API request and response balancing and control on blockchain

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10469248-B2
Application number	US-201715785870-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 17, 2017
Priority date	Oct 17, 2017
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

A balancing and control (B&C) system for API transactions is disclosed. The system may write a request confirmation and a request acknowledgement to a blockchain in response to an API request being transmitted from a consumer system to a provider system, with the request confirmation and the request acknowledgement each comprising a request hash of the API request. The system may also write a response confirmation and a response acknowledgement to the blockchain in response to an API response being transmitted from the provider system to the consumer system, with the response confirmation and the response acknowledgement each comprising a response hash of the API response. The blockchain may execute a smart contract to compare the request hashes from the request confirmation and the request acknowledgement and the response hashes from the response confirmation and the response acknowledgement to identify one or more out-of-balance events.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
writing, by a computer-based balancing and control (B&C) system to a blockchain, an application programming interface (API) request confirmation in response to a service consumer system transmitting an API request to a service provider system, wherein the API request confirmation comprises a transaction ID, a service provider system address, a service consumer system address, and a first request hash of the API request;
writing, by the B&C system to the blockchain, an API request acknowledgement in response to the service provider system receiving the API request from the service consumer system, wherein the API request acknowledgement comprises the transaction ID, the service provider system address, the service consumer system address, and a second request hash of the API request;
writing, by the B&C system to the blockchain, an API response confirmation in response to the service provider system receiving the API request and transmitting an API response to the service consumer system, wherein the API response confirmation comprises the transaction ID, the service provider system address, the service consumer system address, and a first response hash of the API response;
writing, by the B&C system to the blockchain, an API response acknowledgement in response to the service consumer system receiving the API response from the service provider system, wherein the API response acknowledgement comprises the transaction ID, the service provider system address, the service consumer system address, and a second response hash of the API request, wherein the blockchain executes a smart contract to compare the first request hash of the API request to the second request hash of the API request to identify a request out-of-balance event, and the first response hash of the API response to the second response hash of the API response to identify a response out-of-balance event; and
reading, by a monitoring device of the B&C system and from the blockchain, at least one of the request out-of-balance event or the response out-of-balance event.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating, by the monitoring device, an out-of-balance alert in response to reading at least one of the request out-of-balance event or the response out-of-balance event.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the service consumer system address comprises a first public key corresponding to a first private key of a first asymmetric cryptography key pair, and wherein the service provider system address comprises a second public key corresponding to a second private key of a second asymmetric cryptography key pair.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising registering, by the B&C system to the blockchain, the service consumer system by assigning to the service consumer system the first public key and the first private key of the first asymmetric cryptography key pair, and the service provider system by assigning to the service provider system the second public key and the second private key of the second asymmetric cryptography key pair.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the API request confirmation comprises a first timestamp, the API request acknowledgement comprises a second timestamp, the API response confirmation comprises a third timestamp, and the API response acknowledgement comprises a fourth timestamp.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising identifying, by the monitoring device, a request timeout out-of-balance event in response to the second timestamp of the API request acknowledgement not being within a predetermined time window relative to the first timestamp of the API request confirmation.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising identifying, by the monitoring device, a response timeout out-of-balance event in response to the fourth timestamp of the API response acknowledgement not being within the predetermined time window relative to the third timestamp of the API response confirmation.

8. A computer-based system for balancing and control of message transfers, comprising:
a computer processor; and
a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the computer processor, the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the computer processor, cause a balancing and control (B&C) system to perform operations comprising:
writing, by the B&C system to a blockchain, an application programming interface (API) request confirmation in response to a service consumer system transmitting an API request to a service provider system, wherein the API request confirmation comprises a transaction ID, a service provider system address, a service consumer system address, and a first request hash of the API request;
writing, by the B&C system to the blockchain, an API request acknowledgement in response to the service provider system receiving the API request from the service consumer system, wherein the API request acknowledgement comprises the transaction ID, the service provider system address, the service consumer system address, and a second request hash of the API request;
writing, by the B&C system to the blockchain, an API response confirmation in response to the service provider system receiving the API request and transmitting an API response to the service consumer system, wherein the API response confirmation comprises the transaction ID, the service provider system address, the service consumer system address, and a first response hash of the API response;
writing, by the B&C system to the blockchain, an API response acknowledgement in response to the service consumer system receiving the API response from the service provider system, wherein the API response acknowledgement comprises the transaction ID, the service provider system address, the service consumer system address, and a second response hash of the API request, wherein the blockchain executes a smart contract to compare the first request hash of the API request to the second request hash of the API request to identify a request out-of-balance event, and the first response hash of the API response to the second response hash of the API response to identify a response out-of-balance event; and
reading, by a monitoring device of the B&C system and from the blockchain, at least one of the request out-of-balance event or the response out-of-balance event.

9. The computer-based system of claim 8 , further comprising generating, by the monitoring device, an out-of-balance alert in response to reading at least one of the request out-of-balance event or the response out-of-balance event.

10. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the service consumer system address comprises a first public key corresponding to a first private key of a first asymmetric cryptography key pair, and wherein the service provider system address comprises a second public key corresponding to a second private key of a second asymmetric cryptography key pair.

11. The computer-based system of claim 10 , further comprising registering, by the B&C system to the blockchain, the service consumer system by assigning to the service consumer system the first public key and the first private key of the first asymmetric cryptography key pair, and the service provider system by assigning to the service provider system the second public key and the second private key of the second asymmetric cryptography key pair.

12. The computer-based system of claim 8 , wherein the API request confirmation comprises a first timestamp, the API request acknowledgement comprises a second timestamp, the API response confirmation comprises a third timestamp, and the API respo

Assignees

• American Express Travel Related Services Co Inc
• Amrican Express Travel Related Services Company Inc

Inventors

• Chalakudi Shyamala
• Yin Ming

Classifications

• H04L9/3239

  involving non-keyed hash functions, e.g. modification detection codes [MDCs], MD5, SHA or RIPEMD · CPC title

• H04L63/0442

  wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply asymmetric encryption, i.e. different keys for encryption and decryption (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for public-key encryption H04L9/30) · CPC title

• H04L9/3236

  using cryptographic hash functions · CPC title

• H04L9/0618

  Block ciphers, i.e. encrypting groups of characters of a plain text message using fixed encryption transformation · CPC title

• H04L9/3297

  involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps · CPC title