Architecture

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

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                         Frontend                            │
│              (Defender UI / Attacker UI)                    │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────┬───────────────────┘
                     │                    │
          ┌──────────▼──────┐   ┌─────────▼──────────┐
          │  Sui Blockchain  │   │   TEE Rust Server   │
          │  Smart Contracts │   │  (AWS Nitro Enclave)│
          └──────────┬───────┘   └─────────┬──────────┘
                     │                     │
          ┌──────────▼───────────────────  ▼──────────┐
          │            Indexer + MongoDB               │
          │     (Event indexing + Agent metadata)      │
          └────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                │
                    ┌───────────▼───────────┐
                    │  AI Red Team Module   │
                    │  (Python + DSPy)      │
                    └───────────────────────┘

Component Summary

Component	Technology	Role
Smart Contracts	Move (Sui)	On-chain settlement, fund management, agent registry
TEE Server	Rust (AWS Nitro Enclave)	Cryptographic attestation, prompt routing
AI Red Team Module	Python, DSPy	Verdict judgment, attack categorization
Indexer	Event-driven	Indexes contract events, exposes REST API
Database	MongoDB	Stores sentinel configs, memory contexts

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_attack → consume_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

1. Select model provider (OpenAI / Anthropic / Bedrock / Custom)
2. Configure:
   - Public system prompt  (visible to attackers)
   - Private system prompt (hidden from attackers, used in evaluation)
   - Attack goal           (what counts as a successful breach)
   - Jury instructions     (how the verdict model evaluates responses)
3. Set cost_per_message and initial reward pool
4. Call /register-agent on TEE server → receive signed response
5. Call register_agent on-chain → sentinel created
6. Call fund_agent on-chain → sentinel funded
7. Funds locked for 14 days to give attackers time to attempt breaches

Attacker Flow

1. Browse active sentinels
2. Call request_attack on-chain → pay message fee → receive attack object
3. Send prompt to /consume-prompt on TEE server (with attack_object_id)
4. TEE server:
   a. Validates attack object against Sui node
   b. Routes prompt to sentinel's configured model
   c. Runs jury verdict module
   d. Signs and returns result
5. Frontend calls consume_prompt on-chain with signed result
6. If successful → entire reward pool transferred to attacker instantly
7. If failed → 50% of message fee added to reward pool (growing incentive)
8. Attacker receives a free slot machine spin for SENTINEL token rewards

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.

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/mainnet/register-agent`	POST	Registers a new sentinel inside the TEE. Takes the sentinel configuration (prompts, model, cost) and returns a signed agent record.
`/mainnet/consume-prompt`	POST	Core attack endpoint. Accepts an agent ID, attacker message, and on-chain attack object ID. Validates the attack, routes the prompt, runs the verdict module, and returns a signed result.

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

Method	Description
`register_agent`	Verifies TEE signature and registers sentinel on-chain
`fund_agent`	Adds funds to a sentinel’s reward pool
`request_attack`	Initiates attack, pays message fee, returns attack object
`consume_prompt`	Verifies TEE-signed verdict and settles funds
`claim_fee`	Defender claims their 40% share of message fees
`withdraw`	Sentinel owner withdraws pool (14-day lock enforced)

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.

TEE Server signs response with enclave Ed25519 key
        ↓
Frontend submits signed response to smart contract
        ↓
Contract verifies signature against registered enclave public key
        ↓
If valid → on-chain state updated and funds settled

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

Category	Description
Prompt Injection	Manipulating model behavior via crafted inputs
Training Data Extraction	Attempting to retrieve memorized training data
Backdoor Exploitation	Triggering hidden model behaviors
Adversarial Inputs	Inputs designed to cause misclassification
Data Poisoning	Corrupting model outputs through context manipulation
Exfiltration	Extracting sensitive information from model context
Supply Chain Attacks	Exploiting dependencies in model pipeline

Economic Model

Message Fee Distribution

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

Message Fee (100%)
    ├── 50% → Sentinel Reward Pool  (grows with failed attacks)
    ├── 40% → Sentinel Owner        (incentive for staking funds)
    └── 10% → Protocol              (development & maintenance)

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

Dimension	Traditional Cybersecurity	Gen AI Security
Attack Focus	Code vulnerabilities	AI decision-making
Attack Surface	Technical (ports, APIs, code)	Semantic (language, meaning)
Attacker Profile	Expert hackers	Anyone
Attack Modality	Code exploits	Natural language, images, audio, video
Detection	Often detected quickly	Can go unnoticed for extended periods

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. Sui Sentinel differentiates through trustless on-chain verification, instant crypto payouts, and a self-sustaining incentive economy that grows in proportion to attack activity.

References

Docs: https://docs.suisentinel.xyz
Contracts: https://github.com/sui-sentinel/contracts
Agents API: https://api.suisentinel.xyz/agents/mainnet/{agent_id}
OtterSec Audit: Publicly available via docs
Nautilus Framework: Developed by Mysten Labs for TEE deployments on Sui

Introduction

How It Works

Guides

Rewards & Tokenomics

Concepts

Technical Reference

Architecture

Architecture

Component Summary

Core Components

1. AI Red Teaming Module

2. Rust Server in Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)

3. Sui Smart Contracts (Move)

4. Indexer

User Roles & Flows

Defender Flow

Attacker Flow

API Reference

Smart Contracts

Key Contract Methods

Settlement

Cryptographic Attestation

AI Red Teaming Module

DSPy Verdict Module

Attack Categorization

Supported Attack Types

Economic Model

Message Fee Distribution

SENTINEL Token Incentives

Fund Locking

Security Model

Threat Model Comparison

Trust Assumptions

Competitive Landscape

References

Introduction

How It Works

Guides

Rewards & Tokenomics

Concepts

Technical Reference

​Architecture

​Component Summary

​Core Components

​1. AI Red Teaming Module

​2. Rust Server in Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)

​3. Sui Smart Contracts (Move)

​4. Indexer

​User Roles & Flows

​Defender Flow

​Attacker Flow

​API Reference

​Smart Contracts

​Key Contract Methods

​Settlement

​Cryptographic Attestation

​AI Red Teaming Module

​DSPy Verdict Module

​Attack Categorization

​Supported Attack Types

​Economic Model

​Message Fee Distribution

​SENTINEL Token Incentives

​Fund Locking

​Security Model

​Threat Model Comparison

​Trust Assumptions

​Competitive Landscape

​References

Architecture

Component Summary

Core Components

1. AI Red Teaming Module

2. Rust Server in Trusted Execution Environment (TEE)

3. Sui Smart Contracts (Move)

4. Indexer

User Roles & Flows

Defender Flow

Attacker Flow

API Reference

Smart Contracts

Key Contract Methods

Settlement

Cryptographic Attestation

AI Red Teaming Module

DSPy Verdict Module

Attack Categorization

Supported Attack Types

Economic Model

Message Fee Distribution

SENTINEL Token Incentives

Fund Locking

Security Model

Threat Model Comparison

Trust Assumptions

Competitive Landscape

References