Understanding how Blockchain technology secures your credentials

When you think of Blockchain technology, the word ‘secure’ immediately comes to mind. But
even that term is quite the understatement. Indeed, the omnipresence of Blockchain technology
- you might have come across it during banking/bitcoin transactions, or even the transfer of
highly private data such as digital certificates, etc.- stems from the fact that it is an almost
inviolable way of conducting a digital transaction.

But how does it work? What are digital credentials and are they really safer than traditional
paper-based certifications? Well, let’s find out today how Blockchain is the go-to technology
when it comes to protecting and sharing invaluable data.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of it all, let’s do a quick brush-up on the basics shall we?

What is the Blockchain?

The Blockchain is a completely tamper-proof, decentralized digital ledger of economic

transactions. The cool thing about Blockchain is that it can record almost any type of digital
transaction. Moreover, all data that is written into the Blockchain record can’t be altered in the
future by anyone viewing the records, including the uploader. Therefore, whether you’re a
student, recruiter or training institute looking to join hands with Certif-ID, you can be assured of
the highest degree of transparency in all your endeavours.

What are digital credentials?

As the name would suggest, they are the digital representation of paper-based certifications.
These can include tamper-proof versions of degrees issued by institutes, proof of skill
certifications, testimonials, rewards for achievements, etc.

Did you know that academic certificate fraud costs employers

600 million dollars globally every year?
Since these records are uploaded onto the Blockchain -after a secure bitcoin transaction
between the issuing party and the receiver- they are inviolable, and also offer easy one-click
verification for potential recruiters. Of course, they are much easier to share than paper-based
certifications, and reduce the HR costs associated with issuing them, as well as verifying them.

How does Blockchain Technology secure digital credentials?

To begin with, let’s understand what the ‘Block’ in a Blockchain is. A ‘block’ is a ledger which
holds the data, and these blocks are linked together in a continuous network (chain).

Each block consists of three unique components.

1) The data (examples include bitcoin transaction details, digital certificates issued by training
institutes, or any type of data)

2) A hash (which is like the unique fingerprint of the block - used to validate and verify data)
3) The hash of the previous block.

But here is where the fun starts.

Whenever data is uploaded onto a block, it is mapped by a mathematical algorithm known as a

‘Cryptographic Hash Function (CHF) into a bit-string of fixed size, which is the ‘hash value’ of
the data.

This conversion into a bit-string is a one-off, irreversible process, and the hash acts like a
fingerprint of the data and the block. Also, since each block holds the hash value of the previous
block, the blocks are essentially linked in a chain.

There you have it! If a hacker attempts to change the contents of a block, it’s hash value is
changed, and so is the hash data of the previous block (and so on). Therefore, if one block is
manipulated, the entire network or chain is changed, and the administrator (such as the issuing
training institute) can shut down the chain.

But is this technology truly tamper-proof?

Just to give you a quick overview of how tough it would be to hack into a Blockchain, the most
widely accepted rule is:

For a change to be made to a Blockchain, at least 51% of the

participating nodes must verify it.
Note: A node is a computer participating in a Blockchain application.

Therefore, any hacker looking to make a change in a block must not only reverse engineer the
hashed block, but would also have to do this simultaneously across 51% of the copies of the
Block held on different nodes. This would require computing power that practically does not
even exist!

Moreover, any change made to a block, or the addition of a new block (example being issuing of
a new certificate) has to be validated by all nodes (users/administrators) in the blockchain
network. Thus, the various nodes can ‘validate’ the integrity of a blockchain transaction by
running the same CHF with the exact same data inputs, and confirming that the output (hash
values) match. This is known as ‘Blockchain Validation’.

How does Certif-ID use the power of Blockchain?

At Certif-ID, this is how it works. Firstly, the awarding bodies register on a Blockchain
technology powered platform - which is Certif-ID. Upon doing so, they receive a unique
blockchain wallet address, through which all their transactions are conducted. The student or
the recipient of the digital certificates receives a Blockchain wallet address as well.

Next, the issuer invites the recipient to receive blockchain credentials. Here, the awarding body
or institute can verify the identity of the candidate via previous transactional records. The
recipient accepts the request, and sends his/her unique wallet address to the issuer.

After that, the issuer ‘hashes’ the student’s credentials (which can include proof of training,
video testimonials, PDF certificates - or any form of credential data), and stores them on to a
block. Please note, that only the awarding body and/or the training institute have read and write
access rights here, and once credentials are uploaded onto a block, they cannot be manipulated
by any external party (students, recruites, etc.).

Next up, a bitcoin transaction occurs between the issuer and the recipient. From the input side,
this involves the credential data from the issuer, as well as the total bitcoin amount needed for
the transaction. This process will result in the generation of a public and private key for the
recipient, and the output (the credentials) are sent to the recipient's public key.

At Certif-ID, we aim to revolutionize the educational sector through the immense potential of
Blockchain Technology. We truly feel that it is the way forward to ensure 100% transparency
across all operations, including but not limited to issuing, validation, storage and sharing of
digital credentials.

Want to find out more about Certif-ID? You can always connect with us or even schedule a
demo right here.