Document Integrity Verification via Timestamped Hash Chains
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Solution Overview
Problem
Digital archives face challenges in verifying the integrity of multi-part documents that undergo transformations and exist in both digital and physical forms, as existing systems struggle to maintain an unforgeable audit trail across various formats and versions.
Innovation Solution
A content management system that uses time stamp certificates and version identifiers to create a verifiable audit trail, linking hash values of document versions and transformations, and accommodating both digital and physical versions through scanning and check-out/check-in processes, ensuring the integrity of documents throughout their lifecycle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If documents undergo multiple transformations and format changes during their lifecycle, then document versatility and adaptability improve, but verifying document integrity and maintaining an unforgeable audit trail becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the document lifecycle into distinct versions (physical and digital) and creates separate time stamp certificates for each version. Each certificate is linked to its parent version through hash values, creating a segmented audit trail that maintains integrity across transformations while allowing flexibility in document format changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces time stamp certificates as intermediary elements between document versions. These certificates act as mediators that link physical and digital versions, providing verification without restricting the transformations documents can undergo. The certificates themselves remain stable while the documents can change formats.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system accommodates both digital and physical versions of documents, then document accessibility and versatility improve, but the complexity of maintaining a verifiable audit trail increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal time stamp certificate structure that works for both physical and digital document versions. The same certificate generation and verification processes apply to both formats, simplifying the system architecture while enabling multi-format support. The hash value linking mechanism is universal across all version types.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses hash values as digital copies that represent document versions. Instead of storing entire document histories, the system stores hash values that can be verified independently. This copying approach reduces audit trail complexity while maintaining the ability to verify both physical and digital versions.
3Reliability
If the system creates time stamp certificates based on prior certificates and version identifiers, then document integrity and authenticity improve, but the complexity of certificate generation and validation processes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by creating time stamp certificates for prior versions before generating certificates for current versions. Each certificate is built upon the hash value of its parent version, establishing a foundation of verified integrity before adding new transformations. This preliminary certification ensures that each new version builds on verified previous states.
Data Source
AI summary
In one implementation, a physical version of a document is converted to a digital representation of the physical version and a new certificate is computed for the digital representation of the physical version. The new certificate is computed based on the digital representation of the physical version, at least one processing step performed on the digital representation, and a prior certificate computed for a prior digital representation indicative of the physical version. In another implementation, a document is validated.