Leveraging the records management DNA in the Blockchain

March 3, 2018 | Records Management, Blockchain

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Premise:

Created by the person who it says it has been created and declared it as the record it is intended to be

Suggestions:

Validate the tools used to create the content initially before upload or transfer through the chain.
Ensure a secure login to the chain (with a private key validation per unique user)
Protect private key from unsolicited access and the secure login and usage of the tools used to create the record.
Ensure policy around ‘records systems’ includes usage of your blockchain system.
Establish procedures for staff usage of the system that will house official records.

Premise:

Content is complete and unaltered

Suggestions:

Prove through audit logs (i.e. the blockchain itself) that it wasn’t changed from its original date of creation and it wasn’t modified.
Establish procedures around the management and leveraging of the log as a source of transaction verification.

Premise:

The source or system can be trusted as a full and accurate representation of transactions.

Suggestions:

Establish procedures and training for users to shape ‘routine ways of working’ or a precedent of using the system as part of their daily course of business.
Build a couple years of history doing business in a predefined method to defend its reliability.
Ensure adequate system maintenance and support including day to day service requests, security validation and long-term business continuity procedures.

Premise:

The record can be located, retrieved, presented and interpreted

Suggestions:

Select blockchain technology that has a strong case for records lifecycle management, content storage and long-term preservation.
Validate your system against standards for records keeping systems (e.g. common standards like Dod 5015.2)
Establish a process to convert complete records to an industry best practice preservation format (e.g. PDF/a).