Markovian Protocol

We check what organisations say about their own systems, using their own public data. Every result, script and reply is pinned in a log nobody can rewrite, us included.

43 claims checked · 24 didn’t hold · 12 organisations answered or fixed what we found

— records · — witnesses signing now

Measurements

624 of 634

new single-file conda-forge packages took longer than the docs’ “around 15 minutes” just to be listed by the CDN; median 36 minutes

SM-022 · conda-forge and Anaconda’s CDN · published

6,095 of 7,468

WIPO domain-dispute cases where the panelist was appointed after the five days ICANN’s rules allow; the Forum, same rule, 31 of 4,791

SM-026 · WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center · published

120 of 448

pipeline calls about deaths, injuries, fires, explosions and big releases came more than an hour after the operator confirmed the incident; the rule says within the hour

SM-025 · PHMSA · published

183 of 1,169

executive-branch .gov domains still have no DNSSEC, eight years after OMB withdrew the mandate because agencies “already should have” done it; nsa.gov signs with SHA-1

SM-013 · OMB and CISA · published

Seal, SM-018, rerun independently by Kaveh RanjbarSeal, SM-003, corrected by Artur Zięba-Kozarzewski in the next preprint versionSeal, SM-002, fixed by Hao Li (AIDev) in the next releaseSeal, SM-012, answered by Thailand's national CA (ETDA) in 4 daysSeal, SM-021, answered by GitHub the same daySeal, SM-009, gap closed by Mozilla on the date it gaveSeal, SM-002, answered by Hao Li (AIDev) in 16 daysSeal, SM-015, fixed by Apple in 12 daysSeal, SM-014, answered by the RIPE NCC in 2 daysSeal, SM-010, docs fixed by Hugging Face in 4 daysSeal, SM-011, answered by Mozilla in 3 daysSeal, SM-009, answered by Mozilla in 3 daysSeal, SM-001, fixed by Google in 7 daysSeal, SM-004, fixed by whisper.online in 4 hours

14 seals from 12 organisations, each for answering on the record or fixing what we measured. Round trips.

Of 43 published claims we checked, 24 did not hold and 19 held. We have sent questions on 26 of them; 12 have had an answer. This week · All measurements · Registry · Know a claim that doesn’t add up? Send it to us.

How we work

  1. Quote the claim. An organisation’s own words about its system, copied from its own page and saved.
  2. Measure it again. Our own code against its own public data. Every script and data file is published.
  3. Ask, and print the answer. The questions go to whoever can fix it; replies go on the page in full, and answers and fixes earn a seal.

Every paper is stamped into the log below when it’s published, so anyone can show later that it hasn’t been quietly changed. More on method.

Papers and data

A receipt, checked live

The newest paper, SM-022, is record 13,278 in our log: its SHA-256 went in when it was published. Your browser fetches each step from the log as this page loads.

  1. In the logChecking…
  2. Signed by outside witnessesChecking…
  3. Committed to BitcoinChecking…

This shows the paper has not changed since it was stamped. Whether the paper is right is a separate question, which its script and exhibits let you check. Verify every signature yourself.

The log

Every paper, script and reply is a record in our transparency log. Each new state is signed by at least 4 of 7 outside witnesses, run by 6 operators, and stamped into Bitcoin every hour. That shows our history was never rewritten; it does not show any record is true.

Records—
Witnesses signing now—
Latest Bitcoin stamp—

Endpoints, verification and how to add a record · Witness policy · Our witness, for other logs