Blockchain Policy Data Access Control With Encrypted Smart Contracts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional blockchain systems are not suitable for securely storing confidential and personal information due to their open, decentralized, and permissionless nature, which exposes sensitive data and lacks control over node participation.
Innovation Solution
Implement cryptographic techniques and asymmetric key cryptography to encrypt data within smart contracts, ensuring only authorized nodes can access personal information, while maintaining a distributed consensus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional blockchain systems are used to store confidential and personal information, then data storage and distribution are achieved, but data privacy and security are compromised due to open and permissionless access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the blockchain into different types of blocks: public blocks containing only hashes and metadata, and private blocks containing encrypted personal information. This segmentation allows the system to maintain both the transparency benefits of public blockchains and the privacy requirements of personal data storage, resolving the contradiction between data privacy and access control flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a privacy layer as an intermediary between the public blockchain and personal information. This privacy layer uses encryption and selective disclosure mechanisms to mediate access to sensitive data, allowing authorized users to access information without compromising overall system security or requiring permissionless access.
2Reliability
If asymmetric key cryptography is applied to encrypt data in smart contracts, then authorized access control is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses public key cryptography where the public key is copied and distributed across the blockchain network, allowing multiple nodes to verify encryption without requiring them to hold the private key. This copying approach enables secure access control while distributing the complexity of key management across the network rather than concentrating it at a single location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of data storage by encrypting personal information with cryptographic keys derived from user credentials. The system transforms readable data into encrypted parameters that can only be decrypted by authorized users, thereby improving access security while managing complexity through standardized cryptographic operations.
3Reliability
If encryption is used to control access to personal information, then data privacy is protected, but data processing and retrieval operations become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary encryption actions when data is first written to the blockchain. Personal information is encrypted before being stored in private blocks, and the encryption keys are pre-managed through the smart contract system. This preliminary action ensures that data remains protected throughout its lifecycle while establishing clear procedures for future retrieval operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual data processing with automated cryptographic operations performed by smart contracts. The smart contract system automatically handles encryption, key management, and access control through programmed logic, substituting complex manual processes with standardized cryptographic mechanisms that simplify overall system operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for managing and/or processing a blockchain to maintain data security for confidential and/or personal data are provided. According to certain aspects, the disclosed data security techniques may enable access sharing functionality utilizing the blockchain. For example, access sharing may be utilized to share policy information. The policy information may be associated with a smart contract. Accordingly, the policy information may be encrypted using a public key for the smart contract and compiled into a block of the blockchain. In response to a request to provide access to the information to a particular node, the private key for the smart contract may be encrypted using the public key for the particular node and compiled into a block of the blockchain.