Abstract:
Blockchain technology consists of a decentralized digital ledger of transactions
that provides an assurance of data immutability when properly implemented. The
promise and premise for transactional systems that incorporate blockchain is that they
are inherently more trustworthy than prior solutions. The attributes of security and
transactional transparency have contributed to the rapid integration of blockchain
across a broad spectrum of routine digital engagement with government, healthcare,
and commerce. The European Commission describes blockchain as the digital future
of Europe, and is currently implementing the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure
(EBSI) project, which will cover 27 countries and will include, among other
things, the management of educational credentials.
This thesis examines the potential applicability of blockchain in the context of formal
document authentication, using the field of education as the demonstration case.
The issuance and validation of academic documents such as diplomas, certificates,
and transcripts can be carried out on the basis of the blockchain, which would enable
reliable automation of the processes related to verification of document authenticity
in circumstances such as background checks, employment screenings, and compliance
with the Apostille Convention on the certification of international documents.
In this work I examine the recommended standards, including the W3C Verifiable
Credentials, W3C Decentralized Identifiers, EBSI Verifiable Credentials and the
possibility of using the peer-to-peer InterPlanetary File System (IPFS). I also examine
the methodologies for implementation, including mechanisms for verification
and revocation. On this basis, I designed and tested two implementations to demonstrate
proof-of-concept. The first is based on Blockcerts, which is a kind of turn-key
approach. It is more cost-efficient, allowing batch issuance of diplomas (up to 2000
diplomas in one transaction). The second uses Smart Contracts on the Ethereum
platform and more expensive, but more promising in terms of the volume of tasks
that can be solved on its basis. The results showed that both approaches can be successfully
applied for the needs of the university and implemented (both on a public
and private blockchain network). All technical notes on the use of Blockcerts, including Time and Cost tests and
deployment strategies of both approaches have been included in the Appendix, as a
model for potential deployment.