Tamper-Protected Event Stream Using Segmented Digital Signatures
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for implementing event streams, such as using blockchains, face challenges related to energy efficiency and complexity, making it desirable to explore alternative means for providing tamper-protected and authenticable event streams.
Innovation Solution
The proposed method involves creating a signed event stream by dividing a sequence of items into chunks and appending an item with a digital signature to each chunk, ensuring the sequence remains append-only and immutable, thereby maintaining authenticity and backward compatibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If blockchain is used for event sourcing, then tamper protection and authenticity verification are achieved, but energy efficiency deteriorates and system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The event stream is divided into sequential chunks with cryptographic hash links between them. Each chunk contains a subset of events and a hash of the previous chunk, creating a segmented chain structure that provides tamper protection without requiring full blockchain consensus mechanisms. This segmentation reduces the computational overhead and energy consumption associated with processing entire event streams through blockchain validation.
2Reliability
If digital signatures are appended to chunks, then authenticity verification is enabled, but the event stream structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The digital signature is nested within the chunk structure itself, where each chunk contains a signature field that embeds the cryptographic verification data. This nesting approach integrates authenticity verification directly into the event stream format without requiring separate verification structures or external validation layers, thereby enabling authenticity verification while minimizing structural complexity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If legacy structures are maintained for backward compatibility, then compatibility with legacy systems is improved, but the ability to provide tamper-proof verification may be limited
Solution Approach 1:
A signature field acts as an intermediary element that bridges legacy event stream structures and modern cryptographic verification requirements. The signature field is designed to be compatible with existing event stream formats while enabling tamper-proof verification through cryptographic signatures. This intermediary approach allows legacy systems to process the event streams without modification while still providing enhanced security and authenticity verification capabilities.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C
Figure 2
AI summary
A method of providing a signed event stream (100), which is an append-only sequence of immutable items, comprises: obtaining a sequence of items (no), where each item is compliant with a format that includes at least a product field (114) for containing an identifier of a technical product in which an event has occurred, a reason field for containing an identifier of a reason associated with the event, an index field (112) for containing an index of the event, and a data field (118); dividing (204) the sequence into chunks (120), wherein each chunk includes one or more items; and for each chunk, appending (206) an item (110*) compliant with the format, wherein the data field of the item contains a digital signature (s(H1), s(H2)) of the chunk, for thereby allowing verification that the sequence is an authentic event stream.