Decentralized Asset Attribution Using Hashed Signed Distribution Blocks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Centralized repository systems for managing sensitive data face challenges in securely distributing and attributing access to authorized users across different organizations while maintaining privacy and avoiding unauthorized distribution, particularly when users are reluctant to share personally identifiable information.
Innovation Solution
A decentralized process using hashing and signing of asset blocks with embedded identity information allows secure distribution and attribution, where authenticated users generate asset blocks for trusted parties without revealing their identities, maintaining a chain of hashes to verify distribution paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a centralized repository system is used to manage sensitive data, then access control and attribution are improved, but privacy protection and ease of sharing across organizations deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the centralized repository functionality into distributed components. Each organization operates its own repository instance, maintaining local control over sensitive data while enabling cross-organization sharing through standardized protocols. This segmentation allows access control to be enforced locally without requiring a single centralized authority, thus improving both reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces digital watermarks and cryptographic protocols as intermediaries that enable verification and attribution without requiring direct exposure of sensitive data or personal identifiable information. These intermediaries facilitate trusted sharing across organizations by providing a mechanism to track and attribute data usage without compromising privacy, thus resolving the contradiction between access control and cross-organization sharing.
2Loss of information
If digital watermarks are used to attribute accessed files, then attribution capability is improved, but privacy protection of personally identifiable information deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses digital watermarks as copies or representations of attribution information rather than storing or transmitting actual personally identifiable information. The watermarks embed sufficient data to identify and attribute file access to specific users or organizations without exposing sensitive personal details. This copying approach maintains attribution capability while protecting privacy by working with anonymized or pseudonymized representations.
3Reliability
If centralized repository systems are used, then access permission management is improved, but ease of operation for distributed users deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universal protocols and standards that enable different organization-specific repository systems to interoperate seamlessly. By establishing common interfaces and communication protocols, the system allows users across different organizations to share and access files as if using a single centralized system, thus improving ease of operation while maintaining the reliability benefits of distributed permission management.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and techniques are provided for image processing. For instance, a process can include receiving an asset for distribution to a first entity, header information associated with the asset, and identity information for the first entity; applying a hashing function to the header information to generate hashed header information; generating an asset block based on the hashed header information, the identity information, and the asset; signing the generated asset block to generate a signed asset block; applying the hashing function to the signed asset block to generate a hash of the asset block; transmitting the hash of the asset block to an asset repository server; and outputting the signed asset block for distribution to the first entity.