Consensus-based voting for network member identification employing blockchain-based identity signature mechanisms

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11601256-B2
Application number	US-202017087428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2020
Priority date	Oct 2, 2018
Publication date	Mar 7, 2023
Grant date	Mar 7, 2023

Abstract

A communication method and a method for operating the communication network are disclosed. The method includes: obtaining a network identifier (NI) for a first member of the communication network, where the first member is un-validated and associated with a first user; obtaining a vote value regarding the first user from a second user of a second member in the communication network, where the second member is validated; generating a trust score for the NI based on the vote value; and validating the first member, in response to the trust score satisfying a trust score threshold, by inserting a first validated member identity hash block (MIHB) based on the NI into a master blockchain ledger for the communication network.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for operating a communication network, comprising:
validating a first member of the communication network by inserting a first validated member identity hash block (MIHB) based on a network identifier for the first member into a master blockchain ledger;
obtaining a revised network identifier for the first member;
generating a revision score for the revised network identifier, comprising counting a number of attributes of the first member that changed between the network identifier and the revised network identifier; and
in response to determining that the revision score satisfies a major revision threshold:
obtaining a first vote value regarding the revised network identifier;
generating a first trust score based on the first vote value; and
revalidating the first member, in response to the first trust score satisfying a trust score threshold, by inserting a second validated MIHB based on the revised network identifier into the master blockchain ledger.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing, in a relational ledger, a first un-validated MIHB comprising the network identifier;
generating the first validated MIHB based on the first un-validated MIHB;
storing, in the relational ledger, a second un-validated MIHB comprising the revised network identifier; and
generating the second validated MIHB based on the second un-validated MIHB.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the first vote value is associated with a communication session between a first user of the first member and a second user of a second member of the communication network,
the first vote value is obtained from the second user, and
generating the first trust score comprises assigning a weight to the first vote value based on the second user.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the weight is based on one or more of a distance between the first user and the second user, a voting frequency of the second user, a duration of the communication session, and how long the second user has been associated with the second member and how long the second member has been validated.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
generating a second trust score for a second member;
validating the second member, in response to the second trust score satisfying the trust score threshold, by inserting a third validated MIHB for the second member into the master blockchain ledger;
obtaining a second vote value for the second member after validating the second member;
updating the second trust score based on the second vote value; and
un-validating the second member, in response to the second trust score no longer satisfying the trust score threshold, by inserting a block into the master blockchain ledger indicating the second member is un-validated.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
transmitting a copy of the master blockchain ledger to a member node of the communication network after un-validating the second member, wherein the master blockchain ledger is located in a master node of the communication network; and
classifying, by the member node and based on the copy, a suspect user associated with the second member as a threat after un-validating the second member.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
extracting, an internet protocol (IP) address or MAC address of a computing device from a member block of a member blockchain ledger of the first member, and an identity attribute of the first member from a network packet sent by the computing device;
classifying the computing device as trusted in response to:
determining that the first member is validated based on the first validated MIHB in the master blockchain ledger comprising the identity attribute extracted from the network packet; and
determining that the member blockchain ledger comprises the IP address or MAC address of the computing device extracted from the network packet by traversing the member blockchain ledger; and
participating in a communication session with the computing device in response to the computing device being classified as trusted.

8. A system, comprising:
a memory; and
a computer processor, coupled to the memory, and configured to:
validate a first member of a communication network by inserting a first validated member identity hash block (MIHB) based on a network identifier for the first member into a master blockchain ledger;
obtain a revised network identifier for the first member;
generate a revision score for the revised network identifier, comprising counting a number of attributes of the first member that changed between the network identifier and the revised network identifier; and
in response to determining that the revision score satisfies a major revision threshold:
obtain a first vote value regarding the revised network identifier;
generate a first trust score based on the first vote value; and
revalidate the first member, in response to the first trust score satisfying a trust score threshold, by inserting a second validated MIHB based on the revised network identifier into the master blockchain ledger.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein:
the first vote value is associated with a communication session between a first user of the first member and a second user of a second member of the communication network,
the first vote value is obtained from the second user, and to generate the first trust score, the computer processor is configured to assign a weight to the first vote value based on the second user.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the weight is based on: a distance between the first user and the second user, a voting frequency of the second user, or a duration of the communication session.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the computer processor is further configured to:
generate a second trust score for a second member;
validate the second member, in response to the second trust score satisfying the trust score threshold, by inserting a third validated MIHB for the second member into the master blockchain ledger;
obtain a second vote value for the second member after validating the second member;
update the second trust score based on the second vote value; and
un-validate the second member, in response to the second trust score no longer satisfying the trust score threshold, by inserting a block into the master blockchain ledger indicating the second member is un-validated.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the computer processor is further configured to:
extract an internet protocol (IP) address or MAC address of a computing device from a member block of a member blockchain ledger of the first member, and an identity attribute of the first member from a network packet sent by the computing device;
determine that the first member is validated based on the first validated MIHB in the master blockchain ledger comprising the identity attribute extracted from the network packet;
determine that the member blockchain ledger comprises the IP address or MAC address of the computing device extracted from the network packet;
based on the determinations, classify the computing device as trusted; and
participate in a communication session with the computing device in response to the computing device being classified as trusted.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the computer processor is further configured to:
store in a relational ledger, a first un-validated MIHB comprising the network identifier;
generate the first validated MIHB based on the first un-validated MIHB;
store in the relational ledger, a second un-validated MIHB comprising the revised network identifier; and

Assignees

• Mutualink Inc

Inventors

• Mazzarella Joseph R

Classifications

• H04L63/08

  for authentication of entities (cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32) · CPC title

• H04L9/3239 Primary

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

• H04L9/3297 Primary

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

• G06F16/27

  Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor · CPC title

• H04L9/50

  using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees · CPC title