Hardware Encryption and Security
StarMiner’s decentralized compute layer is powered by a global fleet of independently operated nodes. To maintain trust and verifiability across this heterogeneous infrastructure, StarMiner implements multi-layered hardware-based encryption and security protocols ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and traceability of tasks from job submission to final output.
These protections safeguard against:
Tampering by node operators
Side-channel data leaks
Runtime injection or manipulation
Unauthorized access to memory, storage, or transmission layers
This architecture establishes a secure, compliant environment for AI workloads, enterprise data, and high-value computation — even when performed on third-party hardware.
Key Objectives of Hardware-Level Security
Ensure task confidentiality and isolation across untrusted infrastructure
Provide cryptographic guarantees for task execution and result validity
Prevent unauthorized access to memory, disk, or in-flight data
Enforce physical and logical security through tamper-resistant hardware features
Support chain-of-trust protocols to verify hardware and node integrity
Core Hardware Security Mechanisms
1. Encrypted Data at Rest
All job files (input data, models, intermediate states) are encrypted on-disk using AES-256 or equivalent.
Disk-level encryption keys are generated per-task and managed inside secure enclaves.
Nodes with unlocked disks or compromised mounts are automatically disqualified from job routing.
2. Encrypted Data in Transit
All network traffic, including job submissions, task metadata, and result payloads, is encrypted using TLS 1.3 with forward secrecy.
Key rotation and session nonce strategies are employed to prevent replay or interception attacks.
3. Encrypted Data in Use (in Memory)
Memory encryption ensures that data loaded during job execution is not exposed via RAM-dumping or shared memory snooping.
StarMiner supports TEEs (e.g., Intel SGX, AMD SEV) where memory is encrypted and inaccessible even to root-level node operators.
Root of Trust and Hardware Attestation
To validate node integrity, StarMiner implements hardware root-of-trust frameworks, including:
TPM (Trusted Platform Module) for key storage and hardware signatures
Secure Boot and Measured Boot to confirm that only verified firmware and OS versions are used
Remote Attestation: Before accepting a job, the node submits a cryptographic proof (signed by trusted silicon vendors) attesting to its hardware and OS state
Nodes that fail attestation or attempt to falsify execution logs — are penalized and quarantined.
Physical Layer Protections
While the protocol cannot control every physical deployment, it offers incentives and guidelines for infrastructure providers to adopt:
Tamper-evident seals and casing
Access logs and biometric controls in data centers
Cold aisle containment and hardware cooling protections
Power-loss tolerance and secure restart protocols
These protections are especially important for institutional node operators, such as academic labs or sovereign compute partners.
Incentives for Secure Infrastructure
Provider Nodes that meet elevated hardware security standards are:
Prioritized in job assignment for tasks flagged as sensitive or confidential
Eligible for AGPU reward multipliers
Whitelisted for TEE and ZKML workloads
Preferred in DAO-led ecosystem grants and compute vault allocations
Hardware configuration scores (anonymized) may also be displayed on public dashboards for transparency.
Auditability and Verifiable Security
Every compute task in StarMiner is:
Linked to a cryptographic identity
Logged with encrypted audit trails
Optionally verified by on-chain hash proofs of job metadata and execution reports
This ensures that every node, task, and job output is accountable, making StarMiner one of the only compute protocols to offer verifiable security down to the hardware level.
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