EP3803670A1

EP3803670A1 - A software application and a computer server for authenticating the identity of a digital content creator and the integrity of the creator's published content

Info

Publication number: EP3803670A1
Application number: EP19730283.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Nicolas KOZAKIEWICZ
Original assignee: Worldline SA
Current assignee: Worldline SA
Priority date: 2018-06-04
Filing date: 2019-06-03
Publication date: 2021-04-14
Also published as: FR3082023B1; WO2019233951A1; FR3082023A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a user software application for creating digital content and authenticating the digital content published in a computer network. The software application enables communication with a distributed database server in order to enable the content to be created and to make it possible to determine whether or not the creator exists on the server. To that end, the application is configured to: - create digital content for a creator which is authenticated and signed after creating or determining the existence of a user profile accepted by the server; - register the content on the server by transmitting a first message containing the content thereto, said content being associated with the first hash value and the first signature, and, moreover, publish online only the content of the creator recorded and authenticated by the server; - display to a third-party user the digital content published by the server including, in addition to the content, the hash and the identifier; - and verify the authentication of the published digital content, wherein the software application performs an authentication request by transmitting to the server a second message containing the published digital content, so that the server certifies a similarity comparison between the information from the second message and the stored information of the first message, and authenticate the published digital content.

Description

A software application and a computer server for authenticating the identity of a digital content creator and the integrity of the published creator's content.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of digital content management in a computer network, more generally to security measures for protecting information or exchanges of information on the computer network, for example by authenticating the integrity of the published digital contents. and / or by detecting falsifications made in the digital contents published on websites and / or any other method of digital or physical distribution.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a user software application interfacing with a computer server for recording digital content created by a creator and authenticating only the digital content published in a computer network by a third party user. The present invention also relates to a system for verifying and authenticating digital content published in a computer network conforming to the digital content initially created, in real time and secure, implementing the user software application using the computer server, to verify the authenticity of published digital content and / or to detect possible falsification of the digital content originally created and published by its creator on computer networks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A problem in the digital world concerns the reliability and veracity of information (or digital content or content or transaction) published on websites (or computer networks or online). Indeed, it is very easy to copy a given digital content (such as text, image, video, application, etc.), since it is only a succession of numbers (usually "zero" and of "one") which is duplicable to the identical and to infinity. In addition, a given digital content can also be easily modified, either to irreversibly damage the content by making the copy more difficult to repair, or to change the content itself to modify the original message or the author's idea ( or creator). These malicious acts are likely to easily infringe the copyrights of the person's original work or denigrate and damage the reputation or work of a person, an administration or a business. Thus, it is necessary to establish or restore confidence and certainty of digital content published online, ensuring readers that the published content is indeed consistent with the original source content of the author. It is known from the prior art, a centralized control organ attached to certain sites and media, which established a certification to guarantee content. However, this mode of protection is limited in view of the increasing number of people generating digital content and publishing (or by clicking on internet links or by rebroadcasting content) online especially on social networks ("tweeter", " facebook "," linkedin "," forum ", etc.), which exceeds the volume of conventional media. Another limitation is that many silos need to be created to validate content certifications, while nowadays digital content flows very quickly from one medium to another. Thus, it is necessary to expand the confidence and certainty of digital content published online more than that, to prevent in real time the dissemination of false content (or false news) or modified content.

He also known from the prior art a method and a system for detecting falsified contents on the websites, as for example described in document EP1139199. The method consists in producing a first hash value associated with a first information corresponding to the current file names or contents among the plurality of files, and then detecting the falsification by comparing the first hash value with a second hash value of a second piece of information corresponding to the file names or contents at the time of recording and saved in a magnetic disc player with an image marker. When the first hash value is different than the second hash value, a report is provided to the administrator system and a modified message or image marker is displayed on the site to inform users of the tampering of the contents. However, this detection system does not reliably certify digital content with a single hashed to encrypt the content, or authenticate a file content creator. Moreover, this system can not be adapted or set up to detect false contents in a distributed and decentralized system, such as for example from blockchain technology ("Blockchain" or "Ledger Distributed Technology"). ), or to trace the changes made to the contents.

