Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data Storage
Context: The digitalization of the healthcare sector faces significant challenges due to the diverse representation of data and their distribution across various hospitals. Moreover, security is a key concern as healthcare-related data are subject to the legal obligations of GDPR and similar data pr...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Partners in Digital Health
2024-08-01
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| Series: | Blockchain in Healthcare Today |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com/index.php/journal/article/view/334 |
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| author | Biagio Boi Franco Cirillo Marco De Santis Christian Esposito |
| author_facet | Biagio Boi Franco Cirillo Marco De Santis Christian Esposito |
| author_sort | Biagio Boi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Context: The digitalization of the healthcare sector faces significant challenges due to the diverse representation of data and their distribution across various hospitals. Moreover, security is a key concern as healthcare-related data are subject to the legal obligations of GDPR and similar data protection legislations. Standardization efforts like HL7 have been implemented to enhance data interoperability. However, authentication still remains a critical issue, even significant challenges.
Aim: This research aims to improve and strengthen the authentication process by introducing a novel architecture for decentralized authentication. Additionally, it proposes a new approach to decentralized data management, which is crucial for handling sensitive medical data efficiently.
Methodology: The proposed architecture adopts a user-centric approach, utilizing Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). It introduced a new non-fungible token (NFT) type called Soulbound token (SBT) in the medical context, which will facilitate user authentication across different hospitals, effectively creating a federation of interconnected institutions.
Results: The implementation of the proposed architecture demonstrated a significant reduction in authentication time across multiple hospitals. The use of SBT ensured secure and seamless user authentication, enhancing overall system interoperability and data security. The decentralized approach also mitigated the risks associated with centralized authentication servers.
Conclusion: The study successfully presents a novel decentralized authentication architecture for the healthcare domain, leveraging SSI and SBTs. This approach not only accelerates the authentication process but also enhances data security and interoperability among hospitals. Future research should explore the scalability of this architecture and its application in other sectors requiring stringent data security measures. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-aeaf8ea75a90442baaff63f7859980f7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2573-8240 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-08-01 |
| publisher | Partners in Digital Health |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Blockchain in Healthcare Today |
| spelling | doaj-art-aeaf8ea75a90442baaff63f7859980f72025-08-20T02:20:58ZengPartners in Digital HealthBlockchain in Healthcare Today2573-82402024-08-017210.30953/bhty.v7.334439Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data StorageBiagio Boi0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3044-5345Franco Cirillo1https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9599-5996Marco De Santis2Christian Esposito3Dept. of Computer Science, University of Salerno, Fisciano, ItalyDept. of Computer Science, University of Salerno, Fisciano, ItalyDept. of Computer Science, University of Salerno, Fisciano, ItalyAssociate Professor, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy Context: The digitalization of the healthcare sector faces significant challenges due to the diverse representation of data and their distribution across various hospitals. Moreover, security is a key concern as healthcare-related data are subject to the legal obligations of GDPR and similar data protection legislations. Standardization efforts like HL7 have been implemented to enhance data interoperability. However, authentication still remains a critical issue, even significant challenges. Aim: This research aims to improve and strengthen the authentication process by introducing a novel architecture for decentralized authentication. Additionally, it proposes a new approach to decentralized data management, which is crucial for handling sensitive medical data efficiently. Methodology: The proposed architecture adopts a user-centric approach, utilizing Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI). It introduced a new non-fungible token (NFT) type called Soulbound token (SBT) in the medical context, which will facilitate user authentication across different hospitals, effectively creating a federation of interconnected institutions. Results: The implementation of the proposed architecture demonstrated a significant reduction in authentication time across multiple hospitals. The use of SBT ensured secure and seamless user authentication, enhancing overall system interoperability and data security. The decentralized approach also mitigated the risks associated with centralized authentication servers. Conclusion: The study successfully presents a novel decentralized authentication architecture for the healthcare domain, leveraging SSI and SBTs. This approach not only accelerates the authentication process but also enhances data security and interoperability among hospitals. Future research should explore the scalability of this architecture and its application in other sectors requiring stringent data security measures.https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com/index.php/journal/article/view/334authenticationhealthcaremedical recordself-sovereign identity (ssi)soulbound token (sbt) |
| spellingShingle | Biagio Boi Franco Cirillo Marco De Santis Christian Esposito Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data Storage Blockchain in Healthcare Today authentication healthcare medical record self-sovereign identity (ssi) soulbound token (sbt) |
| title | Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data Storage |
| title_full | Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data Storage |
| title_fullStr | Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data Storage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data Storage |
| title_short | Soulbound Tokens: Enabler for Privacy-Aware and Decentralized Authentication Mechanism in Medical Data Storage |
| title_sort | soulbound tokens enabler for privacy aware and decentralized authentication mechanism in medical data storage |
| topic | authentication healthcare medical record self-sovereign identity (ssi) soulbound token (sbt) |
| url | https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com/index.php/journal/article/view/334 |
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