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Architecture

At the highest level, Red Sentinel is composed of four core components:

Component Summary


Core Components

1. AI Red Teaming Module

Built using DSPy, a declarative framework for building modular AI software, this Python module is responsible for:
  • Routing attacker prompts to the configured sentinel model
  • Running the verdict module (fine-tuned DSPy predictor) to determine if an attack succeeded
  • Categorizing attacks against OWASP and MITRE ATLAS taxonomies
  • Scoring attacks to provide defenders with actionable analytics
Supported model providers:
  • OpenAI
  • Anthropic
  • AWS Bedrock
  • Custom (any OpenAI-compatible endpoint + API key)

2. Rust Server in Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)

The backend server runs inside an AWS Nitro Enclave, a hardware-isolated TEE. It is deployed via the Nautilus framework developed by Mysten Labs. Key responsibilities:
  • Receiving and validating /register-agent and /consume-prompt requests
  • Generating Ed25519 cryptographic signatures over all responses
  • Validating attack object IDs against the Sui node before processing
  • Ensuring no response can be forged outside the enclave
The Ed25519 keypair is unique to and bound within the AWS enclave, it cannot be extracted.

3. Sui Smart Contracts (Move)

Deployed on Sui Mainnet, audited by OtterSec. Contracts handle:
  • Sentinel registration and on-chain verification of TEE signatures
  • Fund management (reward pools, message fees, withdrawals)
  • Attack lifecycle (request_attackconsume_prompt)
  • SENTINEL token reward distribution via the indexer

4. Indexer

  • Listens to on-chain events emitted by contracts (e.g., sentinel registration, attacks)
  • Exposes REST API: https://api.suisentinel.xyz/agents/mainnet/{agent_id}
  • Also handles SENTINEL token reward distribution triggers

User Roles & Flows

Defender Flow

Attacker Flow


API Reference

The TEE server exposes two primary endpoints. Both return a cryptographically signed response that the frontend submits directly to the smart contract for on-chain verification. Full request/response schemas are available in the project repository and docs.

Smart Contracts

Repository: https://github.com/sui-sentinel/contracts
Audit: OtterSec (report publicly available)

Key Contract Methods

Settlement

When consume_prompt is called on-chain, the contract verifies the Ed25519 signature from the TEE against the registered enclave key. If the signature is valid and the verdict is a success, the entire reward pool is transferred to the attacker immediately and the sentinel becomes inactive.

Cryptographic Attestation

All TEE server responses are signed using an Ed25519 keypair that is unique to and locked within the AWS Nitro Enclave. The signing payload is BCS-serialized and includes an intent scope and timestamp, ensuring responses are tamper-evident and replay-resistant. The keypair cannot be extracted from the enclave.
This chain ensures that:
  • Verdict results cannot be spoofed
  • Payouts only happen for cryptographically verified successful attacks
  • The entire process is auditable on-chain

AI Red Teaming Module

DSPy Verdict Module

The verdict module is a fine-tuned DSPy predictor using a predictive schema that evaluates:
  • The attacker’s prompt
  • The sentinel model’s response
  • The defender’s public instructions
  • The defender’s private instructions (not revealed to attacker)
  • The attack goal
  • The jury instructions
It returns a structured verdict: success: bool + score: u8 + a natural language explanation.

Attack Categorization

Every attack is automatically categorized using:
  • OWASP LLM Top 10 taxonomy
  • MITRE ATLAS framework
This gives defenders a structured audit trail of how their system was attacked, which categories of vulnerabilities were probed, and where defenses held or failed.

Supported Attack Types


Economic Model

Message Fee Distribution

Every message fee paid by an attacker is split three ways:

SENTINEL Token Incentives

  • Defenders earn SENTINEL tokens proportional to their reward pool size, continuously while the sentinel is active
  • Attackers earn a free slot machine spin for SENTINEL tokens on every attack attempt
  • Early liquidity providers (defenders who launch sentinels early) receive boosted token rewards

Fund Locking

When a sentinel is launched, funds are locked for 14 days. This gives the attacker community sufficient time to attempt breaches before the defender can withdraw. Withdrawal after the lock period returns the full pool to the sentinel owner.

Security Model

Threat Model Comparison

Trust Assumptions

  • The AWS Nitro Enclave provides hardware-level isolation, the TEE keypair cannot be extracted
  • Smart contract logic is publicly verifiable on Sui Mainnet
  • Contract code has been audited by OtterSec
  • Private prompts are never exposed to the attacker, only used internally for verdict evaluation

Competitive Landscape

Web2 alternatives in the AI security space include Lakera, Mindguard, and Prompt Security. Red Sentinel differentiates through trustless on-chain verification, instant crypto payouts, and a self-sustaining incentive economy that grows in proportion to attack activity.

References