It also known from the prior art a method and a system for facilitating the identification of segments of a video and audio stream originally captured with the modified segments in the edited final stream, as described for example in US9870508 . This system uses the public block chain network, that is, it maintains the records of all transactions / transfers on the peer-to-peer network. The transactions are time-stamped and grouped together, where each block is identified by its encrypted hash, and each block keeps records of all transactions on the network received since the creation of its previous block. Instead of storing information about all transactions in the block itself, a special data structure called the Merkle tree is used to store the transactions and only the hash of the root of the Merkle tree is stored in the block. This system applies a modulo function on the cryptographic hash values and calculates the remaining sequences. Recurring zero remainder values define meta-block boundaries and meta-blocks of hash values aligned between the original video and the edited video. A hash hash is calculated on the meta-blocks to produce so-called self-aligned meta-hashes for the original video and the edited video. Self-aligned meta-hashes are comparable and can be matched to determine if the edited video is an excerpt from the original video. Finally, self-aligned meta-hashes are stored and validated on a blockchain network via smart contracts to provide enduring assurance that the data has not been tampered with, in addition to providing traceability and capabilities. transparent audit. However, this system is limited to the detection of edited audio and video format content. It must make several hashes of the content to be able to auto-align the sequences and compare them with the original sequences to detect the modified sequences. Finally, this system uses a public blockchain technology that allows anyone to access and modify digital content, without providing any guarantee as to the reliability of the modified content or its traceability.

He also known from the prior art a system and method of authentication certificate accredited based on a chain of blocks, as for example described in WO2018008800. This system comprises: an accredited certificate authentication request server based on a blockchain which, in response to the request for authentication of a user terminal, transmits personal information, for issuing an accredited certificate ; an accredited certificate management server that makes a command to authenticate the user by determining, on the basis of the personal information for issuing an accredited certificate, the validity of an accredited certificate of the user by transmitting a public key for the trusted certificate of the user to the trusted certificate authentication request server. The system includes a hash processing command for the personal information of the certificate and to process as user identification information; and also a certificate management server hash string for information from Node certificate hash. When the hash information of the registration certificate corresponding to the hash value of the certificate node is not identical to the hash value information of the hash value as the hash information corresponding to a user's node certificate stored in the same node of the order of the controls, then this hash chain of the certificate management server issues an information forgery notification related to the public key certificate in a tamper verification request terminal consisting of a particular user. However, this system is used especially for public key certification in the context of "Bitcoin" type financial transactions. In addition, this system does not provide an authorized and validly registered identification of the user while ensuring the integrity of its digital content recorded by the user reliably.

He also known from the prior art a system and a method for authenticating forgery using blockchain technology, as for example described in US20160283920. The system is comprised of an intelligent user device that allows the user to identify themselves before acquiring digital content to apply a hash function and a blockchain network to verify and authenticate the digital content. Indeed, the user of the system makes a connection via a software application of his intelligent user device, he receives an approval of the logon and he then undertakes to acquire digital data from any source. The user then creates a hash file from the digital data and transmits the hash file to the system's blockchain network to receive a transaction confirmation and / or a system server identifier. To confirm at a later time the original file and it has not been altered, the user must then create a second hash file from digital data to then receive a second file hashed and timestamped by the system server . Finally, the user compares the hash files with each other to determine if they are identical or different. However, this system uses the blockchain for "Bitcoin" type financial transactions, so this system simply allows a user to create a session to acquire digital content and then ensure authenticity content. Thus, this system does not allow an authorized and validly registered identification to be able to deposit certified digital content using the blockchain technology. User authentication to further ensure the integrity of the digital content is therefore unreliable.

