A Decentralized Identity-Based Blockchain Solution for Privacy-Preserving Licensing of Individual-Controlled Data to Prevent Unauthorized Secondary Data Usage

This paper presents a design for a blockchain solution aimed at the prevention of unauthorized secondary use of data. This solution brings together advances from the fields of identity management, confidential computing, and advanced data usage control. In the area of identity management, the solution is aligned with emerging decentralized identity standards: decentralized identifiers (DIDs), DID communication and verifiable credentials (VCs). In respect to confidential computing, the Cheon-Kim-Kim-Song (CKKS) fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) scheme is incorporated with the system to protect the privacy of the individual’s data and prevent unauthorized secondary use when being shared with potential users. In the area of advanced data usage control, the solution leverages the PRIV-DRM solution architecture to derive a novel approach to licensing of data usage to prevent unauthorized secondary usage of data held by individuals. Specifically, our design covers necessary roles in the data-sharing ecosystem: the issuer of personal data, the individual holder of the personal data (i.e., the data subject), a trusted data storage manager, a trusted license distributor, and the data consumer. The proof-of-concept implementation utilizes the decentralized identity framework being developed by the Hyperledger Indy/Aries project. A genomic data licensing use case is evaluated, which shows the feasibility and scalability of the solution.