case study on hyperledger in blockchain

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Revolutionizing organizations worldwide.

Materials Traceability Leader Circulor Expands Hyperledger Fabric-Based Solution to Underpin Digital Battery Passports

材料トレーサビリティのリーダーである Circulorが、デジタル バッテリーパスポート を支えるHyperledger Fabricベースのソリュ ーションを拡張

ケーススタディTradeWaltzはどのようにHyperledger Fabricを活用し、国際貿易の未来をつくっているのか？

How Tradewaltz is using Hyperledger Fabric to Create the Future of Global Trade

ケース スタディ HYPERLEDGER FIREFLY ストーリー： KALEIDOがHYPERLEDGERコミュニティを活用して次世代ソリューションを開発

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How Walmart Canada Uses Blockchain to Solve Supply-Chain Challenges

• Kate Vitasek,
• John Bayliss,
• Loudon Owen,
• Neeraj Srivastava

The system has drastically reduced payment disputes with freight carriers.

Walmart Canada applied blockchain to solve a common logistics nightmare: payment disputes with its 70 third-party freight carriers. To solve the problem it built a blockchain network. The system has not only virtually eliminated the payments problem; it also has led to significant operational efficiencies. This article offers five lessons on how to create a blockchain network for improving business processes.

Walmart has long been known as a leader in supply chain management. However, its prowess could not insulate it from a problem plaguing the transportation industry for decades: vast data discrepancies in the invoice and payment process for freight carriers, which required costly reconciliation efforts and caused long payment delays. Then Walmart Canada pioneered a solution: It employed blockchain, a distributed-ledger technology, to create an automated system for managing invoices from and payments to its 70 third-party freight carriers.

• Kate Vitasek is a member of the graduate and executive education faculty of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s Haslam College of Business, where she leads the university’s research and courses on highly collaborative win-win “vested” strategic business relationships.
• JB John Bayliss is an executive vice president and the chief transformation officer at Walmart Canada.
• LO Loudon Owen is chief executive officer of DLT Labs, a next-generation data management software company specializing in supply chain management and financial services.
• NS Neeraj Srivastava is a founder and the chief technology officer of DLT Labs, a next-generation data management software company specializing in supply chain management and financial services.

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A Keyhole Case Study

In general terms, a blockchain is an immutable transaction ledger in a distributed network of participating peers. Its data includes a string of transaction records secured with cryptography. Benefits of blockchain can include decentralization, immutability, provenance, and finality.

While Bitcoin and Ethereum cryptocurrencies brought blockchain to the forefront of technology headlines, the technology underneath has true potential value for the enterprise outside of the cryptocurrency space. The features provided by blockchain technology can lead business benefits like lower costs, higher efficiency, and lower risk. Seeing a technology actually applied reinforces understanding. It can also be a genesis for new ideas.

In this case study, we walk through a Hyperledger Fabric reference blockchain with a focus on showing the potential value for enterprise-level organizations.

We assume that you, as the reader, have a fundamental understanding of blockchain technology. If you do not, here is a link to our white paper on the topic.

The potential cost savings of blockchain is one of the benefits not really discussed as a whole. However, we at Keyhole believe it could be a significant feature benefit. The goal of this case study is to help reinforce this.

Table Of Contents

Introducing hyperledger fabric, etl thought experiment, hyperledger fabric blockchain case study.

• Applying Distributed Blockchains with Hyperledger Fabric

Chaincode (i.e. Smart Contracts)

Installing and executing, integrating with a web application, other resources, [video] a timely & relevant blockchain use case: tracking covid-19 patient testing data, white paper: tracking lab results better with blockchain technology.

Use cases in the enterprise are very different than in the cryptocurrency world. One glaring difference is the need for the enterprise to know the participants of the blockchain, particularly when financial or governmental regulations must be followed. This is a key difference: public versus permissioned networks.

While many existing blockchain technologies have been adapted to fit enterprise use, there is a benefit to using a platform designed to be used by the enterprise.

Hyperledger is an umbrella project of open source blockchains and related tools with a number of frameworks for distributed ledgers underneath. It is a modular, pluggable blockchain framework supported by the Linux Foundation.

Hyperledger Fabric is the Hyperledger project used for our blockchain implementation. Hyperledger Fabric provides the infrastructure to implement “permissioned” blockchain networks with custom consensus mechanisms. The framework is written in Google's Go language and is highly configurable.

Fabric supports the idea of “Smart Contracts” by allowing programming modules, written in Go, Java, or JavaScript and is referred to as “chaincode.” Chaincode modules are installed and executed within blockchain transaction invocations, and is the mechanism for applying business rules and logic to the data that is stored in the blockchain.

