Distributed Ledger Media Authentication via Hash Storage

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Solution Overview

Problem

It is challenging to authenticate media content, such as video files, as users may modify both the content and associated metadata, making it difficult to determine the original versus modified portions and ensuring the integrity of the media across different users.

Innovation Solution

A system utilizing a distributed ledger, like blockchain, captures media content from devices, generates hashes including metadata like location and time, and stores these hashes on the ledger, ensuring an immutable record of media transactions and authenticity.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If media content is stored and transmitted between users, then accessibility and sharing are improved, but authentication and integrity verification become difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia sharing accessibilityVSAvoidmedia authentication

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system generates a hash of the media content and stores it in a distributed ledger before any modifications can occur. This preliminary action creates an immutable reference point that enables later authentication of the media's original state, resolving the contradiction by establishing trust before the media is shared and potentially modified.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The distributed ledger acts as an intermediary between media creators and consumers, storing cryptographic hashes that verify media authenticity without requiring direct trust between parties. This mediator enables reliable authentication while maintaining the accessibility and versatility of media sharing across the network.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If users can modify media content freely, then ease of operation and editing are improved, but determining original versus modified portions becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemedia editing freedomVSAvoidmedia integrity verification

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of storing the actual media content in the distributed ledger, the system stores only a cryptographic hash (a digital fingerprint) of the media. This copying approach allows users to freely edit the original media while the hash copy remains immutable in the ledger, enabling easy verification of whether modifications have occurred without restricting editing freedom.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

3Adaptability or versatility

If metadata is allowed to be modified along with media content, then adaptability and flexibility are improved, but authentication of original information is compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemetadata flexibilityVSAvoidoriginal metadata integrity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary hashing of both media content and associated metadata before any modifications occur. This creates an immutable record of the original state in the distributed ledger, allowing metadata to be flexible and modified for adaptability while preserving the ability to verify original information integrity through hash comparison.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11501533B2Media authentication using distributed ledger

Publication Date: 2022.11.15 SEAGATE TECH LLC

AI summary

The technology disclosed herein includes capturing a media content from a media recording device, generating a hash of the media content, storing the media content in a storage device, and transmitting a media transaction to a distributed ledger, the media transaction comprising the location of the media content in the storage device and the hash of the media content.