DeepOnion - The New DeepVault Feature Verifies File Integrity
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You might have experienced someone altering the signature or a small fraction of the pixels of your documents in the past. More often than not, we get to share important files in apprehension of this unfortunate fact. Sometimes, we are lucky to retain our files as they were originally sent; other times, it’s either a nefarious element has altered the details for selfish reasons or a notorious malware decides to do damage by corrupting the files. This is just a fraction of the challenges most people face regarding file sharing. Problems associated with alteration of file details can deal a devastating blow. This could be the result if legal documents such as contracts and wills are involved.
If you’re a frequent visitor to this page, you are probably aware of the amazing features of DeepOnion. Its huge potential as the cryptocurrency of the future which is already here comes with remarkable security features backed by the TOR anonymity network. DeepOnion is currently taking security to the next level with the new DeepVault feature which will make it possible for blockchain technology to be used as a verification tool for important files. In other words, Onion users will be able to determine whether or not a file has been modified using blockchain technology.
Basically, DeepVault is a file hash verification feature to be added to the DeepOnion wallet. It verifies hashes in the process of using an algorithm for verifying the integrity of a file. According to the Official Newsletter released by the development team, “DeepOnion allows members to store file validation credentials within the blockchain." While the DeepVault feature is upcoming and is believed to be currently undergoing internal testing, recent statements about DeepVault by the Development Team indicates its likely mode of operation. Therefore, based on this statement, its inevitable functionalities will be highlighted in this article. Here is how it works:
Once a document has been created, it can be registered on the DeepOnion blockchain via the wallet’s DeepVault feature. Upon submission, the file is theoretically hashed, encrypted and broken into chunks to be placed on several hard disks supported by the blockchain technology. Pointers to each chunk are kept by the API to ensure seamless file verification in future. DeepVault stores a file’s hash to a “sidechain” for future look up and verification. The generated hash is stored in the sidechain as a numeric-only hex number and once this is done, DeepVault generates a transaction hash for the user. This can be used to view both the hash and immutable timestamp of the created file.
Any form of modification to the hashed file will consequently change the generated hash. In other words, a hash different from the originally generated one is an indication of likely alterations to the contents of the document such as changes in font size or signature. Therefore, to verify the integrity of your document, you will have to re-compute its hash and compare with the hash value stored in the blockchain. Similar values will indicate that the document has not changed. A difference irrespective of how little it is, will indicate that a modification has been made.
With all these features, it is quite interesting that DeepVault does not tamper with the contents of a document i.e. DeepVault only stores hashes of files on the DeepOnion blockchain and not the files themselves. So, this only creates an avenue to verify whether a document has been tampered with or not using the hash value. Also, it is quite impossible for 2 documents to have the same hash as file hash values are generated with SHA-256 which is currently unknown for collisions.
This verification feature can also apply to files shared over the internet. Downloading of files from the internet presents no measure to ascertain the originality of the document or whether it has been corrupted by malware. DeepVault helps in checking for this as it could become a new standard for issuing and handling copyrights. Literally, with the express permission of the owner of a document shared over the internet, someone else can verify its authenticity. The owner will have to grant verification access by giving the DeepOnion wallet address for the file. The implication of this is that hashes of important and confidential documents can be placed in the DeepOnion blockchain and used in future to verify their originality without fear of someone tampering with the hash itself to cover up a nefarious activity. The fact that information stored on the blockchain are immutable makes this more interesting.
In a nutshell, to use this feature, you will need a DeepOnion wallet. Then you can upload a file and obtain its secret link. It is also likely that the anonymous nature of DeepOnion will in a way or two back this feature by ensuring hash uploads are untraceable. This is a speculation, although it is highly expected. Why You Need DeepVault In case you are still being skeptical about this new feature, here are some advantages that will point to why you need DeepVault:
- Saves Verification Time: We all know how important it is to verify the originality of documents especially when legality is involved. Several hours are often dedicated to establishing this. DeepVault allows adding of documents to a distributed database by which an immutable timestamp will be established alongside full confidentiality and integrity validation through blockchain technologies. Therefore, time spent trying to match labels and ransacking heaps of handwritten papers can be utilized for other productive ventures.
- Verification of Intellectual Properties: With advanced internet and technological features of computers, theft of intellectual properties has become easier. If you consider the hours of hard work it took for your project to reach completion, you will agree with me that a layer of security to assume full copyrights will not be a bad idea. This can spell the difference between mere wasted efforts and getting results for your efforts. In the event of a dispute, you can possibly lay claims with a proof of time and the contents of your hashed intellectual properties.
- Verification Access Control of Files: You are probably familiar with access control features offered by cloud storage services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. DeepVault will likely take a cue from this and stretch it a bit further. While DeepVault is not a file store but rather a hash store, DeepOnion wallet addresses will serve as access codes or tokens to be issued by the user to facilitate access to files for third party verification.
In conclusion, it is obvious that DeepOnion has a lot to offer in terms of security. The DeepVault feature is currently in the internal testing stage as stated earlier. When finally released, there are no doubts it will be taking the security industry by storm. The DeepOnion development team is passionate about making this happen in no distant time. The upcoming DeepVault feature will also go a long way to further establish DeepOnion’s position as the cryptocurrency of the future. To use this new feature, you might need to upgrade your DeepOnion wallet in case you are still using the old version.
Visit deeponion.org for more details.