Also in Hyperledger Fabric, multiple ledger “Channels” can be defined and managed, supporting a secure distributed environment for sharing data. For security, PKI Digital certificates and keys are required to access the network and query or create transactions.

The blockchain offers a way for groups to securely share common data transactions in a tamper-proof and secure manner. The true value is seen when used by groups like consortiums, associations, industries, and supply chains.

Here’s a thought experiment to consider: think of the ETL (Extract Transform, Load) processes that your organization has in place. Now, specifically focus on the processes that work to receive data and process it into the line of business systems with the end goal of providing a way to publish that data for others to consume (i.e. not cubing data for reporting or analytic purposes).

Then consider the resources required to build and support those ETL processes: software packages, data stores, batch processing mechanisms, and don’t leave out the human resources required to code/perform the processing. These activities are done differently among all parties and can result in the same data being copied repeatedly. Significant expense and energy are spent processing this data.

Applying Distributed Blockchain Technology with Hyperledger Fabric

With this ETL reference in mind, let’s apply distributed blockchain technology.

In a permissioned blockchain, a multitude of organizations and users participate in an authenticated manner. Hyperledger Fabric provides a MSP (Membership Service Provider) service to support this. Each organization that participates in the blockchain network is issued a digital certificate for access to the network.

Public/private keys are also generated for each organization and its users. These keys are used to digitally sign transactions, identify/authenticate themselves, and spin up a HyperLedger Peer on-domain address and port.

All user identities and addresses are known in a permissioned blockchain. This information is stored in the genesis block of the blockchain. Blockchains are appended for everything but this network meta-data stored in the genesis block.

When new nodes are added or removed, the Hyperledger network updates the genesis block located on all Peer Nodes. Peer Nodes can create Smart Contract transactions (“chaincode” in Hyperledger) that go through the consensus mechanism (“Orderer Nodes” in Hyperledger). If valid, all Peer Nodes are updated, confirmed, and a consensus is achieved.

Here is a diagram illustrating the participating nodes in a Hyperledger peer-to-peer network:

Each organization participating in the blockchain network will be a Peer or Endorsing Peer Node with the ability to create ledger transactions. However, Endorsing Peers have the authority to execute chaincode, which is a part of Hyperledger’s consensus mechanism.

Compared to the ETL scenario from earlier, what we end up with is a network of authenticated peers adding and consuming the same immutable data source. There is no data duplication or need for heavy processes to get and add new transactions to the chain. This is a read and add only data source - no updates or deletes . This allows a strong level of confidence in the data and allows code that is written to be hardened around that. Instead of an extract, transform and load process - you simply pull the data you need from the stack and consume it downstream.

Cryptocurrency: Proof of Work Consensus

Cryptocurrency frameworks tend to use a proof of work (PoW) type of consensus. In PoW, block miners compete for ownership of transactions in the network, forming a block with them, then sending them to all peers in the network for execution and validation of the blocks. The PoW-type consensus requires chaincode to be implemented in a deterministic language since the execution and results must always end up with the same result.

Hyperledger Consensus

Alternatively, the Hyperledger consensus mechanism is driven by the Orderer Service. The Orderer Service will gather transactions, then a subset of Endorsing Peers will execute the chaincode. If valid, they will order the transactions in a block and disseminate to the Peer Nodes, where the block will be validated and applied to the blockchain.

Hyperledger’s approach allows a non-deterministic language like Java, Go, or JavaScript to implement chaincode. It also scales better than a PoW consensus mechanism. It’s worth noting that Hyperledger’s consensus algorithm is pluggable, so a custom consensus mechanism can be used.

Chaincode is programming logic that is installed and executed on a Channel (ledger). Chaincode procedures accept parameters specified by the Peer Node/User that request a transaction be executed. (Yes, a stored procedure is an appropriate analogy.)

When chaincode is invoked in a transaction, it will read and write data from the world state database. By default this is CouchDB. This is not the blockchain datastore, its purpose is to hold the latest data values for key IDs in the blockchain. All the blocks in the chain are stored on the file system in blockchain format. Transactions store a read/write set of values of the chaincode invocation.

This is a super simple and brief overview, but the idea is powerful. All entities participating in the network will be able to read and write data transactions in “near” real time. It’s not real time due to the consensus mechanism taking time to bring the network into “consensus,” but it can be fairly quick. It’s certainly significantly quicker than running an ETL process at the end of the day or on some time interval.

