Blockchain-Based Quality Assurance System for Academic Programs

Abstract

Nowadays, technology is increasingly being adopted in different kinds of businesses to process, store, and share sensitive information in digital environments that include enormous numbers of users. However, this has also increased the likelihood of cyberattacks and misuse of information, potentially causing severe damage. One promising technology, which can provide the required security services with an improved level of efficiency, is blockchain. This research explores the use of Ethereum blockchain and smart contracts to create a secure and efficient quality assurance system (QAS) for academic programs. By utilizing blockchain and smart contracts, the proposed approach improves the integrity and reliability of sensitive information processed by the QAS, promotes transparency and governance, and reduces the time and effort required for quality operations. The current approach uses an additional access control layer to further enhance user privacy. Smart contracts automate various quality transactions and saves time and resources, and hence increases the efficiency of the QAS. The interplanetary file system (IPFS) is used to address the challenge of size limitations in blockchain. Additionally, this research investigates the use of various cryptographic schemes to provide robust security services at the application layer. The experimental results showed that the use of a hybrid cryptosystem relying on an Elliptic curve digital signature and AES encryption (AES_ECCDSA) outperforms other counterparts’ cryptosystems using an RSA digital signature and AES encryption (AES_RSADSA) and Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme (ECIES) in terms of speed. The performance results showed that AES_ECCDSA consumes 188 ms to perform the required cryptographic operations for a standard-quality document with a size of 8088 KB, compared to the 231 ms and 739 ms consumed by the AES_RSADSA and ECIES schemes, respectively. This study presents a prototype implementation of the blockchain-based QAS, which outlines the processing model and system requirements for key QAS processes. It has been found that the cost and time required for blockchain operations vary depending on the size of the input data—a larger data size requires more time and costs more to process. The results of the current study showed that the time delay for blockchain transactions ranges from 15 to 120 s, while the cost ranges from USD 50 to USD 400. This research provides evidence that blockchain and smart contract technologies have the potential to create a secure, efficient, and trustworthy QAS environment for academic programs.

Keywords

• blockchain
• smart contracts
• privacy
• security
• integrity
• trustworthiness