Ticket Authentication Using Hashed Serial Numbers for Audit Trails
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic tickets, particularly lottery tickets, face issues with fraud and lack of effective online authentication and auditing due to insufficient security measures, leading to risks of stolen serial numbers being redeemed through counterfeit means.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for ticket authentication and auditing that generates cryptographic values from unique ticket identifiers and vendor terminal information, storing these values without retaining the identifiers, ensuring secure authentication and auditing by comparing hashed values during redemption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If serial numbers of lottery tickets are stored online for authentication and auditing, then authentication and auditing capabilities are improved, but security risks increase as winning serial numbers can be stolen and used for counterfeit tickets or manual redemption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the serial number from the storage system by using a cryptographic hash function. Instead of storing the actual serial number, the system stores only the hash value. This extraction eliminates the harmful factor (serial number theft risk) while preserving the useful function (authentication capability) because the hash value can still be used to verify ticket authenticity without revealing the original serial number.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cryptographic hash function as an intermediary between the serial number and the storage system. The hash function transforms the serial number into a fixed-length string of characters that appears random. This intermediary allows the system to store and compare values for authentication purposes without storing the actual serial number, thus mediating between the need for authentication and the need to prevent serial number theft.
2Ease of operation
If electronic tickets are redeemed online without sufficient online authentication and auditing capabilities, then ease of operation is improved, but fraud increases and audit trails are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating a cryptographic hash of the serial number at the time of ticket issuance and storing it in a database. This preliminary action establishes an audit trail before the ticket is redeemed. When redemption occurs, the system compares the provided serial number against the stored hash values, enabling fraud detection without requiring complex real-time authentication systems, thus maintaining ease of operation while improving reliability.
3Ease of manufacture
If printed scratch-off tickets are issued and redeemed without effective audit trails, then ease of manufacture and distribution is improved, but the ability to authenticate whether tickets were stolen or legitimately purchased is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital copy of the audit trail information by generating and storing cryptographic hash values of serial numbers in a database. This digital copy serves as an immutable audit trail that can be queried during redemption. The copying approach allows the system to maintain simplicity in ticket distribution (no complex tracking mechanisms needed) while providing comprehensive audit capability through the stored hash values that record the authentication history of each ticket.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Provides secure authentication and auditing of electronic tickets without storing serial numbers, preventing fraud and ensuring legitimate redemption, while maintaining an audit trail for ticket issuers.
Implementation Method 1
A cryptographic value is generated based on the unique ticket identifier and the cryptographic value is stored in a record along with the vendor terminal identifier, the current calendar date, and the current time of day as auditing and authentication information
Data Source
AI summary
When an online ticket is purchased, a record is maintained in a third-party online service; the record does not include the unique serial number of the ticket. The unique serial number is salted and/or hashed to generate a unique cryptographic value, which is stored with the record by the service. When the online ticket is redeemed, the unique serial number is again salted and/or hashed to produce a candidate cryptographic value. The records of the service are searched using the candidate cryptographic value and upon a match, the appropriate matching record is returned to the redeeming entity associated with the ticket by the service as evidence of authentication and as auditing information associated with the original purchased ticket.