Tree-Structured Content Graphs for Low-Latency Tamper Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing datastores face security vulnerabilities from internal attackers who can modify or exfiltrate confidential data, and traditional security measures impose high latency during read and write operations, especially in blockchain systems handling large files.
Innovation Solution
A system that segments records into multiple content nodes with cryptographic hash pointers and stores them in a verification graph, ensuring data integrity and reducing latency through concurrent retrieval and minimizing duplicative writes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is stored in traditional datastores with centralized security measures, then security against external attackers is provided, but internal attackers can still modify or exfiltrate confidential data with high latency detection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments confidential data into multiple segments and distributes them across a decentralized network of nodes. Each node stores only a portion of the data, and the segments are linked through cryptographic hash pointers forming a directed acyclic graph. This segmentation prevents any single internal attacker from accessing or modifying the complete confidential data, as they would need to compromise multiple nodes simultaneously. The segmentation also enables parallel verification of data integrity across nodes, reducing detection latency.
2Reliability
If blockchain systems store large files segment-by-segment, then data integrity is maintained, but read operations suffer from high latency due to serial retrieval
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a linear chain structure to a directed acyclic graph structure with multiple parallel paths. This dimensional change allows read operations to traverse multiple paths simultaneously to retrieve different data segments. The graph structure enables concurrent retrieval of segments from multiple nodes along different paths, dramatically reducing read operation latency while maintaining data integrity through cryptographic verification along each path.
3Productivity
If traditional datastores are used for storing records, then write operations are fast, but security against internal attackers who can modify records is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by segmenting data and distributing it across multiple nodes before any potential attack can occur. Each segment is stored with cryptographic hash pointers that link to other segments, creating a verifiable structure in advance. This preliminary distribution and verification setup enables fast write operations at individual nodes while ensuring that no single node holds complete control over the confidential data, thereby maintaining both productivity and reliability.
4Reliability
If decentralized graphs with cryptographic hash pointers are used to segment records, then security against internal attackers is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal data structure where cryptographic hash pointers serve multiple functions: they link data segments together, enable verification of data integrity, and provide a mechanism for detecting tampering. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate mechanisms into a single unified structure, reducing the effective complexity of implementing secure decentralized storage while maintaining strong protection against internal attackers.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a process including: receiving, with one or more processors, a first request to store a record from a computing entity; encoding, with one or more processors, the record in a first plurality of segments; arranging, with one or more processors, the first plurality of segments in respective content nodes of a first content graph, wherein at least some content nodes of the first content graph have two or more content edges of the first content graph pointing to two or more respective other content nodes of the first content graph; and storing, with one or more processors, the content nodes of the first content graph in a verification graph.