Reference Blockchain Use Case Example

Potential blockchain use cases are far reaching across many industries and domains. We chose a case domain example that most people want positive management of, the flu.

Each year Influenza begins in the Southern Hemisphere and migrates around the world to the United States mutating along the way. The CDC makes educated guesses as to which strain will be the most virulent for which to create vaccines. When the flu season makes its way to the United States, the CDC and state-level agencies track its progress by medical practitioner reports and monitoring search engines for folks searching for the flu.

Imagine that a blockchain exists and the CDC, State Health and Human Services, medical practitioners, and testing labs are all participating as Peer Nodes in that blockchain.

Here is a diagram of the blockchain and an accessing React/Node client application:

This is the Hyperledger-based blockchain that we have implemented here at Keyhole Software.

Each participant starts up a Peer Node. Hyperledger provides a Docker-based container to start up a Peer. The Peer requires cryptographic keys, certificates, and for Hyperledger to provide a utility to generate these. A Certificate Authority is also required to authorize these certificates in the network, again this is provided by the framework.

Once started, a Channel can be created, which is a ledger. Then the Smart Contract (“chaincode” in Fabric speak) can be installed and instantiated on selected Peers that are designated as Endorsing Peers.

Chaincode is the application logic of blockchain and is implemented in Go. It’s a single module defined in a single file that is compiled into a binary. It is then installed on a Hyperledger Peer Node.

Go is a statically-typed, compiled language. Since Hyperledger Peers are implemented with Go, they have facilities to execute Go chaincode binaries. In addition, Hyperledger also supports JavaScript and Java-based chaincode modules which greatly increases the potential for developer and team adoption.

For our example, the Influenza chaincode function is defined in a Labs.go file. A Fabric stub interface provides an API to put and get data from the blockchain global data store.

The Go data model structure stored in the blockchain is shown below. Notice that Go has built-in JSON serialization capabilities.

The invoke function is the chaincode entry point when a transaction is invoked. Here is the invoke method implementation:

// Retrieve the requested Smart Contract function and arguments function, args := APIstub.GetFunctionAndParameters() // Route to the appropriate handler function to interact with the ledger appropriately if function == "initLedger" { return s.initLedger(APIstub) } else if function == "queryAllLabs" { return s.queryAllEntries(APIstub) } else if function == "queryStateResults" { return s.queryStateResults(APIstub, args[0]) } else if function == "createLab" { return s.createLab(APIstub, args) }

fmt.Println("args ", args)

The invoke function will call to an operation based upon the function name specified. Here’s the implementation of the queryAllLabs function.

startKey := "" endKey := ""

resultsIterator, err := APIstub.GetStateByRange(startKey, endKey) if err != nil { return shim.Error(err.Error()) } defer resultsIterator.Close()

// buffer is a JSON array containing QueryResults var buffer bytes.Buffer buffer.WriteString("[")

bArrayMemberAlreadyWritten := false for resultsIterator.HasNext() { queryResponse, err := resultsIterator.Next() if err != nil { return shim.Error(err.Error()) } // Add a comma before array members, suppress it for the first array member if bArrayMemberAlreadyWritten == true { buffer.WriteString(",") } buffer.WriteString("{\"Key\":") buffer.WriteString("\"") buffer.WriteString(queryResponse.Key) buffer.WriteString("\"")

buffer.WriteString(", \"Record\":") // Record is a JSON object, so we write as-is buffer.WriteString(string(queryResponse.Value)) buffer.WriteString("}") bArrayMemberAlreadyWritten = true } buffer.WriteString("]")

fmt.Printf("- queryAllLabs:\n%s\n", buffer.String())

This gives you a taste of the code we have in the labs.go implementation. If you’re interested in diving deeper, here’s a link to a full implementation: https://gist.github.com/dpitt/0f302400e93602587bb7a8bba97de081

Using the CLI, chaincode can be installed on a Peer Node channel. This operation will compile and build the labs.go module and then install it on the Peer Node.

Here is the CLI Peer command that performs this:

With the chaincode installed on the Peer, it can be instantiated on the blockchain’s Peer channel with the following CLI command:

An orderer and endorsement policy options are specified. Mechanics of this will be discussed in our next blog. But, for this blog, the chaincode is ready to be invoked.

Lab results are appended to the blockchain by issuing the following command using the Hyperledger CLI command shown below.

The createLab smart contract function is executed with arguments specifying an Influenza lab result test. This invokes a transaction that the blockchain network will process and all nodes will receive the new block.

