Threaded Hash Chain Data Integrity Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data integrity validation methods are vulnerable to attacks on servers, allowing unauthorized amendments and retractions, with Verification Latency periods that can take hours or days, making it difficult to detect attacks in progress and verify data integrity in real-time.
Innovation Solution
A 'threaded hash chain' system where earlier elements of the hash chain are combined with new local source data when calculating hashes, and periodic 'confirmation' records are added to verify the integrity of any record within minutes, utilizing a peer-to-peer network for continuous monitoring and rapid verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional hash chain techniques are used to validate data integrity, then data authentication is achieved, but the system is vulnerable to server attacks and requires hours or days for verification (Verification Latency)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the verification process by introducing periodic confirmation records at fixed intervals (e.g., every 10,000 records or daily) alongside continuous hash chain updates. This segmentation allows verification to occur at multiple time scales: rapid confirmation at confirmation points and continuous integrity maintenance between them, reducing overall verification latency from hours/days to minutes or seconds.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing confirmation records at fixed intervals in advance. These confirmation records contain hash values that serve as predetermined verification checkpoints, allowing the system to quickly confirm data integrity without performing full chain verification when these checkpoints are reached, thus reducing verification time.
2Reliability
If simple concatenation hash chains are used, then organization-wide integrity verification is possible, but the system cannot detect attacks in progress and requires separate records for protection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces confirmation records as intermediary elements within the hash chain. These confirmation records serve as trusted checkpoints that mediate between continuous hash updates and verification needs. They provide built-in protection mechanisms without requiring separate external record-keeping systems, detecting attacks in progress by identifying breaks in the hash chain between confirmation points.
3Speed
If hash chains are updated continuously, then real-time detection of attacks is possible, but the verification process becomes computationally intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic action by updating confirmation records at fixed intervals (e.g., every 10,000 records or daily) rather than requiring verification of every single hash update. This periodic approach maintains real-time attack detection capability through continuous hash chain updates while significantly reducing verification time by only needing to check confirmation points, balancing speed and computational efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method of permitting authentication of data added to an initial plurality of unique data items stored on a computer, all of the data items being converted via a one-way function to respective equal length unique digests (or hashes); and the hashes being stored as a linked dataset in which the value of each successive hash is dependent on the value of the previous hash combined with a new hash resulting from the hashing of the most recently added data. The most recent hash in the linked dataset (hash chain) is the cumulative result of all previous hashes in their original sequence, each hash in the dataset being unique to the most recently added data. Each cumulative hash is constructed by incorporating one or more pre-existing cumulative hashes into the source data, before the new hash is calculated.