Hash Tree Computation Device with Type Counts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hash trees do not efficiently and securely allow operations on nodes of a given type, such as verifying or obtaining all nodes that satisfy a particular property, which is necessary for auditing or certificate transparency applications.
Innovation Solution
A hash tree computation device computes a top hash based on a current node's type, using hash preimages and type counts of ancestors, enabling verification of node types without inspecting all nodes, and provides a method for obtaining a set of result nodes with a given type, ensuring correctness and completeness without scaling with the total number of leaf nodes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional hash trees are used to verify nodes of a given type, then verification security is maintained, but the verification efficiency deteriorates because all nodes must be inspected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the hash tree verification process by introducing type-specific hash values that group nodes by their type. Instead of verifying all nodes uniformly, the system divides the verification into type-specific subsets, allowing efficient retrieval and verification of only relevant nodes of a given type without inspecting the entire tree.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts type information from node data and creates dedicated type hash values that represent only nodes of a specific type. This extraction allows the verification system to work with a subset of nodes (those of the given type) rather than the complete set of all nodes, significantly reducing verification time while maintaining security.
2Adaptability or versatility
If type-specific operations are added to hash trees, then operational capability on nodes of given type is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges type information with the existing hash tree structure by computing type hash values from node data. This combination allows the system to perform type-specific operations without creating a completely separate structure, maintaining the original hash tree while adding type-aware capabilities through integrated type hash computations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a multi-functional hash tree system where the same structure supports both traditional verification operations and type-specific operations. The type hash values serve multiple purposes: they enable efficient type-based node retrieval, support type-specific verification, and maintain compatibility with standard hash tree operations, providing universal functionality.
3Reliability
If type counts are computed for internal nodes, then verification of node type completeness is improved, but computation overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary computation of type hash values and type counts during the hash tree construction phase. By pre-computing these type-specific metrics before verification operations, the system avoids repeated computation during verification, reducing real-time computation overhead while ensuring reliable type completeness verification.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments are directed to a hash tree computation device. The hash tree computation device computes a top hash of a hash tree. A hash preimage of a leaf node of the hash tree comprises a type of the leaf node. A hash preimage of an internal node of the hash tree comprises a type count comprising a number of descendants of the internal node having a given type. The hash tree computation device computes the top hash by computing hashes of a current node and of its ancestors, where a hash of an ancestor is computed based on its type count, the type count being computed from types or type counts of its descendants.