Metadata-Driven Blockchain for Secure PII Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current DLT platforms and blockchains face challenges in storing data in a dynamic and context-aware manner, as they lack metadata, leading to inefficient data retrieval and access control issues, and are not suitable for applications requiring data deletion or restricted access.
Innovation Solution
A metadata-driven blockchain system using distributed and decentralized storage within a cloud-based computing environment, which allows for dynamic metadata validation, access control, and a 'right to forget' functionality, enabling secure and efficient storage and retrieval of sensitive user information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is stored in a fixed, immutable manner in blockchain, then security and immutability are improved, but adaptability and ease of data transformation are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into two distinct components: immutable hash values stored on the blockchain and mutable metadata stored externally. This segmentation allows the blockchain to maintain its immutability guarantee while external metadata can be dynamically updated and transformed without affecting the core data integrity on the chain.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces metadata as an intermediary layer between the immutable blockchain data and the application layer. This metadata acts as a mediator that can be dynamically updated, queried, and transformed, providing adaptability without compromising the immutability of the underlying blockchain data.
2Reliability
If complete data is stored on blockchain, then data integrity is improved, but storage efficiency and retrieval speed are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts large volumes of data from the blockchain and stores them in external databases or distributed storage systems. Only essential hash values and critical metadata remain on the blockchain, significantly reducing storage requirements and improving retrieval efficiency while maintaining data integrity through cryptographic verification.
3Reliability
If data is stored in a decentralized manner, then security and trust are improved, but access control and data deletion capability are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic access control mechanisms that allow permissions and access policies to be updated over time. Metadata associated with stored data can be modified to reflect changing access requirements, enabling flexible permission management while maintaining the decentralized security architecture of the blockchain.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the state of data from permanently immutable to conditionally modifiable through metadata updates. By allowing metadata parameters to be changed while keeping core data immutable, the system achieves both decentralized security and flexible access control, including the ability to effectively delete or restrict access to data.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatuses for storing PII information via a metadata driven blockchain using distributed and decentralized storage for sensitive user information, operable within a cloud based computing environment. For example, there is a system configured with a memory to store instructions; a set of one or more processors; a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by the set of one or more processors, the instructions stored in the memory are configurable to cause the system to perform operations including: operating a blockchain interface to a blockchain on behalf of a plurality of tenants of the host organization; operating a database interface to a distributed database, separate from the blockchain, on behalf of the plurality of tenants of the host organization; displaying a Graphical User Interface (GUI Interface) to a user device communicably interfaced with the system over a network, in which the GUI interface is to prompt for a metadata entity definition at the user device when displayed by the user device, in which the metadata entity definition defines access control permissions for a blockchain entity including specifying at least (i) a data classification attribute indicating sensitive user information and (ii) a consent required attribute indicating consent is required to access the sensitive user information and (iii) a consent requirements attribute indicating a party from whom the consent must be acquired; transacting the metadata entity definition onto the blockchain; creating a new entity object defined by the metadata entity definition within the distributed database system to store the sensitive user information and writing the sensitive user information to the distributed database to be persistently stored. Other related embodiments are disclosed.