Influenza lab results can be queried by invoking a query Smart Contract operation. This is also invoked using the CLI with the following expression:

Notice the queryAllLabs function is invoked with no arguments specified. This will return all influenza results in the blockchain. Another query function can be invoked to return labs for a specific state by invoking the queryStateResults and specifying the state abbreviation as an argument. Complex and Compound query expressions can also be specified.

With the Influenza blockchain being used by all parties, lab results will be distributed throughout the network applications. Blockchain users can interact and process this real-time data by creating client applications that access a Peer Node.

As an example of a client application, we use React for the user interface with Node.js as an API layer. Node.js uses the fabric-client.js module which allows access to a blockchain Peer.

A map of the U.S. displaying positive lab results can be rendered in a browser. This is depicted below:

Hyperledger provides a Node.js module that allows a client to access and invoke chaincode on a Peer Node as long as it has a valid digital certificate.

Here is a Node.js example that invokes the queryAllLabs Smart Contract to get results on behalf of the React.js user interface.

The expression above is defined in a Node.js server side application that is called from an API call will return all test results as an array of JSON objects.

Lab tests can also be created and added to the blockchain using the fabric-client.js client. The following snippet is executed when the React.js UI calls a Node.js API that then executes this expression.

The fabric-client.js node module provides an API to perform all the functions of the CLI (i.e. create a channel, install, and instantiate chaincode).

Case Study Summary

By presenting an actual blockchain implementation of an easy-to-understand domain, we hope that you see the potential distributed information sharing capabilities of this technology.

It is important to note that blockchains are not going to replace traditional data stores. Even though Peer Nodes are backed by a data store, the data originating in a blockchain needs to be global data type values that have meaning across a domain or group. Data such as customer IDs and overhead costs only have meaning within an organization. Transactional data that is shared among a group, consumption, or population of interested users is a candidate for living in a blockchain ledger.

If you want to implement your own proof-of-concept, or take a deeper dive into implementing a blockchain with Hyperledger, contact us at Keyhole Software. We have education and mentoring services that can assist your team in deploying blockchain technology.

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Hyperledger Foundation

The linux foundation builds the global foundation for open source enterprise blockchain technologies.

Blockchain technology powers distributed ledgers and smart contracts and gained initial prominence as the public networks behind cryptocurrencies. However, business applications of blockchains differ from what you’ll find in Bitcoin or Ethereum. Most enterprise blockchain applications are built on permissioned networks that link a group of stakeholders to streamline critical, often proprietary business processes and transactions.

All businesses participating in a commercial ecosystem need a ledger to record transactions. Any business network that records transactions—and does not want to depend on a central proxy that everyone must trust—can be remade through blockchain technology.

Blockchains and their underlying distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) can be used to record promises, trades, transactions, or any items we never want to disappear. Mirrored exactly across all nodes in a given network, the distributed ledger gives everyone in an ecosystem an identical copy of the common system of record.

When used as an enterprise software solution, blockchain enables trust where it did not exist and removes layers of inefficiency. And when built as open source software, blockchain serves as a common and open platform that enterprises can build collectively and use confidently as shared infrastructure for multiparty systems.

Opportunity

Delivering on the full promise of blockchain across industries and use cases requires openness, trust and common building blocks, all hallmarks of an open source, community development model. The economies of scale, transparency and shared infrastructure of a multi-vendor, multi-stakeholder approach has proven to be an optimal way to address enterprise scenarios with widely varied requirements for decentralization, trust, continuity, and confirmation times.

In 2015, the Linux Foundation recognized the importance of blockchain and set out to advance its development and deployment across many industries. It launched Hyperledger as a project seeded by 21 founding members.

Six years later, Hyperledger has become Hyperledger Foundation and is home to 18 projects, including six graduated ones, and more than 75 technologies under development in the Hyperledger Labs. There is a growing, global community with hundreds of members, thousands of lines of code contributions, and hundreds of thousands of library downloads. Today, more than 350 companies have participated in contributing code to Hyperledger’s projects.

Following the model of the Linux Foundation, Hyperledger Foundation provides a neutral, open community supported by technical and business governance. Hyperledger Foundation hosts a number of open source software projects that serve as the building blocks for enterprise blockchain deployments. These projects are conceived and built by the Hyperledger developer community as freely available, enterprise-grade software that vendors, end user organizations, service providers, start-ups, academics, and others can use to build and deploy blockchain networks and even commercial solutions.

