Certificate Verification with Attribute Concealment Across Formats

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing verification systems fail to protect user privacy while verifying certificate information in various formats, as they either lack support for multiple data formats or restrict the format to limited options, compromising user privacy.

Innovation Solution

A verification system that includes a specifying unit to identify the format of certificate information, an extraction unit to extract verification information, and a concealment unit to conceal attribute information, allowing verification to be performed while protecting user privacy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If verification is performed using existing verification systems, then verification of certificate information can be conducted, but user privacy cannot be protected

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveverification capabilityVSAvoidprivacy exposure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The certificate information is segmented into two distinct parts: verification information (used for validating authenticity and format) and attribute information (containing personal data). This segmentation allows the verification information to be processed openly while the attribute information is concealed, thus maintaining verification capability while protecting user privacy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The verification information is extracted from the certificate information and separated from the attribute information. This extracted verification information is then used for format validation and authenticity verification, while the attribute information is excluded from the verification process, thereby protecting user privacy without compromising verification reliability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple data formats are supported for verification, then versatility is improved, but privacy protection capability deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveformat compatibilityVSAvoidprivacy exposure

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The verification system is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple certificate data formats (JSON-LD, JWT, SD-JWT). The format specifying unit automatically identifies the input format and applies appropriate verification rules, enabling the system to verify diverse formats while consistently applying privacy protection by concealing attribute information in all cases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If attribute information is concealed to protect privacy, then privacy protection is improved, but verification capability may worsen

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy exposureVSAvoidverification capability

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The certificate information undergoes preliminary processing where verification information is extracted and attribute information is concealed before the actual verification takes place. This preliminary action ensures that the verification process receives pre-processed data with concealed attributes, allowing verification to proceed without exposure of sensitive information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The concealed attribute information acts as an intermediary that preserves the structural integrity and format characteristics needed for verification while hiding the actual personal data. The verification unit operates on this intermediary representation, which maintains sufficient information for format validation and authenticity verification without revealing sensitive attributes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4651431A1Verification system and verification method

Publication Date: 2025.11.19 HITACHI LTD

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AI summary

A verification system that verifies certificate information including attribute information indicating an attribute of a user and information for verification related to verification of a qualification of the user, the verification system including a specifying unit that specifies a format of the certificate information, an extraction unit that extracts the information for verification from the certificate information based on a result of specification performed by the specifying unit, a concealment unit that conceals a predetermined portion including the attribute information of the certificate information to generate concealed attribute information, and a verification unit that performs verification based on the information for verification extracted by the extraction unit and the concealed attribute information generated by the concealment unit.