In this context, it is interesting to propose a solution that makes it possible to overcome certain disadvantages of the prior art by facilitating and improving the recording of digital content by an authorized creator and verifying the authenticity and integrity of the content. digital published in a computer network.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to overcome certain disadvantages of the prior art by proposing a new user software application to facilitate and ensure verification that a digital content published online is consistent with the digital content initially created by its creator, while securing and making reliable the recording of digital content by its creator, the authentication of the digital content creator and the integrity of the digital content published in the computer network. For this purpose, the present invention relates to a software application constituting at least one user application intended to be executed on at least one computer platform or a portable computing device for creating digital content and authenticating the digital content published in a computer network, the software application managing memories of which at least one memory of the computer hardware storing a unique pair of signature keys (CA) associated with each application loaded by a creator, this non-accessible key from the outside realizing a digital signature (S) of the content and the software application containing instructions that, when executed by a hardware processor, communicate with a distributed database server to enable the creation of the content and the determination of whether or not the creator exists on the server; the software application being characterized in that it is a succession of instruction sequences which, when it is executed on the computer platform or the computing device, makes it possible to perform at least one of the following functionalities:

- creation of a digital content by a creator, authenticated and signed after creation or existence of a user profile accepted by the server which authorizes by a message to the application; generating a first hash value (HA) from the content and a key and a first signature (SA) calculated on the content and then hashing;

the declaration of the digital content by the application by transmitting to the server a first message containing the content, associated with the first hash value (HA) and a first signature (SA), and secondly, for setting public provision by the server only, on the computer network of the content of the registered and authenticated creator, after verification by the server of the signature (SA) and the hash value (HA), receipt by the application of the creator of a specific identifier number (IDNc) generated by the server, for example in the form of a QRC code;

- viewing by a third party user from the software application on its digital platform or digital device, the digital content published by the server comprising in addition to the content the hash (HA) and the identifier (IDNP); verification of the authentication of the published digital content, in which the software application also comprises execution means configured to perform an authentication request, on the one hand, by generating a second hash value (H _P ) published content and comparing the similarity between the first (HA) and the second (Hp) hash values, and secondly, by transmitting to the server a second message containing at least the second identical hash value (H _P ). to the first (HA) hash, so that the server certifies the authentication of the published digital content.

According to another feature, the software application comprises execution means configured to perform calculations, on the one hand, of the first hash value (HA) when the digital content has been created and finalized by the creator, and on the other hand, the signature (SA) from the signature key pair (CA) of the software application memory, which is specific to the digital content and related to the user's software application and / or of the creator.

In another feature, the application includes execution means configured to create if necessary a creator profile not yet registered, by displaying an application for defining and assigning several specific information related to the creator to record and authenticate the creator of the digital content on the server.

According to another particularity, the profile creation is carried out either by instructions contained in the user software application, or by instructions from the server, after a contact with the server by a new creator of content without profile saved on the server.

In another feature, the software application includes means for the creator to indicate the completion or incompletion of creating digital content and allowing temporary non-public backup.

In another feature, the software application includes execution means for combining several specific information related to the creator to authenticate the creator of the digital content.

According to another particularity, the software application comprises execution means making it possible to chronologically organize the digital contents during the creation of said contents.

According to another particularity, the identifier number generated by the server and received by the application of the user includes at least one information on the filing date and the creator.

According to another particular feature, the specific information relating to the creator includes, depending on the degree of reliability sought, one or more confidential information such as name, address, work, leisure, photo ID, identity card or the fingerprint.

According to another particularity, the creation of a digital content is carried out by several creators, so as to obtain several signatures (SA) associated with each of said creators and a unique identifier number (IDNc) associated with the digital content created by said creators .

According to another particularity, the pair of signing keys (CA) comprises a private key and a public key that are generated simultaneously during the creation of the user profile, and saved securely in the application's memories.

In another feature, the second message further comprises the published digital content and / or the ID number (IDNp).

