The DEFONEOS Witness Rotation Calendar outlines the deterministic, VRF-seeded rotation policy for BFT Council witnesses, ensuring continuous freshness, security, and integrity of the defence council's operations.
Witnesses in Rings 2, 3, 4, and 5 undergo regular rotation, ensuring a dynamic and resilient council. Ring 1 (Owner) is always present due to its foundational role. The rotation schedule is as follows:
The selection of new witnesses is a deterministic process, seeded by a combination of the global SIGIL digest and a motion nonce, ensuring verifiability and preventing manipulation. A reference Python VRF implementation (libsodium + BLAKE3) is publicly available for audit.
Below is the current snapshot of the witness rotation, effective 2026-07-01. All 33 seats are active and fresh.
| Ring | Rotation Frequency | Next Rotation | Witnesses (Partial Fingerprint) | Freshness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | Always Present | N/A | Owner-01, Owner-02 | FRESH |
| R2 | Quarterly | 2026-10-01 | Def-01, Def-02, Def-03 | FRESH |
| R3 | Quarterly | 2026-10-01 | Comp-01, Comp-02, Comp-03 | FRESH |
| R4 | Monthly | 2026-08-01 | Ops-01, Ops-02, Ops-03 | FRESH |
| R5 | Semi-Annual | 2027-01-01 | Pub-01, Pub-02, Pub-03 | FRESH |
The witness rotation adheres to 7 ring-specific invariants (e.g., R1 always-present, 3-distinct ring duty, R5 on red-line, no US IdP, 24h seed pre-publish). In case of key compromise or emergency, an expedited R3-witness rotation procedure is activated.