Blockchain Audit Records With Batched Signature Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
The processing of audit records by computing systems adds significant computational load and communication overhead, and audit records are vulnerable to attacks that tamper with or delete the data.
Innovation Solution
Audit files are batched into blocks with a digital signature generated for the entire block, reducing computational power and data overhead, and a blockchain is used to secure the audit register, ensuring integrity and detecting tampering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If digital signatures are generated for each individual audit file, then the authenticity and integrity of each audit file can be verified, but the computational power required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual audit files are merged into a single audit block, and only one digital signature is generated for the entire block rather than for each individual file. This combining approach maintains verification reliability while significantly reducing computational power requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The audit system segments audit files into batches or blocks, where each block is treated as a single unit for signature generation. This segmentation allows the system to verify multiple files through a single computational operation on the block level.
2Ease of operation
If audit files are transmitted individually from audited device to auditing system, then each file can be processed separately, but the data overhead and communication bandwidth are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple audit files are combined into a single audit block for transmission. The block contains references to all individual files plus a collective digital signature, reducing communication overhead while preserving the ability to process individual files when needed.
3Ease of operation
If audit records are stored in a traditional database, then access and processing is straightforward, but the audit records are vulnerable to attacks that delete or modify the data
Solution Approach 1:
A blockchain structure is introduced as an intermediary layer between the audit files and the traditional database. The blockchain contains cryptographic hashes of audit files and maintains a tamper-evident ledger, serving as a mediator that enhances security while preserving database accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Cryptographic hashes of audit files are预先 stored in the blockchain before any potential attacks occur. This preliminary action creates a tamper-evident record that can detect and prevent unauthorized modifications or deletions of audit data.
Data Source
AI summary
A centralized auditing system receives an audit block containing one or more audit files generated by an audit agent running in an audited device. The audit block additionally stores a first digital signature corresponding to a previous audit block, and a second digital signature generated based at least on the one or more audit files and the first digital signature. After receiving the audit block, the auditing system verifies the integrity of the received audit block based on the second digital signature stored in the audit block and/or the first digital signature corresponding to the previous audit block. In response to verifying the integrity of the received audit block, the auditing system adds the received audit block to an audit register. Moreover, the auditing system adds the one or more audit files included in the audit block to an audit database.