Distributed Document Authentication Using Ledger-Linked Tokens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems struggle to reliably verify the authenticity of electronic documents, particularly in critical situations like medical emergencies, where alterations or unauthorized tampering cannot be detected.
Innovation Solution
A distributed document authentication system using a memorialization module, token generation, private distributed ledger, and verification module to ensure secure storage, verification, and immutability of electronic documents, employing cryptographic techniques and blockchain technology to generate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional electronic document storage is used, then storage simplicity is maintained, but document authenticity and tamper-detection capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a distributed ledger as an intermediary between document storage and verification. The ledger stores cryptographic hashes of documents rather than the documents themselves, acting as a mediator that proves document integrity without requiring complex verification infrastructure at every access point. This resolves the contradiction by enhancing reliability through the intermediary while keeping individual system components relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates cryptographic copies (hashes) of document content that are stored in the distributed ledger. These copies serve as immutable verification records that prove document authenticity without requiring storage of the original complex documents. This approach improves reliability through verifiable copies while maintaining storage simplicity, as only hash values need to be preserved in the ledger.
2Reliability
If document tampering is allowed for flexibility, then ease of modification is improved, but document integrity and trustworthiness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the document verification process into two independent parts: the original document (which can be modified as needed) and its cryptographic hash (which is immutably recorded in the distributed ledger). This allows the document to adapt and change while the hash segment remains fixed, providing a verifiable record of the original state. This resolves the contradiction by allowing modification flexibility while maintaining integrity through the immutable hash segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by computing and storing the cryptographic hash of the document before any potential modifications occur. This pre-established hash serves as a baseline for future verification, allowing the document to be modified later while still enabling integrity checks against the original state. This approach maintains document integrity through preliminary hashing while preserving adaptability for future modifications.
3Reliability
If centralized document verification is used, then verification speed is improved, but system vulnerability to single-point failures deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the verification system into multiple independent distributed nodes rather than a single centralized authority. Each node maintains a copy of the distributed ledger and can independently verify document hashes. This segmentation improves fault tolerance by eliminating single-point failures while the modular nature of the segmentation keeps individual nodes simple, resolving the contradiction between reliability and complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A document authentication system securely saves documents and permits later verification of the authenticity of those documents. When saving a document, the documents are memorialized to tamper-proof private distributed storage, and a token is generated for the document and saved in a private distributed ledger. Any subsequent documents serving to modify the content of the original document, or to attest to the trustworthiness of the original documents, are saved in a similar manner, with the document itself also being saved to the private distribute storage, and a token for the document being saved in the private distributed ledger in association with the token of the original document. Verification of the original document is performed by locating the original document (and any of its related subsequent documents) in the private distributed storage, by finding the tokens corresponding to those documents within the private distributed ledger.