Audit Trail Generation Using Snapshot-Based Version Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional audit trailing technologies face challenges such as difficulty in enforcement, high memory usage, potential manipulation, and inability to retrieve 'as of' versions of records, which compromise the integrity and security of electronic records.
Innovation Solution
A novel method utilizing snapshot-based version control systems where each version of a record serves as a self-contained repository, integrated with a graph database for efficient storage and retrieval, employing Secure Hash Algorithms for data integrity and immutability, and allowing 'as of' version retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional database controls are used for audit trailing, then audit trail entries can be stored and retrieved, but the system allows single-person access to alter records and the audit trail is physically decoupled from the system of record
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the system of record and the audit trail into a single unified database structure. Each record contains both its own data and its audit trail history, eliminating the physical decoupling that allows manipulation. The audit trail is no longer a separate table but an integrated component of each record, making it impossible to alter without detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary actions by automatically capturing all changes to records before they are saved. The system creates immutable audit trail entries that document every modification, ensuring that any attempted manipulation is recorded and detected. This preliminary documentation prevents harmful factors from succeeding.
2Reliability
If conventional database solutions store audit trail data in separate rows, then audit trail functionality is achieved, but memory space is consumed due to data duplication across multiple rows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the record data and audit trail data into a single unified database structure. Instead of storing audit trails in separate rows, the system embeds the audit history within the record itself, eliminating redundant data storage and reducing memory space requirements while maintaining full audit trail functionality.
3Productivity
If conventional database controls are used, then audit trail entries can be generated, but it is impossible to retrieve an 'as of' version of the record for auditing purposes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by automatically capturing and storing every version of a record as it is modified. The system maintains a complete historical timeline of all record states, allowing auditors to retrieve any previous version ('as of' date) on demand. This preliminary documentation of all changes enables easy retrieval of historical versions without additional complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus, and computer-readable medium for generating an audit trail of a record including receiving a request to generate an audit trail of the record, the request comprising a record identifier of the record and a date value, identifying commit data structures corresponding to the record based on the record identifier, each commit data structure corresponding to a set of changes previously applied to fields of the record and comprising a timestamp value, a list of changes made to fields, and a prior commit pointer pointing to a prior commit data structure, identifying commit data structures that are pertinent to the request based at least in part on the timestamp value of at least one commit data structure and the date value, and generating the audit trail of the record based on the list of changes in each commit data structure in the identified commit data structures.