Blockchain Changelog Tampering Detection via Public Key Decryption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current database security systems are inadequate in detecting and preventing malicious changes to database changelogs, particularly by trusted users who can alter or manipulate records to mask their edits, leading to a need for improved methods to maintain secure changelog records and detect tampering.
Innovation Solution
A system and method utilizing blockchain technology to encrypt and broadcast transaction records, allowing for verification through public keys to detect tampering by decrypting records and restoring integrity across distributed changelog blockchains, thereby enhancing database security and reducing reliance on backups.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional database security protocols are used with access controls, then user access is restricted to authorized users, but trusted users can still make unauthorized edits and alter changelogs to mask their actions
Solution Approach 1:
A blockchain system serves as an intermediary between the database and users. The blockchain stores immutable changelog records that cannot be altered by any user, including trusted users. When a user needs to modify database records, the change is first recorded on the blockchain with cryptographic proof, then applied to the database. This intermediary prevents malicious changelog modification because the blockchain's distributed consensus mechanism makes tampering computationally infeasible.
Solution Approach 2:
Before allowing any database transaction to proceed, the system performs preliminary verification by checking the corresponding changelog record on the blockchain. The database system queries the blockchain to confirm that the transaction has been properly recorded and authorized. This preliminary action ensures that only valid, non-malicious transactions are executed, preventing unauthorized edits before they can cause harm.
2Reliability
If blockchain technology is implemented to detect tampering, then changelog integrity is verified through public key decryption, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into two independent but coordinated components: a blockchain network that handles immutable changelog storage and verification, and a traditional database system that handles data operations. The blockchain component manages cryptographic operations and integrity verification, while the database component focuses on data processing. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its strength without unnecessarily complicating the other, as the blockchain's native cryptographic features handle security without requiring the database system to implement complex verification logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain creates cryptographic copies of changelog records that are distributed across multiple nodes. Instead of storing redundant copies in the traditional database, the system leverages the blockchain's distributed copy mechanism. Each node holds a copy of the changelog, and cryptographic hashing ensures all copies are identical. This copying approach verifies integrity without requiring complex verification algorithms in the database system, as any tampering would create detectable discrepancies in the distributed copies.
3Reliability
If multiple blockchains are used to store changelogs, then detection of malicious modifications is improved, but resource expenditure on maintaining backups increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback by having the database system regularly query the blockchain to verify that changelog records match the expected state. After database transactions are applied, the system queries the blockchain to confirm the corresponding changelog entries are present and unaltered. This feedback loop provides real-time detection of any tampering without requiring multiple redundant blockchain instances, as the single blockchain's immutable ledger serves as the ultimate source of truth that the database continuously verifies against.
Data Source
AI summary
Described are a system, method, and computer program product for detecting malicious changelog modifications with blockchain. The method includes identifying at least one database transaction that was initiated in response to a request by a user and receiving a first changelog record associated with the at least one database transaction from a target blockchain of at least one changelog blockchain. The method also includes determining a public key associated with the user and attempting a decryption of the first changelog record using the public key. The method further includes detecting tampering of the target blockchain for the at least one database transaction based on determining that the decryption of the first changelog record has failed, and restoring at least part of the target blockchain with at least part of a verified changelog blockchain based on the tampering of the target blockchain.