The role of Hyperledger Foundation is to ensure the health and transparency of the community and all its projects, including managing the development cycle, software licensing, security audits, and provenance tracking for every line of code.   In short, Hyperledger Foundation provides the backbone of services that open source projects require to ensure community growth. This increases the willingness of enterprise software companies, start-ups, and independent developers to commit resources to open source projects.

In just a few years, the first wave of enterprises adopting Hyperledger technologies moved from early-stage testing to proofs of concept to production systems. These deployments confirmed that strategically developed and implemented blockchain delivers unprecedented gains in speed, security, and transparency. Now, Hyperledger technologies are being used in everything from powering global trade networks and supply chains to fighting counterfeit drugs, banking “unbanked” populations, and ensuring sustainable manufacturing. Already, more than half of the companies on the Forbes Blockchain 50, a list of companies that lead in employing distributed ledger technology, use Hyperledger-powered networks.

“Hyperledger’s prolific code projects include solutions that support the most secure, private, multi-party ledger networks as well as solutions that work with the largest public networks, and most of the space in between. Even in this new and emerging ecosystem, multiple recent surveys and reports have shown that Hyperledger has leading market share among major enterprises that are implementing DLT solutions.”

–   Robert Palatnick, Managing Director and Global Head of Technology Research and Innovation, DTCC

Like the internet, this space will take years to fully mature. But the race is on to put this technology to work. Concerns about public health, climate change, social justice, misinformation, privacy, and other issues are fueling the urgency for multiparty systems that increase trust, boost efficiency, and ensure authenticity. All of this is accelerating adoption of enterprise blockchain technologies. 

To drive widespread adoption of enterprise blockchain, Hyperledger Foundation must continue to fuel the development of both the technology and ecosystem of developers, service providers, and users. It is well positioned, as part of the larger Linux Foundation, to foster a growing, global community that is engaged and committed to advancing the development and deployment of its technologies.

Learn more about Hyperledger and the Hyperledger Foundation at https://www.hyperledger.org/  

Stay Connected with the Linux Foundation

In the first tenth of a second of a front-end crash, your bumper deforms. In the next instant, your hood crumples. Airbags explode open. Your seat belt stretches to slow your body down. In less than a second, you and the car have stopped moving forward. You snap back hard into your seat. It’s a violent, jarring moment.

It’s no wonder we expect stringent safety standards for our vehicles—we want to be as safe as possible in a crash. A front-end collision safety standard is just one of many that auto manufacturers must meet to sell a car to consumers.

These compliance standards affect more than the car as a whole. They affect each individual part. The headlights and their component parts. The passenger cage and its component parts. The radiator and its component parts. One regulation can affect hundreds of parts from dozens of suppliers, all at different levels of the supply chain.

Cars also meet more than safety standards. There are environmental regulations as well. Proving a single model meets all standards requires tracking thousands of pieces of information from many sources.

And that’s only for the regulations that exist today. More are coming, including standards for cybersecurity and vehicle and parts recycling. Automakers must keep up with ever-evolving standards to remain in compliance. Add in many car models across multiple countries, and you’re tracking millions of compliance documents.

Speedy archival

XCEED archives supply chain and compliance documents at up to 500 transactions per second

Humongous data

Average auto supply chain includes 30,000   parts per car from hundreds of suppliers

Until recently, the only way to keep track of the supply chain was through databases and paper trails. Keeping up with compliance documentation was an onerous, time-consuming task. Automakers and suppliers had little visibility into the layers of component compliance. They also had no way to share this information across the supply chain to regulators or consumers.

That all changed when Renault Group moved its supply chain documentation to blockchain—and invited the rest of the auto industry to join in.

Over the past few years, Renault has invested heavily in its digital transformation. One specific focus has been made on blockchain technology. Supply chains are an excellent use case for this technology, and the vast supply chain ecosystem of auto manufacturing is no different.

In 2018, Odile Panciatici, Vice President of Blockchain Projects at Renault, saw new European regulations on the horizon. These stricter regulations would come with shorter response timeframes. She knew using blockchain to manage the supply chain could provide real-time certification of compliance to partners, customers and regulators.

The distributed ledger technology makes it possible to share and track information across various users. Permissions control access and visibility, so each party maintains confidentiality of its data. And users and transactions are verified and preserved by the blockchain. This creates a network of trust between participants, even if they don’t know one another.

It also speeds up information sharing and creates greater efficiencies. Efficiencies that Panciatici wanted to share throughout the automotive industry—even among competitors.

“That’s the point of blockchain projects,” says Panciatici. “The value is not for one entity. The value is for each member of the ecosystem.”

