Smart Contract Management Study Guide for Blockchain

Glossary

Term Definitions Smart Contract A contract that runs on a blockchain system and is triggered by a transaction. Blockchain A distributed ledger technology where multiple computing devices jointly maintain a complete database. Node Device A computing device in a blockchain network that participates in maintaining the blockchain. Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) A technology that provides a secure isolation area in hardware to protect the processing of sensitive data and code execution. Encrypted Contract Code Smart contract code that has been encrypted to protect its privacy. Decryption Key A key used to decrypt the encrypted contract code. Smart Contract Management Rules Rules used to manage smart contracts, such as a blacklist that identifies regulated contracts. Managed Smart Contracts Smart contracts that are subject to management rules, such as contracts that have been blacklisted by regulators. Call Transaction A transaction used to trigger the execution of a smart contract. A core component of a distributed ledger blockchain that stores all transaction records.

Short Answer Questions

Briefly describe what a smart contract is and its role in a blockchain.

Explain the importance of a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) in protecting the privacy of smart contracts.

Describe how encrypted contract code is stored in a blockchain and how it is executed by a node device.

Explain how to determine if a smart contract is a managed smart contract.

If a smart contract is determined to be a managed smart contract, how will the node device handle it?

Briefly describe the types and functions of smart contract management rules.

Explain how to dynamically update smart contract management rules to adapt to new regulatory requirements.

Briefly describe the difference between symmetric and asymmetric encryption and how they are used to encrypt contract code.

Explain how the digital envelope encryption method works and its advantages in protecting contract code.

Give an example of how Intel SGX protects the execution process of smart contracts as a TEE.

Short answer questions

Smart contracts are self-executing contracts stored on the blockchain, whose terms are written in code. They allow trusted transactions and agreements without intermediaries.

TEE provides a secure and isolated area for the execution of smart contracts, protecting sensitive data from unauthorized access and potential attacks. This is critical to maintaining privacy and security in blockchain applications.

Encrypted contract code is stored in the distributed ledger of the blockchain. When a node device needs to execute a contract, it loads the encrypted code into its TEE, decrypts it using a decryption key, and then executes it in the secure environment of the TEE.

By referring to the smart contract management rules, it can be determined whether a smart contract is a managed smart contract. For example, the management rules can be a blacklist containing all managed smart contract addresses.

If a smart contract is determined to be a managed smart contract, the node device can refuse to execute the contract and return an error message to the client. This ensures that the managed contract is not executed without authorization.

Smart contract management rules can be blacklists, whitelists, or other custom rules. They define which smart contracts are allowed or restricted, thereby achieving effective management of smart contracts.

By deploying an independent regulatory blockchain, regulators can dynamically update smart contract management rules. For example, they can call smart contracts on the regulatory blockchain to update the blacklist, thereby flexibly managing regulated smart contracts.

Symmetric encryption uses the same key for encryption and decryption, while asymmetric encryption uses a pair of public and private keys. Contract code can be protected using symmetric encryption or asymmetric encryption, depending on security requirements.

The digital envelope encryption method combines the advantages of symmetric encryption and asymmetric encryption. It encrypts data using a symmetric key and then encrypts the symmetric key using the public key of the recipient. This method provides higher security and key management efficiency.

Intel SGX creates a secure area called an enclave to isolate the execution of sensitive code and data. By executing smart contracts within an SGX enclave, the execution of smart contracts is protected from malware and unauthorized access.