IntroductionCorporate Accountability: A Bet-the-Business IssueThe Crisis of TrustProtect. Defend. Comply.Intellectual Property ProtectionLegal DefensibilityRegulatory ComplianceElectronic Record Integrity Is a Black and White IssueWhat Is AbsoluteProof?The Digital Notary System and Secure Hash FunctionsDigital Notary Process OverviewNotarizationValidationWidely Witnessed IntegrityTechnology DetailsHash Chain LinkingMerkle TreesNotary RecordsWeekly Hash PublicationChain ValidationValue of the Digital Notary SystemDigital Notary Server ArchitectureDigital Notary Server ComponentsNotary ServerValidation ServerCoordinating ServerAccount ServerPerformance, Scalability, Reliability, and SecurityIntegrating Digital NotaryConclusionsReferencesEnsuring Record Integrity with AbsoluteProofSM TECHNICAL WHITEPAPERA BSOLUTEP ROOF T ECHNICAL W HITEPAPER Table of Contents Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Corporate Accountability: A Bet-the-Business Issue..........................................................1 The Crisis of Trust...............................................................................................................1 Protect. Defend. Comply.....................................................................................................1 Intellectual Property Protection ..........................................................................................1 Legal Defensibility .............................................................................................................1 Regulatory Compliance ......................................................................................................2 Electronic Record Integrity Is a Black and White Issue......................................................2 What Is AbsoluteProof?............................................................................................3 The Digital Notary System and Secure Hash Functions .....................................................3 Digital Notary Process Overview........................................................................................4 Notarization ........................................................................................................................4 Validation ...........................................................................................................................5 Widely Witnessed Integrity ................................................................................................6 Technology Details..............................................................................................................7 Hash Chain Linking............................................................................................................7 Merkle Trees.......................................................................................................................7 Notary Records...................................................................................................................8 Weekly Hash Publication....................................................................................................9 Chain Validation.................................................................................................................9 Value of the Digital Notary System........................................................................10 Digital Notary Server Architecture.........................................................................11 Digital Notary Server Components...................................................................................11 Notary Server....................................................................................................................11 Validation Server..............................................................................................................12 Coordinating Server..........................................................................................................12 Account Server .................................................................................................................12 Performance, Scalability, Reliability, and Security...........................................................12 Integrating Digital Notary........................................................................................13 Conclusions.............................................................................................................14 References...............................................................................................................15 © 2003, SURETY, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.A BSOLUTEP ROOF T ECHNICAL W HITEPAPER Introduction Corporate Accountability: A Bet-the-Business Issue In recent months, virtually every industry has been affected by questionable corporate governance practices. Clearly, corporate accountability has become a “bet-the-business” issue, especially in light of the ease with which electronic records can be manipulated and trusted insiders can compromise the very data by which corporate governance is measured. Now more than ever, management teams must take aggressive measures to institute scrupulous record keeping and archiving processes. Such actions will pay enormous dividends in the event of a litigious claim or regulatory review. The Crisis of Trust Trust is a human—and therefore, imperfect—quality. In recent times, we have witnessed trust’s vulnerability inside the enterprise, with the likes of Enron, CSFB, Freddie Mac, and Global Crossing. Companies are under constant pressure to increase the bottom line, despite tough economic times; to innovate to stave off competition; and to comply with tough federal mandates. Now there’s a new challenge: to manage the explosion of electronic records and ensure their integrity for decades to come. A failure to respond to this challenge could result in lawsuits, fines, and declining shareholder value. The FBI reports that 80% of enterprise network intrusions occur inside a corporate firewall by trusted insiders. Potential violations of trust include tampering with email, backdating contracts, changing CAD drawings, compromising document management systems, and modifying clinical trial data and research findings. The proliferation of electronic records makes it incredibly easy to hide deception.
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