Blockchain Credential Ownership Verification Without PII Sharing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for verifying credential ownership, such as providing personally identifiable information or using out-of-band communication, compromise user privacy and cause user friction, reducing the quality of the user experience.
Innovation Solution
Utilizing a blockchain and public-private key cryptography to verify credential ownership by associating a public key with a credential, generating a data payload, and storing it in a blockchain, allowing verification through a signature generated with the private key.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If personally identifying information is collected to verify credential ownership, then verification reliability is improved, but user privacy is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a blockchain as an intermediary layer between the credential issuer and the verification system. Instead of directly sharing PII, the system stores hashed credential data on the blockchain and uses cryptographic proofs (zero-knowledge proofs) as intermediaries to verify ownership without exposing actual personal information. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining verification reliability through cryptographic verification while preserving user privacy through the intermediary mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential verification element (credential ownership proof) from the problematic PII data. By using public-private key cryptography, the system separates the verification function from personal information - the public key serves as an extracted identifier that proves ownership without containing any personal identifying information. This extraction allows reliable verification while eliminating privacy harm.
2Reliability
If out-of-band communication is used to verify credential ownership, then verification reliability is improved, but user friction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-registering credential ownership on the blockchain before verification is needed. During the initial credential issuance, the system stores the hashed credential and public key association on the blockchain. This preliminary setup eliminates the need for complex out-of-band verification procedures later, as the verification can be performed directly by querying the blockchain, thus reducing user friction while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a distributed copy of the credential verification data across the blockchain network. Instead of requiring users to communicate with a central issuer system through multiple channels, the verification data is copied and stored on the blockchain, allowing any verification node to independently verify ownership. This copying mechanism eliminates the need for complex out-of-band communication while maintaining verification reliability.
3Reliability
If PII is provided to third parties for verification, then verification reliability is improved, but information security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potential harm of data exposure into a benefit by using cryptographic hashing. The system takes the credential data, applies a one-way hash function, and stores only the hash on the blockchain. This transformation converts the sensitive PII into an irreversible representation that can be verified for correctness without revealing the original data. Any attempt to extract PII from the hash is computationally infeasible, thus converting the security risk into a security feature.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of direct PII sharing with a cryptographic system. Instead of transmitting or storing actual personal information, the system uses cryptographic hashes and zero-knowledge proofs to verify ownership. This substitution eliminates the security risks associated with PII handling while maintaining verification reliability through mathematical proofs rather than physical data sharing.
Data Source
AI summary
A blockchain system for ownership verification may include one or more issuer network nodes and one or more verification network nodes. An issuer network node may be configured to receive a request including a public key to issue a credential, provision the credential to the communication device, generate a payload derived from hashing the credential and the public key, store the payload in a record of a blockchain, and synchronize the record to other network nodes on the blockchain. A verification network node may be configured to receive the credential, the public key, and a signature generated by the communication device to request access to a resource, verify the signature using the public key, generate a hash value based on the credential and the public key, determine that the hash value is stored in the blockchain, and authenticate the communication device for access to the requested resource.