Blockchain Multi-Entity Device Access Authorization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Centralized database systems face issues such as single points of failure, dependency on network connectivity, limited access to data, and lack of data redundancy, which can lead to data loss and security vulnerabilities, particularly in the context of secure device unlocking for criminal investigations.
Innovation Solution
A decentralized database system utilizing a blockchain network that records authorization decisions from multiple entities, ensuring secure and auditable access to devices or content by requiring consensus among authorization entities before granting access through a public key.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a centralized database is used to store device access authorization, then management and control are simplified, but the system becomes vulnerable to single points of failure and security breaches
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the centralized authorization system into multiple distributed authorization entities across a blockchain network. Each entity maintains a copy of the authorization data, eliminating the single point of failure while preserving centralized-like control through consensus mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain acts as an intermediary layer between device manufacturers and law enforcement agencies. It provides a decentralized yet coordinated mechanism for managing access authorizations, maintaining reliability without requiring a single controlling entity.
2Productivity
If a single entity controls device unlocking authority, then access decisions are streamlined, but security is compromised and privacy concerns arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single unlocking authority into multiple authorization entities distributed across the blockchain network. Each entity can independently validate and contribute to access decisions, maintaining security through distributed control while enabling parallel processing of authorization requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple authorization decisions through blockchain consensus mechanisms to achieve unified access control. The merged authorization state provides both the security of distributed control and the coordination efficiency of a unified system.
3Reliability
If decentralized authorization entities are used, then security and redundancy are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal blockchain infrastructure that handles multiple functions: data storage, consensus validation, authorization management, and key distribution. This multi-functional platform reduces the need for separate specialized systems, managing complexity through consolidation rather than multiplication of components.
Data Source
AI summary
An example operation may include one or more one or more of receiving two or more authorization decisions from two or more authorization entities into a blockchain system, recording the two or more authorization decisions into one or more blocks of a blockchain of the blockchain system, determining, by the blockchain system, whether the two or more authorization decisions satisfy a policy to authorize access to at least one of a device or identifiable content on the device, and when the two or more authorization decisions satisfy the policy, authorizing access to a public key that can be used to gain access to the device.