Chronos(+): An Accurate Blockchain-Based Time-Stamping Scheme for Cloud Storage

【Author】 Zhang, Yuan; Xu, Chunxiang; Cheng, Nan; Li, Hongwei; Yang, Haomiao; Shen, Xuemin (Sherman)

【Source】IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SERVICES COMPUTING

【影响因子】11.019

【Abstract】We propose Chronos(+), an accurate blockchain-based time-stamping scheme for outsourced data, where both the storage and time-stamping services are provided by cloud service providers. Specifically, Chronos(+) integrates a file into a transaction on a blockchain once the file is created, which guarantees the file's latest creation time to be the time when the block containing the transaction is appended to the blockchain. A sufficient number of consecutive blocks that are latest confirmed on the blockchain is embedded into the file at the creation time. These blocks serve as a time-dependent random seed to prove the earliest creation time, due to blockchains' chain quality property. Chronos(+) makes the file's timestamp corresponding to a time interval formed by the earliest and latest creation times which are derived from the heights of the corresponding blocks. Due to blockchains' chain growth property, such a height-derived timestamp can ensure that the time intervals' range is within a few minutes so as to guarantee the accuracy. We also point out potential threats towards outsourced time-sensitive files and present security analyses to prove that Chronos(+) is secure against these threats. Comprehensive performance evaluations demonstrate the efficiency and practicality of Chronos(+).

【Keywords】Time-stamping; blockchain; cloud storage; digital investigations

【发表时间】2020 MAR-APR

【收录时间】2022-01-02

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