Software Artifact Attestation Chains for Decentralized Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a scalable and decentralized solution to validate the integrity and compliance of software artifacts in enterprise environments, as different software consumers may require different certifications or verifications, and third parties can attest to different properties of the software.
Innovation Solution
A decentralized attestation system is implemented, where a software vendor generates a root attestation, and third parties can append their own attestations to form an attestation chain, which is managed and validated using cryptographic fingerprint and public-key encryption to ensure integrity and compliance, with access control to sensitive information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a centralized attestation system is used to validate software artifacts, then verification consistency can be maintained, but scalability and flexibility are limited when different consumers require different certifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the attestation system into multiple independent attestation providers and consumers, where each provider can issue attestations for specific properties and each consumer can validate only the attestations they need. This segmentation enables flexible, decentralized attestation validation without requiring a centralized authority, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal attestation framework that can handle multiple types of attestations (security, compliance, performance, etc.) from different providers through a common validation mechanism. The standardized attestation structure and verification process allow the system to accommodate diverse certification requirements while maintaining manageable complexity through reuse of core components.
2Loss of information
If all attestations are shared with customers, then complete transparency is achieved, but sensitive business information is exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary attestation data from the complete attestation chain and shares it with customers, while keeping sensitive internal information (such as intermediate verification steps, internal security checks, or proprietary validation logic) private. The cryptographic hashing and selective disclosure mechanisms enable this extraction without compromising the integrity of the full attestation chain.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple third parties can attest to different properties, then verification coverage increases, but coordination and validation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested structure where multiple attestations from different third parties are organized in a hierarchical attestation chain. Each attestation can reference and build upon previous attestations, creating a nested verification structure that increases coverage while managing complexity through organized layers of validation rather than flat, unmanageable collections of attestations.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments describe techniques for validating the integrity and compliance of software artifacts through the use of attestations. An attestation manager is capable of retrieving an attestation file from storage, validating the software artifact and the attestation chain within the attestation, and optionally generate new attestations to add to the attestation chain when the software artifact and the attestation chain have been validated. A public-key encryption scheme may be applied to validate attestations while a fingerprint comparison scheme may be applied to validate the software artifact.