DNI Mission #
Distributed Networks Institute (DNI) aims to help distributed networks achieve resilience and sustainable growth through standardization, documentation, and education. We are a part of a 501(c)3 non-profit incubator in Washington DC called BlockShop.
Axes of research #
Standardization #
adapting stricter security and transparency standards
DNI pushes the industry to consolidate efforts on peer-reviewed technologies and their implementations. This work goes beyond the obvious network engineering and touches on proactive fraud prevention and compliance.
Documentation #
threat reduction by focusing on things that matter
We maintain a crowdsourced knowledge base on IT security vulnerabilities and hacker attack taxonomy across distributed networks. Our attack surface maps and corresponding datasets help regulators and law enforcement focus attention on the biggest threats and principal actors.
Education #
thought leadership and popularization
By publishing periodical articles, DNI contributes to combating the snake oil being sold through pseudo-scientific papers, talks, and lobbying. We also work with industry partners to develop and deliver educational programs that meet their specific needs.
Projects #
Crowdsourced Attack Wiki #
As part of our documentation efforts, we maintain a crowdsourced knowledge base on all distributed network attacks. This wiki can be a valuable resource for IT security professionals, as well as a source of ground truth for threat modeling systems. Feel free to contribute.
Improving Oracles #
Oracles are one of the pillars of modern distributed networks, allowing smart contracts to interact with the external world. We focus on building models capable of answering what, when, and where questions.
Market Health #
To improve the integrity and accountability of cryptocurrency trading venues, we are working on a set of standards designed to detect potential threats posed by market participants. Specifically, we are creating a set of health metrics aimed to identify fraudulent activity in market venues, including wash trading and front running. Additionally, we regularly release analytical articles that showcase real-world applications of these metrics. We also provide investigative tools for public use, enabling community to detect fraudulent activities within the crypto realm.