Shared Blockchain Node Access Control for Multi-Entity Asset Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing industry faces challenges in data management and sharing across distributed actors, including incomplete data provision leading to unsafe operating conditions and difficulty in identifying failure causes, as well as high costs and technical barriers to deploying blockchain nodes, which hinder the implementation of blockchain solutions.
Innovation Solution
A blockchain platform with shared nodes that utilize hash functions to generate user identifiers for secure data association and access control, enabling real-time monitoring and smart contract functionality for trustworthy interactions between entities, thereby addressing data authenticity and access control issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If blockchain nodes are deployed by each participant to ensure data security and authenticity, then data integrity and trust are improved, but deployment costs and technical barriers increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple entities share a single blockchain node infrastructure through virtualization, combining computational resources while maintaining separate logical access and data isolation. This reduces deployment costs and technical barriers while preserving data integrity through cryptographic authentication and permission management.
Solution Approach 2:
A single blockchain node is designed to serve multiple entities simultaneously, providing universal access and functionality to different organizations. The node performs multiple functions including data storage, transaction validation, and authentication for various entities, eliminating the need for each entity to deploy separate nodes.
2Ease of manufacture
If all entities use the same blockchain node to reduce costs, then deployment burden is reduced, but data access control and security become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The shared blockchain node is segmented into isolated virtual environments or containers for each entity, with dedicated data spaces and access controls. This segmentation allows multiple entities to share infrastructure while maintaining separate security contexts and access permissions, reducing access control complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
A permission management system or identity gateway acts as an intermediary between entities and the shared blockchain node, handling authentication, authorization, and access control requests. This intermediary abstracts the complexity of access control from the node itself, simplifying the overall system.
3Reliability
If complete component data is shared across all entities to improve operational safety, then safety and maintenance quality are improved, but data privacy and access control requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Data access permissions are customized for each entity based on their specific needs and roles, with different levels of access to different data sets. This local quality approach allows entities to access only the data necessary for their operations, improving safety while managing access control complexity through role-based permissions.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a blockchain platform having functionality that enables blockchain nodes to be shared among multiple entities while maintaining security with respect to the blockchain. Blockchain platforms of embodiments include a hash function (also referred to as a chain-code) that enables attributes to be generated and attached to user identifiers, where the attributes associate users with specific entities supported by the blockchain. For shared nodes, the attribute may be utilized, at least in part, to control access permissions to data recorded to the blockchain. Embodiments of blockchain platforms may find particular utility when applied to complex use cases involving multiple entities.