Tiered Certificate Authorities for Blockchain Smart Contract Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing blockchain networks face challenges in effectively maintaining and verifying the authorization of certificate authorities for smart contracts, ensuring that deployed smart contracts match their audited versions, and efficiently reissuing certificates for upgraded contracts.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a tiered certificate authority system within a blockchain cybersecurity platform that authorizes root authority entities to manage and revoke certificate authorities, issues certificates based on successful audits, and verifies smart contracts using on-chain audit certificates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a certificate authority system is implemented to audit and certify smart contracts, then security and reliability of smart contracts are improved, but device complexity and operational difficulty increase due to the need to manage multiple certificate authorities and verification processes
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the certificate authority function into hierarchical levels (root certificate authorities and child certificate authorities), allowing distributed certification while maintaining centralized control through the ability to revoke child CAs. This segmentation reduces operational complexity by distributing certification tasks while preserving security through hierarchical management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing revocation mechanisms and hierarchical relationships between certificate authorities before certification issues arise. Root CAs pre-configure their ability to revoke child CAs, and the system pre-establishes verification procedures, reducing operational complexity when actual certification and revocation events occur.
2Reliability
If certificate authorities are authorized to issue certificates for smart contracts, then certification reliability is improved, but the ability to revoke unauthorized or compromised certificates deteriorates due to distributed authorization
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by establishing revocation mechanisms and hierarchical relationships between certificate authorities before certification issues arise. Root CAs pre-configure their ability to revoke child CAs, and the system pre-establishes verification procedures, reducing operational complexity when actual certification and revocation events occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through the revocation mechanism where root certificate authorities can monitor and revoke child certificate authorities that issue unauthorized or compromised certificates. This feedback loop ensures that certification reliability is maintained by allowing centralized control to correct deviations from proper certification practices.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple root certificate authorities coexist in the system, then adaptability and versatility of the certification system are improved, but device complexity and difficulty of managing authorization increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the certificate authority function into hierarchical levels (root certificate authorities and child certificate authorities), allowing distributed certification while maintaining centralized control through the ability to revoke child CAs. This segmentation reduces operational complexity by distributing certification tasks while preserving security through hierarchical management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies universality by designing a standardized hierarchical framework that works across multiple root certificate authorities. Each root CA follows the same structure and rules for creating and revoking child CAs, allowing the system to scale to multiple authorities without increasing per-authority complexity.
4Measurement precision
If certificates are issued for smart contracts to verify deployed versions match audited versions, then measurement precision of contract verification is improved, but loss of time and productivity decrease due to additional verification steps
Solution Approach 1:
The certification process performs preliminary actions by issuing certificates that cryptographically bind the audited contract version to the deployed contract address before deployment occurs. This preliminary certification eliminates the need for complex post-deployment verification, reducing time loss while maintaining precise version verification through the certificate itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses cryptographic copying by creating certificate data structures that replicate the essential verification information (contract hash, address, auditor identity) in a compact, tamper-proof format. This cryptographic copy allows rapid verification without re-examining the entire audit process, reducing verification time while maintaining precision.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a method includes identifying first entities by a first root authority entity, authorizing one or more first entities to be certificate authorities by the first root authority entity, wherein each certificate authority is configured to audit a smart contract in a development environment before it is deployed on a first blockchain network and authorized to issue a certificate for each smart contract audited in the development environment based on a determination that the corresponding smart contract deployed on the first blockchain network matches the smart contract that was audited in the development environment, determining certificate authority authorization parameters are not satisfied for at least a first certificate authority, and revoking the certificate authority authorization for the first certificate authority by the first root authority entity, wherein each certificate issued by the first certificate authority prior to the revocation remains valid after the revocation.