Authenticity and Attestation

Assurance with DataTrails

A very simple yet powerful pattern for using DataTrails is the Authenticity pattern. This is a good choice when dealing with data or documents that need to be broadly proven. In a single action, files can be uploaded to DataTrails so their integrity, origin, and timestamps can be verified forever. Both private and public stakeholders relying on these files can verify that what they see on their screen is authentic and untampered.

Example: Evidential Documents and Photographs#

There are a great many documents that serve as evidence in formal discussions: pictures of a traffic accident; education diplomas; contracts; statements of account. DataTrails adds strong integrity to any document to allow easy verification.

Considerations#

Track Documents: Create a very simple Asset structure with minimal attributes to identify the document and store the key metadata, such as a hash of the document.

Collections: If the document is strongly related to another one, consider adding and tracking them all as Events against a single Asset record.

Versions: If the document is a new version of something already stored in DataTrails, then use Events to replace the document’s metadata with the updated version. Any authorized stakeholder fetching the Asset record will automatically get the most up-to-date version, and prior versions can be retrieved if necessary from the Event history.