Blockchain Transaction Data Privacy Protection via Hash Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Writing sensitive data to blockchains can lead to irreversible harmful consequences, as it becomes publicly accessible and difficult to delete or tamper with, posing risks such as reputation damage or trade secret exposure.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus for reading blockchain data, where each node pre-records the correspondence between transaction identifiers and storage positions, allowing nodes with transaction concealment permission to replace sensitive transactions with transaction hashes, effectively encrypting the data without disrupting the stability of the Merkle tree or Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sensitive data is written to blockchain for public recordation, then data transparency and immutability are improved, but data security and privacy protection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts sensitive data from the blockchain by replacing it with concealed data (transaction hashes) while keeping the transaction identifier and storage position mapping on-chain. This allows the blockchain to maintain its immutability and transparency for non-sensitive information while removing the harmful sensitive data exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where a node with transaction concealment permission acts as a mediator between the original sensitive data and the public blockchain. This intermediary replaces sensitive transactions with concealed data, protecting privacy while maintaining the blockchain's structural integrity and SPV accuracy.
2Loss of information
If sensitive data is written to blockchain, then data recording completeness is improved, but harmful consequences increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts harmful sensitive information from transactions while preserving the essential transaction recording function. By replacing sensitive data with concealed data, the system maintains data recording completeness for transaction verification purposes while eliminating the harmful exposure of sensitive information that could cause reputation damage.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If transaction data is concealed by replacing with hash, then privacy protection is improved, but data readability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary reading mechanism where nodes with transaction reading permission can retrieve and return original transaction data, while ordinary users only see concealed data (transaction hashes). This intermediary system balances privacy protection with controlled data readability for authorized entities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different quality levels to different users: ordinary users receive only concealed data for privacy protection, while authorized nodes with reading permissions can access and return original transaction data. This local differentiation of data quality maintains privacy while preserving readability for those who need it.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If transaction replacement mechanism is introduced, then privacy protection capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the privacy protection function as a separate, specialized operation performed by specific nodes with transaction concealment permission. This extraction isolates the complexity of the replacement mechanism to a dedicated function, rather than requiring all nodes to implement complex privacy logic, thereby managing system complexity more effectively.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method and an apparatus for reading blockchain data are disclosed. If a certain transaction written to a blockchain is sensitive data that should not be made public, each node in a blockchain network can replace the transaction in the blockchain with a transaction hash of the transaction so that when a request is made to read the transaction including the sensitive data from the blockchain, data returned by the node in the blockchain network is not plaintext content of the transaction.