Willmen Blanco

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