Symbiont, Gemalto Collaborate To Offer Security For Blockchain-Based Transactions

Digital security firm Gemalto and blockchain startup Symbiont have joined forces to enable financial services organizations to securely execute smart contracts and other blockchain-based transactions.

Under the partnership, Symbiont will integrate Gemalto's SafeNet Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) in order to protect blockchain identities and transactions; prevent theft, forgery, and other types of fraud. This will ensure the highest levels of regulatory compliance and trust for cryptographic identities authorizing these transactions, Gemalto said. 

"Bringing Gemalto's market-leading HSM security modules assurance to Symbiont's Smart Contract Blockchain solution is not only an exciting offering, but a clear step towards securing Blockchain-based transactions," Mark Yakabuski, Vice President of Business Development Strategy at Gemalto, said in a statement. "We look forward to helping customers add trust to the emerging smart contracts space." 

After a security is issued on the ledger powered by the Symbiont Smart Securities platform, it acts autonomously, removing the need for traditional mid- and back-office functions. Gemalto's SafeNet HSMs will secure these transactions and identities by protecting the cryptographic keys and providing encryption, decryption, authentication and digital signing services for the smart contract transactions, the company said. 

Gemalto's SafeNet HSMs are cryptographic processors tailored for protection of the lifecycle of cryptographic keys that secures transactions, identities and applications. On the other hand, SafeNet HSMs are “trust anchors” that shield the cryptographic infrastructure by securely managing, processing, and storing cryptographic keys inside a hardened, tamper-resistant device. SafeNet HSMs are trusted by several leading financial institutions to protect over $1 trillion dollars in financial transactions every day.