Private Blockchain Integrity via Public Ledger Hashing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Private blockchains are more susceptible to data breaches due to their smaller size and centralized control, which compromises trust and integrity, as they have fewer nodes and are controlled by a single entity, making them more vulnerable to alterations and breaches compared to public blockchains.
Innovation Solution
The use of multiple blockchains, specifically a private blockchain for secure data storage and a public blockchain for integrity verification, where digital fingerprints of blocks in the private blockchain are stored in the public blockchain to validate the integrity of data, ensuring that any alterations can be detected by comparing fingerprints, thus enhancing trust and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a private blockchain is used for secure data storage with centralized control, then data privacy and access control are improved, but trust and security are worsened due to fewer nodes and single entity control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a public blockchain as an intermediary verification layer. The public blockchain stores cryptographic hashes of blocks from the private blockchain, acting as a trusted mediator that independently verifies data integrity. This allows the private blockchain to maintain its centralized control and privacy benefits while the public blockchain provides decentralized trust verification, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
2Ease of operation
If a private blockchain with fewer nodes is used, then data privacy and centralized control are improved, but susceptibility to data breaches increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the blockchain verification function into two separate systems: a private blockchain for data storage and access control, and a public blockchain for integrity verification. By segmenting these functions, the private blockchain can maintain its centralized control with fewer nodes while the public blockchain provides distributed security verification, reducing overall data breach susceptibility without sacrificing centralized operational control.
3Reliability
If digital fingerprints of blocks are stored in a public blockchain for integrity verification, then trust and security are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential verification information (cryptographic hashes of block contents) from the private blockchain and stores them in the public blockchain. This extraction approach provides integrity verification capability while minimizing the amount of data transferred and stored in the public blockchain, thereby reducing system complexity compared to synchronizing entire blockchains.
4Reliability
If multiple blockchains are used for verification, then trust and security are enhanced, but processing resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by storing only the cryptographic hashes of block contents in the public blockchain rather than synchronizing entire blocks or all transaction data. This partial storage approach provides sufficient security verification (excessive action in terms of verification coverage) while minimizing processing resource consumption compared to full blockchain synchronization.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments provide systems and methods for verifying data integrity on computer systems. A computer-implemented method, for example, includes obtaining a digital fingerprint for a blockchain block of an object previously stored in a first blockchain based on requesting a new block in the first blockchain, the new block automatically storing the digital fingerprint as a fingerprint of a most recent previous block to be added to the first blockchain, requesting retrieval of the obtained digital fingerprint from a second blockchain that is separate from the first blockchain, determining a validity of the obtained digital fingerprint based on a result of the requested retrieval of the obtained digital fingerprint from the second blockchain and providing a report of the determined validity.