Panciatici contacted IBM, which has a long-standing relationship with Renault. After a design session with Renault and other industry participants, IBM developed a solution using its IBM® Blockchain and Hyperledger Fabric . That solution became the basis of the eXtended Compliance End-to-End Distributed (XCEED) blockchain project. XCEED certifies compliance of all vehicle components, from design through production, to aftersales.

Renault tested the project at its Douai plant. XCEED archived over one million documents at 500 transactions per second.

After the pilot project proved its value, Renault and its partners selected IBM Blockchain Services as their technology partner to roll out the XCEED solution. As of April 2021, Renault, Faurecia, Simoldes, Knauf Industries and Coskunoz have launched on the project.

With XCEED, suppliers and automakers share compliance information across a trusted network. The sharing is automated and accurate. Participants no longer spend time processing compliance paperwork, allowing them to focus on other tasks. Data discrepancies, which used to take hours of research to resolve, are essentially eliminated now.

“Instead of spending time in linear exchanges—trading files, emails, calls—we have a direct common tool that everybody shares,” says Panciatici. “We have real-time exchanges, we have transparency, and we have increased reactivity, all of which benefit our customers.”

Customers have authentication that their car meets environmental and safety regulations. And regulators have transparent, up-to-date, accurate data on compliance.

Because of the collaborative nature of XCEED, many ideas come from various sectors. The roadmap for where XCEED will go has several planned destinations already. And as more companies and ideas join the project, Panciatici expects that roadmap to extend beyond current plans.

“What’s wonderful about XCEED is now that we’ve created the basis of the ecosystem, there are a lot of opportunities coming. We have years of enriching additional features to add, which gives even more value to the ecosystem.”

Panciatici would also like to onboard other industry participants as soon as possible. Creating a collective intelligence is necessary for the industry to thrive as technological innovations advance.

Mobility and connectedness are particularly big issues, as customers demand more connection and more personalization.

Increasing technology comes with significant investment, as does increasing personalization. Individual companies will have a hard time keeping up with these expenditures. Collaborative projects like XCEED allow companies to share investment and risk, satisfy customers, and remain profitable.

“Together we are more powerful. An innovative platform like XCEED helps us to be more reactive, robust and sustainable in compliance management” Panciatici says. “The future of industry will be collaborative and cooperative.”

Renault Group (link resides outside of ibm.com) is at the forefront of a mobility that is reinventing itself. Strengthened by its alliance with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, and its unique expertise in electrification, Renault Group comprises 5 complementary brands—Renault, Dacia, LADA, Alpine and Mobilize—offering sustainable and innovative mobility solutions to its customers. Established in more than 130 countries, the Group has sold 2.9 million vehicles in 2020. It employs more than 170,000 people who embody its Purpose every day, so that mobility brings people closer. Ready to pursue challenges both on the road and in competition, Renault Group is committed to an ambitious transformation that will generate value. This is centered on the development of new technologies and services, and a new range of even more competitive, balanced and electrified vehicles. In line with environmental challenges, the Group’s ambition is to achieve carbon neutrality in Europe by 2050. www.group.renault.com  (link resides outside of ibm.com)

To learn more about the IBM solutions featured in this story, please contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner.

Home Depot, their vendors and IBM Blockchain

Blockchain and sustainability through responsible sourcing

IBM Blockchain Services for Supply Chain solutions brief

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Leveraging Blockchain Technologies for Secure and Efficient Patient Data Management in Disaster Scenarios

• Conference paper
• First Online: 16 May 2024
• Cite this conference paper

• Muhammad Irfan Khalid 14 ,
• Mansoor Ahmed 15 ,
• Kainat Ansar 16 &
• Markus Helfert 15  

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 990))

Included in the following conference series:

• World Conference on Information Systems and Technologies

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This paper offers a proof-of-concept system for patient drug prescriptions, utilizing blockchain technology to minimize the sharing of patient data between hospitals and pharmacies. Ensuring security and privacy guarantees is crucial for adopting healthcare management systems, with specific data protection requirements mandated by regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This work emphasizes the drawbacks of traditional centralized electronic healthcare systems. To minimize data sharing while maintaining patient data confidentiality, we leverage the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain to establish private data channels and incorporate client identity query features. Our approach demonstrates effective monitoring, prevention, and management of potential disasters arising from centralized systems, which pose a single point of failure risk for servers housing sensitive patient data and can compromise the confidentiality of such data.

