Wrapped-up blockchain

• US 10,356,066 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2017
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Solutions Limited (Accenture PLC), Lumen Patent Firm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Solutions Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Ateniese, Giuseppe, Chiaramonte, Michael T., Treat, David, Magri, Bernardo, Venturi, Daniele
• Primary Examiner(s): Desrosiers, Evans
• Application Number:
  US15/726,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20180048469A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 380286
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0622 in relation to access
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/46 Secure multiparty computation, e.g. millionaire problem
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/062 for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0618 Block ciphers, i.e. encrypting groups of characters of a plain text message using fixed encryption transformation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0637 Modes of operation, e.g. cipher block chaining [CBC], electronic codebook [ECB] or Galois/counter mode [GCM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0643 Hash functions, e.g. MD5, SHA, HMAC or f9 MAC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0841 involving Diffie-Hellman or related key agreement protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/085 Secret sharing or secret splitting, e.g. threshold schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0894 Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/14 using a plurality of keys or algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3221 interactive zero-knowledge proofs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3226 using a predetermined code, e.g. password, passphrase or PIN network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using passwords in a packet data network H04L63/083
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3242 : involving keyed hash functions, e.g. message authentication codes [MACs], CBC-MAC or HMAC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/50 : using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees

Abstract

A system includes circuitry for wrapping up blockchains into blockchain loops. A blockchain may include a series of blocks extending from an initial block to a terminal block. The circuitry may wrap-up the blockchain by storing an integrity output coding-consistent with the terminal block within the initial block. In some cases, when the terminal block and initial block include end blocks for the blockchain, wrapping-up the series may form a closed-loop.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

for a blockchain comprising a series of blocks extending from an initial block to a terminal block, the initial block coding-consistent with an initial block integrity output stored within a subsequent block within the series;

after the initial block is secured by the initial block integrity output, determining content of the terminal block;

determining a terminal block integrity output coding-consistent with the content of the terminal block; and

wrapping-up the series by storing the terminal block integrity output within the initial block without introducing coding-inconsistence with the initial block integrity output.

2. The method of claim 1, where the terminal block and the subsequent block comprise the same block.

3. The method of claim 1, where storing the terminal block integrity output within the initial block without introducing coding-inconsistence with the initial block integrity output comprises:

performing a validity-preserving rewrite to the initial block.

4. The method of claim 3, where performing the validity-preserving rewrite to the initial block comprises:

performing the validity-preserving rewrite using a key secret for the blockchain, performing the validity-preserving rewrite on behalf of a trusted party for the blockchain, or both.

5. The method of claim 1, where:

the initial block and terminal block of the series comprise end blocks for the blockchain; and

wrapping-up the series comprises forming a closed-loop blockchain.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising storing a self-consistent record within the closed-loop blockchain.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, for the terminal block, determining data to comply with a consensus mechanism for the blockchain after the initial block is secured by the initial block integrity output.

8. The method of claim 1, where storing the terminal block integrity output within the initial block without introducing coding-inconsistence with the initial block integrity output comprises:

overwriting a null field within the initial block with the terminal block integrity output.

9. A system comprising:

a memory configured to;

store a blockchain comprising a series of blocks extending from an initial block to a terminal block, the initial block coding-consistent with an initial block integrity output stored within a subsequent block within the series; and

processing circuitry in data communication with the memory, the processing circuitry configured to;

determine a terminal block integrity output coding-consistent with the terminal block; and

after the initial block has been secured by the initial block integrity output, wrap-up the series by storing the terminal block integrity output within the initial block without introducing coding-inconsistence with the initial block integrity output by performing a validity-preserving rewrite to the initial block.

10. The system of claim 9, where the terminal block and the subsequent block comprise the same block.

11. The system of claim 9, where the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine content of the terminal block after the initial block is secured by the initial block integrity output.

12. The system of claim 9, where the processing circuitry is configured to:

perform the validity-preserving rewrite to the initial block by performing at least one from among;

the validity-preserving rewrite using a key secret for the blockchain, and

performing the validity-preserving rewrite on behalf of a trusted party for the blockchain.

13. The system of claim 9, where:

the initial block and terminal block of the series comprise end blocks for the blockchain; and

the processing circuitry is configured to wrap-up the series by forming a closed-loop blockchain.

14. The system of claim 13, where the processing circuitry is further configured to:

store a self-consistent record within the closed-loop blockchain.

15. The system of claim 9, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

for the terminal block, determine data to comply with a consensus mechanism for the blockchain after the initial block is secured by the initial block integrity output.

16. The system of claim 9, where the processing circuitry comprises rewrite circuitry configured to store the terminal block integrity output within the initial block without introducing coding-inconsistence with the initial block integrity output by overwriting a null field within the initial block with the terminal block integrity output.

17. A product comprising:

one or more machine-readable media other than a transitory signal; and

instructions stored on the one or more machine-readable media, the instructions configured to, when executed, cause a machine to;

for a blockchain comprising a series of blocks extending from an initial block to a terminal block, the initial block coding-consistent with an initial block integrity output stored within a subsequent block within the series;

determine content of the terminal block after the initial block is secured by the initial block integrity output;

determine a terminal block integrity output coding-consistent with the content of the terminal block; and

wrap-up the series by storing the terminal block integrity output within the initial block without introducing coding-inconsistence with the initial block integrity output.

18. The product of claim 17, where the instructions are configured to cause the machine to store the terminal block integrity output within the initial block without introducing coding-inconsistence with the initial block integrity output by performing a validity-preserving rewrite to the initial block.

19. The product of claim 18, where the instructions are configured to cause the machine to perform the validity-preserving rewrite to the initial block by:

performing the validity-preserving rewrite using a key secret for the blockchain, performing the validity-preserving rewrite on behalf of a trusted party for the blockchain, or both.

20. The product of claim 17, where:

the initial block and terminal block of the series comprise end blocks for the blockchain; and

the instructions are configured to cause the machine to wrap-up the series by forming a closed-loop blockchain.

21. The product of claim 20, where the instructions are further configured to cause the machine to store a self-consistent record within the closed-loop blockchain.

22. A method comprising:

accessing a blockchain within memory, the blockchain comprising;

an initial block;

a terminal block including an initial block integrity output configured to secure the initial block through coding-consistence with the initial block or via a chain of one or more interim blocks between the initial block and terminal block on the blockchain; and

wrapping-up the blockchain by storing, while maintaining coding-consistence with initial block integrity output, a terminal block integrity output within the initial block, the terminal block integrity output determined at the same time or subsequent to the initial block integrity output, the terminal block integrity output configured to secure the terminal block.

23. The method of claim 22, where wrapping-up the blockchain comprises performing a validity-preserving rewrite on the initial block.

24. The method of claim 23, where performing the validity-preserving rewrite on the initial block comprises:

performing the validity-preserving rewrite using a key secret for the blockchain, performing the validity-preserving rewrite on behalf of a trusted party for the blockchain, or both.

25. The method of claim 22, where wrapping-up the blockchain comprises generating a closed-loop blockchain.