How useful it is to issue digital certificates on the blockchain?

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Blockchain technology is used in several ways in varied industries for offering high-security managing distribution systems and recording valuable information. Blockchain records all transactions without any verification from third parties. An evolving issue in recent years is - counterfeiting certification. It is posing serious threats to people. Issuing paper-based certificates manually is prone to errors and time- consuming. Day by day, the number of people's data is increasing, so deploying a system for both issuing and verifying digital certificates based on blockchain technology can solve issues of forged documents.

What is the current problem with document certification?

Many organisations and businesses need original documents for verification purposes before further processing. Some valuable documents like (birth certificates) exist only once. Parties involved in verification and issuing other certificates may experience hesitancy to handle these sensitive documents and that can result in damage or even loss. Many parties are unable to protect the valuable physical pieces of paper with this process. Another big problem comes from data theft. Many people have reported it. So the question comes: how can this issue be solved? Creating digital proof or digital certificates certified or signed by respective institutions or authorised organisations can be beneficial. With blockchain-based digital certificates, you can access and verify the digital asset's authenticity without depending on any intermediary or third party. Traditional data records like paper files deteriorate over time. storing records like digital certificates on the blockchain can help in safeguarding sensitive credentials from destruction & damage. Blockchain document security methods can help users seamlessly secure their sensitive documents.

What about blockchain solutions?

Blockchain technology has brought a revolution in storing and sharing data. The mechanism of cryptography helps in keeping information fully secured. Blockchain offers a digital ledger or decentralised database of data. Centred on computer networks that approve updates before data get recorded and verified. It lessens the reliance and vulnerability of centralised data storage. Instead of handling physical pieces of documents, issuing and storing digital certificates in blockchain can be advantageous to users. You can efficiently utilise the benefits of blockchain, like - authentication, encryption and decentralisation. Every certificate consists of references of both issuer and receiver with a hash (a sign of document), that is stored in the public database. It is identical in the number of computers throughout the globe. These digital certificates with blockchain technology have vital additional advantages over any other certificates.

How does blockchain make digital certificates work?

When a digital certificate is issued, data gets digitised. A digital identity gets assigned to every certificate. All of the digital certificates are tagged as well as traceable. Original documents are stored safely in the computer networks in the blockchain which are known as nodes. In totality, blockchain makes digital certificates highly transparent and secured. It also makes it easy to unfurl any fraud because this technology can expose any forged or outdated certificates.

Are these digital certificates tamper-proof?

Yes, the digital certificates are tamper-proof not by just signing but right after the beginning of the transaction. A signing algorithm produces a signature that is encrypted through a private key. The digital signature in these certificates can never be forged without having access to the private key of the user or members. With the help of document security QR codes, users can secure their valuable credentials.

What are the potential benefits of issuing digital certificates on the blockchain?