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Acknowledgments

This research was conducted with the financial support of Science Foundation Ireland under Grant Agreement Nos. [13/RC/2106_P2] and [20/SP/8955] at the ADAPT SFI Research Centre at Maynooth University. ADAPT, the SFI Research Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content Technology is funded by Science Foundation Ireland through the SFI Research Centres Programme.

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Muhammad Irfan Khalid

ADAPT Center, Innovation Value Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland

Mansoor Ahmed & Markus Helfert

Department of Computer Science, COMSATS University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Kainat Ansar

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Correspondence to Muhammad Irfan Khalid .

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Khalid, M.I., Ahmed, M., Ansar, K., Helfert, M. (2024). Leveraging Blockchain Technologies for Secure and Efficient Patient Data Management in Disaster Scenarios. In: Rocha, Á., Adeli, H., Dzemyda, G., Moreira, F., Poniszewska-Marańda, A. (eds) Good Practices and New Perspectives in Information Systems and Technologies. WorldCIST 2024. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 990. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60328-0_2

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Hyperledger Indy in Blockchain

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In order to provide self-sovereign identification, the Hyperledger foundation created the Hyperledger Indy blockchain network. This network was created specifically for decentralized digital identity management. The platform offers several reusable components that are used to build digital identities for entities, along with tools and libraries. Users can use these IDs in any other application because Hyperledger keeps them on its openly accessible distributed ledger. 

What is Hyperledger Indy?

Hyperledger Indy is an open-source, decentralized identity management platform for individuals and organizations to have complete control over their digital identities. It provides a secure and scalable infrastructure to manage and store decentralized identity information, enabling the creation of self-sovereign identities (SSI) that can be used across various applications and services. Indy uses blockchain technology and cryptographic algorithms to ensure the privacy and security of identity information. 

• The Hyperledger Indy blockchain is both public and permissioned. 
• In Indy, users must have permission to write information to the blockchain, but not to read information from it. 
• It should be emphasized that despite the fact that Indy is a public blockchain, not all user information is recorded there.
• Private information and private keys are not stored on the network.

Why Do You Need Hyperledger Indy?

• Centralized Identity Management Limitations: Currently, individuals and organizations rely on centralized identity management systems, which can be vulnerable to data breaches and lack of control over personal information.
• Lack of Privacy: Traditional identity management systems often collect and store vast amounts of personal data, putting individuals’ privacy at risk.
• Interoperability Issues: Different identity management systems often use different standards and protocols, leading to interoperability issues and difficulties in exchanging data between systems.
• Self-Sovereign Identity: With Indy, people, and organizations can manage their digital identities in a safe, decentralized manner, providing them more control over their privacy and personal data.
• Blockchain Technology: Indy leverages blockchain technology to create a secure and transparent identity management system that is tamper-proof and resistant to tampering.
• Increased Trust: Indy’s decentralized identity management system can increase trust between individuals and organizations, enabling secure and efficient transactions and data sharing.
• User-centric identity: This enables the user to control what information will be shared and it was also limited to the identity register that can revoke access anytime they want.
• No global identity: In centralized systems, there is no global record system so one has to submit the same documents every time one applies for any of the documents like PAN, driving license, etc. This can be very time-consuming and makes the process cumbersome.
• Lack of control: In centralized systems, users don’t have control over the system. The information will be used according to the authority’s needs. 

Hyperledger Indy Consensus Algorithms

Hyperledger Indy uses the Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus algorithm, specifically the Plenum consensus algorithm . BFT algorithms are designed to ensure consensus in a network even in the presence of unreliable or faulty nodes.

The Plenum consensus algorithm used by Indy is a modified version of the PBFT consensus algorithm, optimized for large-scale, decentralized networks. In the Plenum consensus algorithm-

•  A designated set of nodes, called Replicas, are responsible for processing transactions and maintaining the state of the ledger.
•  Transactions are validated by a quorum of Replicas, ensuring that consensus is reached even if some Replicas are unreliable or unavailable.
•  This provides high levels of reliability and fault tolerance, making it well-suited for large-scale identity management systems.

