Blockchain Hybrid Authentication Key Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional authentication mechanisms for user accounts, such as username/password systems, pose risks for both account providers and users, as they either increase liability for the provider in case of breaches or risk user account loss due to lost authentication information, lacking recovery options.
Innovation Solution
A blockchain-based hybrid authentication system where users retain possession of a public/private key pair, allowing smart contracts to verify ownership and enable secure account recovery by associating new key pairs with user accounts, ensuring auditable and secure transactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the account provider stores the public key pair for the user in a repository, then the user can authenticate with the provider, but the liability of the account provider increases in the event of a breach or hack
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the private key from the provider's control and places it in the user's possession. The user's device stores the private key and uses it to sign authentication requests, while only the public key is stored by the provider. This extraction of the private key from provider control eliminates the harmful factor of provider liability in breaches, as the provider never holds the secret authentication material.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a blockchain as an intermediary system that enables authentication without the provider storing private keys. The blockchain verifies authentication requests by checking cryptographic signatures made with user-held private keys, mediating the authentication process in a way that protects both users and providers while eliminating the need for centralized key storage.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the user retains possession of the key pair, then the provider's liability is reduced, but the user risks losing their account information without recovery options
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the blockchain records authentication history and enables verification of user identity through publicly available data. When a user loses their private key, the system provides feedback through the blockchain's transparent authentication records that can verify the user's identity without requiring re-provisioning of keys, enabling account recovery while maintaining the user-held key model.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the authentication verification process on the blockchain. Instead of relying on the provider to remember or store user credentials, the system creates an immutable copy of authentication transactions on the blockchain. This copy serves as a recovery mechanism, allowing users to prove their identity through the blockchain record rather than relying on the provider's memory or storage systems.
3Ease of operation
If a hash of the password is stored in a centralized database, then authentication can be performed, but the system still sees the plain text password creating security risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of centralized password hashing with a cryptographic system based on asymmetric key pairs and blockchain. Instead of storing hashed passwords that still expose plain text during breaches, the system uses public key infrastructure where the public key can be freely distributed and the private key remains secret. The blockchain provides a tamper-proof record of authentication transactions, eliminating the need for centralized password storage entirely.
Data Source
AI summary
In a particular embodiment, blockchain-based hybrid authentication is disclosed that includes receiving, by a smart contract controller, an invocation of a smart contract and accessing, by the smart contract controller, one or more parameters associated with a client account. In this embodiment, the smart contract determines whether the one or more parameters fulfill the smart contract. In response to determining that the one or more parameters fulfill the smart contract, the smart contract provides an attestation of an identity associated with the client account.