Blockchain has evolved to be beneficial for the financial industry. This technology is the most talked about and sought-after technology used in the world. There are innumerable benefits of issuing digital certificates on the blockchain. Some of them are here: a) Require fewer resources for issuance: Issuance and maintenance of digital certificates on the blockchain require a very less number of resources. As a result, the whole process saves time, effort and human capital. b) Digital certificates are conveyable: Contrary to physical certificates, the digital ones issued on the blockchain need not be carried around every place. Digital certificates are there to exist for a lifetime. These certificates can be easily accessed on any of your devices from any part of the world. c) Ideal as Identity proof: Digital certificates based on blockchain are the best substitution for the traditional proofs of paper identification. Digital certificates are issued on a highly secured framework of blockchain which is fully secured. These verifiable certificates can be easily traced all the way back to an issuer. This method makes the procedure transparent. You can use the blockchain document security method for securing and storing your valuable documents. d) Gives overall data security: Paper certificates can also take days and months to get issued and dispatched. Paper certificates can be altered without issuing the institute's knowledge and that is risky. Digital certificates issued on the blockchain can not be altered by any person. If someone tries to tamper with it, then verification will fail. This makes data in your digital certificates fully secured as well as traceable. e) No third party requirement: Blockchain verification of digital certificates can be performed by any person having access to the network. There is no need for any third party interference for verification. Digital certificates can be verified even if any organisation that issued them no longer exists. f) For micro-credentialing: Every data remains encrypted in the digital certificates issued on the blockchain. Organisations or businesses can issue "micro-credentialing" for recognizing, career skills, learning and so on. It can help both students and organisations. g) Comes at an affordable cost: Using blockchain is not expensive. With the help of the blockchain-powered platform, you can issue digital certificates for numerous services with ease. You may need no extra software or hardware and be done with an internet connection. So in nutshell, the unique features of blockchain technology make issuing digital certificates easy and tamper-proof. Blockchain technology simplifies and facilities the entire process of issuance of digital certificates. It also helps in the easy transfer of these certificates leading to the expansion of contents and information. We hope in the next few years, more and more organisations will come forward in embracing digital certificates issuance on the blockchain. A blockchain document security system can help you to secure sensitive credentials with ease.

Ensuring Safety for Documents and Certificates

Posted on June 7, 2022

The authentication of digital credentials needs both security and trust. But it is a world where evil players are hunting for ways to forge documents and certificates to take advantage of the current system.

Digital ledger technology (DLT) promises enhanced ways to secure and verify data. DLT can help curtail exposure to risks traditionally associated with document and certificate forgery. Talking about blockchain (a type of DLT) is no new term for people involved in banking, investments, or cryptocurrency. Blockchain is based on peer-to-peer (P2P) topology. It enables you to store data across the globe on different servers that allow everyone on the network to see everyone else’s input. It makes it challenging for any user to accomplish control of the network. Here are some points that will show how you can ensure safety for documents and certificates with a blockchain technology.

Smart Contracts

Store the digital information securely within the blockchain and share it with the appropriate parties in real-time. Through this process, you can confirm to avoid fraud. Beyond this, since the blockchain’s data is immutable, you don’t have to worry about tampering with documents and certificates.

Smart contracts can implement themselves upon the end of specific criteria. If you think of it as a ledger, you cannot go-ahead to the next transaction until the previous one has been finished. Once an action is not met, there would be no remuneration.

Keeps Important Documents Safe

Imagine a world where all your educational and confidential documents and certificates are in a ledger that nobody can tamper with. It will be highly secure, and all necessary parties can access it. It is precisely what Blockchain technology has the power to do. Once you have blockchain-secure documents for your educational institution or any other organization, you can ensure that your documents are safe.

Document & Certificates Integrity

Blockchain-based document and certificate protection ensure full document integrity by developing a hash of every single document version. The hash makes it impossible to change or manipulate the versions without leaving evidence. All hashes are on the private or public blockchain so that nobody can delete or manipulate them. For example, you can put a blockchain-based secure QR code on your certificates and documents, and one can access it by scanning the document security QR code. It will reveal the information only when the QR code matches the QR code on the blockchain network.

Origin & Authorship Security

Since every modification saves automatically as a new version with a fresh timestamp, it is convenient to follow the origin and authorship of a certificate or document. You would know who created, uploaded, downloaded, opened, or made any changes. Everything would be available and broken down by user, date, and time.

For example, a staff member tampers with unprotected documents associated with company policies. He changes a statement and threatens the company to sue them for not complying with a specific statement. Here, the company owns a version control on the blockchain that can legally prove that this staff member has changed the document. It will also give an exact date, time, user name, and relevant details.

The Bottom Line

A Blockchain network permits both internal and independent authentication of the integrity of the documents and certificates. Hence, practically removing document fraud that includes tampering with document contents. Use blockchain to ensure secure documents and certificates in your organization. For any assistance, you can talk to experts at ProofEasy.