PERSONAL LEDGER BLOCKCHAIN

• US 20170177898A1
• Filed: 12/16/2015
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: DILLENBERGER, Donna N.
• Granted Patent: US 10,013,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2379 Updates performed during online database operations; commit processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1011 to devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3236 using cryptographic hash functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/50 using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees

Abstract

A system, method, and computer readable storage medium configured for storing encrypted data in a blockchain. To write additional data in a blockchain, a request is received at a computing node. The request is typically cryptographically signed by a user system to include a new transaction with additional data in the blockchain. The additional data is previously encrypted with an encryption key. A new block that records the new transaction with additional data in the blockchain is added. To read the additional data in a blockchain, a request is received at a computing node with a transaction identifier and a decryption key from a user system to access data journaled as part of the blockchain in the transaction database. The transaction database is searched using the identifier. In response, to finding the corresponding block in the blockchain, the data is decrypted using the decryption key.

Claims

1. A computer-based method comprising:

accessing, by a processor, a transaction database shared by all computing nodes participating in a system based on a blockchain protocol, the transaction database including transactions and blocks, where the transactions are data to be stored in the blockchain and the blocks are records that confirm when and in what sequence certain transaction became journaled as part of the blockchain;

receiving a request signed by a user system to include a new transaction with additional data in the blockchain, where the additional data has been encrypted with an encryption key; and

adding a block that records the new transaction with additional data in the blockchain.

2. The computer-based method of claim 1, wherein the adding the block that records the new transaction with additional data in the blockchain includes a hash of a previous block.

3. The computer-based method of claim 2, wherein the adding the block that records the new transaction with additional data in the blockchain includes a timestamp.

4. The computer-based method of claim 2, wherein the adding the block that records the new transaction with additional data in the blockchain includes a transaction identifier.

5. The computer-based method of claim 1, wherein the encryption key is a symmetrical key.

6. The computer-based method of claim 1, wherein the encryption key is part of a public-private key pair.

7. The computer-based method of claim 1, wherein the additional data is divided into a plurality of sections and each of the sections is encrypted with its own unique encryption key.

8. The computer-based method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a category to the additional data and the encryption key is associate with the category.

9. The computer-based method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request with a transaction identifier and a decryption key from another user system to access the additional data;

searching the transaction database using the identifier for a corresponding block in the blockchain;

in response to finding the corresponding block in the blockchain, decrypting the additional data using the decryption key; and

making available the additional data that has been decrypted to the another user system.

10. A computer-based method comprising:

receiving a request with a transaction identifier and a decryption key from a user system to access data journaled as part of a blockchain in a transaction database shared by all computing nodes participating in a system based on a blockchain protocol, the transaction database including transactions and blocks, where the transactions are data to be stored in the blockchain and the blocks are records that confirm when and in what sequence certain transaction became journaled as part of the blockchain;

searching the transaction database using the identifier for a corresponding block in the blockchain;

in response to finding the corresponding block in the blockchain, decrypting the data using the decryption key; and

making available the data that has been decrypted to the user system.

11. The computer-based method of claim 10, wherein the decryption key is part of a public-private key pair.

12. The computer-based method of claim 10, wherein the data is divided into a plurality of sections and each of the sections is decrypted with its own unique decryption key.

13. The computer-based method of claim 10, wherein the making available the data that has been decrypted includes making available a category associated with the data.

14. A system comprising:

a memory;

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, where the processor is configured to perform

accessing, by a processor, a transaction database shared by all computing nodes participating in a system based on a blockchain protocol, the transaction database including transactions and blocks, where the transactions are data to be stored in the blockchain and the blocks are records that confirm when and in what sequence certain transaction became journaled as part of the blockchain;

receiving a request signed by a user system to include a new transaction with additional data in the blockchain, where the additional data has been encrypted with an encryption key; and

adding a block that records the new transaction with additional data in the blockchain.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the encryption key is part of a public-private key pair.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the additional data is divided into a plurality of sections and each of the sections is encrypted with its own unique encryption key.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to perform:

assigning a category to the additional data and the encryption key is associate with the category.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the processor is further configured to perform:

receiving a request with a transaction identifier and a decryption key from another user system to access the additional data;

searching the transaction database using the identifier for a corresponding block in the blockchain;

in response to finding the corresponding block in the blockchain, decrypting the additional data using the decryption key; and

making available the additional data that has been decrypted to the another user system.

19. (canceled)

20. (canceled)

21. A non-transitory computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code configured to perform:

accessing, by a processor, a transaction database shared by all computing nodes participating in a system based on a blockchain protocol, the transaction database including transactions and blocks, where the transactions are data to be stored in the blockchain and the blocks are records that confirm when and in what sequence certain transaction became journaled as part of the blockchain;

receiving a request signed by a user system to include a new transaction with additional data in the blockchain, where the additional data has been encrypted with an encryption key; and

adding a block that records the new transaction with additional data in the blockchain.

22. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 21, wherein the encryption key is part of a public-private key pair.