Validating documents via blockchain

• US 10,419,225 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2017
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inveniam Capital Partners Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Factom, Inc. (Stewart Information Services Corporation)
• Inventors: Deery, Brian, Snow, Paul, Paolini-Subramanya, Mahesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Khoi V
• Application Number:
  US15/419,033
• Publication Number:
  US 20180219685A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/645 using a third party
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/50 using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees

Abstract

Authentication of electronic document is based on multiple digital signatures incorporated into a blockchain. Structured data, metadata, and instructions may be hashed to generate the multiple digital signatures for distribution via the blockchain. Any peer receiving the blockchain may then verify an authenticity of an electronic document based on any one or more of the multiple digital signatures incorporated into the blockchain.

Claims

1. A method of verifying an authenticity of an electronic document, the method comprising:

retrieving, by a hardware processor, a metadata representing the electronic document, the metadata formatted according to a format;

generating, by the hardware processor, a digital signature representing only the metadata in response to hashing only the metadata using an electronic representation of a hash function;

incorporating, by the hardware processor, the digital signature representing only the metadata in a blockchain;

distributing, by the hardware processor, the blockchain incorporating the digital signature representing only the metadata via the Internet to a peer device;

generating, by the hardware processor, a hash value representing a current version of the electronic document using the electronic representation of the hash function; and

comparing, by the hardware processor, the hash value representing the current version of the electronic document to the digital signature representing only the metadata to determine an authenticity of the current version of the electronic document data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the metadata formatted according to a schema.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a data version as the metadata and generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the data version.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a file hierarchy as the metadata and generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the file hierarchy.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving global positioning system information as the metadata and generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the global positioning system information.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a character count as the metadata and generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the character count.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a word count as the metadata and generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the word count.

8. A system, comprising:

a hardware processor; and

a memory device, the memory device storing instructions, the instructions when executed causing the hardware processor to perform operations, the operations comprising;

retrieving a metadata associated with an original version of an electronic document;

generating a digital signature representing only the metadata in response to hashing only the metadata using an electronic representation of a hash function;

incorporating the digital signature representing only the metadata in a blockchain;

distributing the blockchain incorporating the digital signature representing only the metadata via the Internet to a peer device;

retrieving the metadata associated with a current version of the electronic document;

generating a hash value representing only the metadata associated with the current version of the electronic document using the electronic representation of the hash function; and

comparing the hash value representing only the metadata associated with the current version of the electronic document to the digital signature representing only the metadata associated with the original version of the electronic document to determine an authenticity of the current version of the electronic document data.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving a date of creation as the metadata representing the electronic document.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the date of creation.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving a title as the metadata representing the electronic document.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the title.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving an abstract as the metadata representing the electronic document.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the abstract.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise retrieving a keyword as the metadata representing the electronic document.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise generating the digital signature in response to the hashing of the keyword.

17. A memory device storing instructions that when executed cause a hardware processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

retrieving an electronic data and a metadata representing an electronic document;

generating multiple digital signatures representing the electronic document, a first digital signature of the multiple digital signatures generated in response to hashing the electronic data using an electronic representation of a hash function, and a second digital signature of the multiple digital signatures representing only the metadata generated in response to separately hashing only the metadata using the electronic representation of the hash function;

incorporating the first digital signature and the second digital signature representing only the metadata in a blockchain;

distributing the blockchain incorporating the first digital signature and the second digital signature representing only the metadata via the Internet to a peer device;

generating hash values representing a current version associated with the electronic document using the electronic representation of the hash function; and

comparing the hash values representing the current version associated with the electronic document to the first digital signature and to the second digital signature to determine an authenticity of the electronic document data.

18. The memory device of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise generating a third digital signature of the multiple digital signatures in response to separately hashing only executable code contained within the electronic document.