Cryptographic Health Certificate Verification System

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for verifying the health status of visitors, such as temperature checks and vaccination record verification, are inaccurate and vulnerable to fraud, particularly in determining the authenticity of vaccination records.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method and system that generates a signed certificate by sending a request to a first device with a signed hash of user data, a public key, and user data, and obtaining a signed certificate from a second device that includes the public key, a hash of the user data, and health status information, with the user data absent from the signed certificate.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If vaccination records are checked to verify health status, then health verification capability is improved, but accuracy and reliability deteriorate due to fraud and outdated records

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehealth verification capabilityVSAvoidaccuracy of vaccination record verification
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments the verification process into multiple independent components: health data collection, cryptographic hash generation, digital signing, and verification. Each component operates independently to ensure overall system reliability while maintaining accuracy through modular validation steps.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces cryptographic intermediaries (hash functions and digital signatures) as mediators between the health data and the verification process. These intermediaries ensure accurate verification by providing tamper-evident proof of health status without directly exposing sensitive raw data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If user data is included in the certificate to ensure completeness, then information completeness is improved, but security and fraud resistance worsen due to data exposure risks

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of health informationVSAvoidsecurity risk from data exposure
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential cryptographic elements (hash of health data and digital signature) from the complete user data, placing them in the certificate while leaving the sensitive raw data out. This ensures information completeness for verification purposes while eliminating security risks associated with data exposure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of including the actual user data in the certificate, the system creates cryptographic copies (hashes and signatures) that preserve the essential verification information without exposing the sensitive original data. These copies serve as sufficient proof of health status.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP4020292B1System and method for obtaining a signed certificate
Publication Date: 2025.05.07 BLACKBERRY LTD
  • EP4020292B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4020292B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4020292B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

A computer-implemented method comprises sending, to a first device, a request for a signed certificate, the request for the signed certificate comprising a signed hash of data associated with a user, a corresponding public key of the user, and the data associated with the user; sending, to a second device different from the first device, a request for the signed certificate, the request comprising information to retrieve the signed certificate; and obtaining, from the second device, a signed certificate, the signed certificate comprising the public key of the user, the hash of the data associated with the user, and information indicating a health status of the user, the data associated with the user being absent from the signed certificate.