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As the scandal continues to unfold and experts look at how they strictly compromise our national security with its signal chat leaks and shame themselves through controversial post-statements, I would like to take a closer look at one particular episode of the story.
Initially, the White House denied that chats existed. However, when it became clear that there was too much evidence to refute, they changed their tactics and denied that the chat contained sensitive information about the importance of national security. And certainly, what evidence can journalist Jeffrey Goldberg give after leaving that chat? Furthermore, chats were set to self-destruct messages after a certain period of time. Therefore, imagine a court hearing where the parties need to present evidence. The only available evidence is screenshots, that is, virtually nothing. Such evidence is almost impossible to verify.
The answer is pretty simple. If journalists were careful to properly preserve such evidence. He was able to prove that he could access sensitive information when he shouldn’t have by publishing the hash total of the encryption of that information. If he hadn’t been in the chat, he would have never known when and where he had planned to attack Yemen. Certain details may be published later, but is it correct when the chat occurs?
The solution lies in encryption methods known as proof of existence without disclosure. This includes two basic elements: encryption and trusted timestamps. This can be done manually on the blockchain (if you know the process) or through a variety of applications and services that provide proof of blockchain-based timestamps.
Here’s how the function works: Write a message (for example, copy and paste from chat), generate a hash total for the message, publish it on the blockchain, and store the private key of the address used to publish it. Later, you need this private key to prove that it was your address (i.e. you personally) that published the hash, and therefore you need to prove that you had knowledge of the original message at that time. Social media accounts may perform similar functions, but don’t forget that social platforms are centralized systems.
So, it’s – beware of all journalists who need to prove the existence of facts one day without revealing their content.
This process creates a record of undeniable timestamps that confirm that a particular original message exists and is known to the publisher at the time the blockchain transaction is confirmed. This didn’t publish everything until the journalists chose to do so.