Features of Hyperledger Indy

• Decentralized Identity Management: With the aid of Indy, people, and organizations can independently and decentralized manage their digital identities.
• Privacy-Preserving: Indy uses cryptographic algorithms and blockchain technology to protect the privacy of identity information and ensure secure data sharing.
• Interoperability: Indy is designed to be interoperable with other blockchain networks and identity management systems, enabling seamless integration and data exchange.
• Scalability: Indy’s architecture is designed to scale to meet the demands of large-scale identity management systems.
• Modular: Indy provides a modular architecture, allowing developers to choose the components and tools that best meet their needs.
• Open-Source: Indy is an open-source platform, with a growing community of developers and users who contribute to its development and evolution.
• Zero-knowledge proofs: With the help of zero-knowledge proof one can disclose only the information needed without anything else to prove credentials.
• Peer-to-peer connection: In Hyperledger Indy, any communication would happen between two peers. 
• Identity correlation-resistant: Hyperledger Indy is identity correlation-resistant which means that there is no way for the platform to connect two IDs or have two similar identifications in the ledger.
• Self-sovereignty: Hyperledger Indy stores identities like cryptographic accumulators, public keys, proof of existence, etc on the distributed ledger.

Modular Architecture of Hyperledger Indy 

Hyperledger Indy has a modular architecture that is comprised of several key components, including:

1. Identity Wallet: A secure software application that allows individuals and organizations to manage their digital identities.

2. DID (Decentralized Identifier) Method: A protocol that enables the creation and management of decentralized identifiers (DIDs) that represent individuals and organizations on the network.

3. DID Resolver: A service that resolves DIDs and retrieves information about the associated identity from the network.

4. Verifiable Credentials: Digital representations of real-world credentials (e.g. degrees, licenses, etc.) that are verified and signed by a trusted source.

5. VC Issuer: An application or service that issues verifiable credentials.

6. VC Holder: An application or service that stores and uses verifiable credentials.

7. Ledger: A secure and tamper-proof database that stores identity information and transactions on the network.

8. Nodes: Nodes in Hyperledger Indy can be classified as full nodes, master nodes, and nodes. 

• Full nodes: The client that operates on the network and maintains a full copy of the ledger is a full node.
• Master nodes: These are responsible for decentralized governance.
• Nodes: A device that performs transactions on the blockchain is a node. 

9. Agent: Hyperledger Indy agents can come in many varieties. They can be quite simple and static and they can also be cloud-based and complex. 

10. State and Storage: The state of the Hyperledger Indy network is maintained by Patricia Trie. It is a combination of Merkle Tree and Radix Trie. The storage system is implemented with leveldb as it offers ordered mapping and implementation of value/ key database. 

These components work together to provide a secure and decentralized identity management platform that enables individuals and organizations to have complete control over their digital identities.

Application of Hyperledger Indy

Hyperledger Indy has a wide range of potential applications, including:

• Digital Identity: Indy provides a secure and decentralized infrastructure for individuals and organizations to manage their digital identities and store their personal information.
• Supply Chain: Indy can be used to verify the authenticity and origin of goods and products in supply chain management, increasing transparency and reducing fraud.
• Healthcare: Indy can be used to securely store and manage sensitive healthcare information, enabling secure data sharing and improving patient outcomes.
• Finance: Indy can be used to verify identities and manage sensitive financial information, improving security and reducing fraud in the financial sector.
• Government: Indy can be used to create a secure and decentralized national identity system, enabling secure and efficient government services and reducing fraud.
• Education: Indy can be used to verify and securely store educational credentials, enabling secure and efficient verification of educational qualifications.
• Real Estate: Indy can be used to verify identities and manage property transactions, improving security and reducing fraud in the real estate sector.

Benefits of Hyperledger Indy

Below are some of the benefits of Hyperledger Indy:

• Transparency: The information on the ledger is encrypted and visible to everyone.
• Control: Users in Hyperledger Indy will have full control over their identities.
• Existence: All the users in Hyperledger Indy will have full independent existence on the ledger.
• Protection: The platform will protect user rights all the time.
• Longevity: The user identities will stay on the ledger as long as the user wants. So, users can delete their identities if they want.
• Portability: Users have also an option to transport their identities to other devices.
• Minimization: Disclosure of any kind of documentation comes with heavy minimization.

Limitation of Hyperledger Indy

Hyperledger Indy has several limitations, including:

• Adoption: Hyperledger Indy is still a relatively new platform, and its adoption has been slow. The platform requires widespread adoption in order to realize its full potential and provide real-world benefits.
• Scalability: The current scalability of the platform is limited, and there is a need for further improvement in order to handle a large number of users and transactions.
• Complexity: The technical complexity of the platform may be a barrier for some users, making it difficult to integrate with existing systems and workflows.
• Interoperability: Hyperledger Indy is designed to work with other Hyperledger projects, but it may not be compatible with other blockchain platforms and technologies, leading to interoperability challenges.
• Regulation : The regulatory landscape for decentralized digital identity solutions is still evolving, and there may be limitations on the use of Hyperledger Indy in certain jurisdictions.

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