Blockchain Consent Contracts for Granular Digital Asset Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data management systems lack robust security, ownership enforcement, and efficient data sharing mechanisms, particularly in cloud-based solutions, leading to vulnerabilities and compliance issues with health-related data.
Innovation Solution
Implementing consent-based data sharing using smart contracts within a blockchain, with owner and global consent contracts to manage access and ownership at granular levels, ensuring secure and compliant data exchange.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cloud-based data management solutions are used, then data storage convenience and cost-effectiveness are improved, but data security and privacy protection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data access control into multiple granular levels (individual data points, data sets, and data types) using smart contracts. Each data element can have its own access permissions defined by consent contracts, allowing fine-grained control over what portions of data can be accessed by whom, thereby maintaining security while enabling convenient cloud storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces smart contracts as intermediaries between data owners and data accessors. These self-executing contracts automatically enforce access rules and consent requirements, acting as a trusted mediator that ensures secure data sharing without requiring direct trust between parties, thus maintaining both convenience and security.
2Ease of operation
If role-based access controls are used, then data access management is simplified, but security vulnerabilities increase due to role spoofing and breach risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces coarse-grained role-based access control with fine-grained attribute-based access control. Instead of assigning roles to users, the system segments access permissions down to individual data elements, allowing each data point to have specific access criteria defined by consent contracts. This eliminates the security vulnerabilities of role spoofing while maintaining ease of management through automated smart contract enforcement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameter of access control from role-based (organizational hierarchy) to attribute-based (data-specific consent). This parameter change transforms access control from a static, organization-centric model to a dynamic, data-centric model where access permissions are defined by consent attributes rather than user roles, reducing security vulnerabilities.
3Productivity
If direct transfer systems are used for data exchange, then data sharing between repositories is enabled, but functional control over data is lost and compliance becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through blockchain-based consent contracts that track and report data access and sharing activities. The system continuously monitors data flows and provides feedback to data owners about who accessed their data and when, maintaining functional control and compliance visibility while enabling efficient data exchange through automated smart contracts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses blockchain and smart contracts as intermediaries in data transfer systems. Rather than direct peer-to-peer transfers that lose control, the blockchain intermediary maintains an immutable record of all data access and transfer events, ensuring data owners retain functional control and compliance visibility while enabling efficient data exchange between repositories.
4Device complexity
If traditional data management systems are used, then implementation is simpler, but security vulnerabilities and compliance issues increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service security and compliance through automated smart contracts that automatically enforce access control rules without requiring manual intervention. The consent contracts self-execute based on predefined criteria, automatically granting or denying access permissions, which maintains security and compliance while reducing implementation complexity through automation rather than manual processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal blockchain-based consent contract framework that can be applied across multiple data types, repositories, and use cases. This multi-functional system handles diverse data sharing scenarios (healthcare, research, commercial) through a single standardized platform, reducing implementation complexity by avoiding the need for separate security systems for each data type or organization.
Data Source
AI summary
A consent block is a type of block that may be stored in a blockchain. Each consent block has an owner and may store an owner consent contract, i.e., a smart contract containing owner-specified access rules that determine who may access data assets that are stored in other blocks of the blockchain and owned by the same owner. The consent block may alternatively store a global consent contract containing global access rules that supersede owner-specified access rules. The consent block also stores a hash value determined from the consent contract and a previous hash value of the block immediately preceding the consent block. The consent contract and the position of the consent block in the blockchain are verifiable from the hash value. Each consent block, once added to the blockchain, becomes part of the immutable record of data stored in the blockchain, and therefore leaves an auditable trail.