According to another particularity, the server includes specific algorithms allowing: identifying the first message saved in the server from the identifier number (IDNp) associated with the second message transmitted by the user software application;

comparing the similarity between the hash values (HA _; HP) to certify the integrity of the content and / or the identifier numbers (IDNA _; IDNp) to authenticate the digital content published on the computer network.

The present invention aims to overcome certain disadvantages of the prior art by proposing a new computer server to certify a digital content and its creator and verify the authenticity of the creator of digital content and integrity of digital content published in a computer network.

For this purpose, the present invention relates to a computer server comprising a program which when executed by a computer system allows at least one of the following actions:

- generate messages allowing a user to register ("user register" in English), to create content even if the user is not yet registered,

- save the content in its database only when the profile of the creator has been completed or is already stored,

- to create an identifier (IDC) specific to each creator; characterized in that it furthermore allows at least one of the following operations:

the registration of the creator and / or the content is carried out by a network of blocks of blocks for storing in a memory of a distributed database of the blockchain network, at least a first message comprising digital content created and declared, associated with a first hash value (HA) and a first signature (SA), from a user software application of a computer platform or a computer device according to one of the features of the present invention, interfacing with the server; - the generation by the server of a specific identifier number (IDNc) sent to the creator, after verification by the server of the signature (SA) and the hash value (HA), and secondly, the setting publicly available digital content created and declared on the computer network, only for a creator stored and authenticated on the server in combination with the hash and the identifier number:

- verifying the authenticity of the digital content made available to the public or published on the computer network, after having formulated an authentication request by the software application of a third party user from its digital platform or its digital device . In another feature, the distributed database server includes an algorithm for generating a timestamp of digital content created and declared; the timestamp and the identification number (IDN) resulting from an encryption, by a server-specific encryption key (Ce), of the digital content transmitted by the software application, are stored in the database in a format of "log" file distributed and immutable in one of the immutable blocks of the block chain.

According to another particularity, for each creator (a) registered, the server includes in its database a space specifically storing at least one hash key (Cha) and / or a signature key (Csa).

In another feature, the server includes algorithms for accessing the block (s) containing the digital content created and declared, the first hash value, the first signature and the number identifier, when a creator registers or identifies with the server by its specific identifier (IDC).

According to another particularity, the server comprises specific algorithms and at least one decryption key (Cs) specific to the server for decrypting the second encrypted message and a second hash value (Hp) associated with the second message of the published digital content.

According to another particularity, the server comprises specific algorithms allowing at least one of the following actions:

identifying the identifier number (IDNc) associated with the first message saved in the server from the identifier number (IDNp) associated with the second message transmitted by the user software application;

comparing the similarity between the hash values (HA _; HP) to guarantee the integrity of the published digital content and / or the identifier numbers (IDNc; IDNp) for authenticating the digital content published on the computer network.

According to another particularity, the server comprises algorithms for identifying and authenticating each content creator by at least one of the hash keys, a signature key and / or an identifier number specific to each registered creator, starting from the identifier (IDC) specific to each creator and stored in the database of the server and / or from the ID number (IDNp) associated with the digital content published for all third-party users.

According to another particularity, the technology of the blockchain network is of the "authorized", "private" and publicly accessible type, on the one hand, to allow only the validly identified and authenticated creator to create and declare digital content, and on the other hand, allow any third-party user to verify the authenticity of the digital content It is another object of the present invention to provide an optimized and reliable system for verifying authenticity and integrity that digital content published in a computer network conforms to the digital content originally created by its creator. This goal is achieved by a system for verifying and authenticating digital content published in a computer network conforming to the digital content initially created, the system comprising at least one computer platform or a computing device executing a user software application according to one of the particularities of the invention, communicating and using a computer server according to one of the features of the invention, to create digital content for a creator validly and previously authenticated and identified, and make it publicly available on the computer network and to authenticate each published digital content.

Other features and advantages of the present invention are detailed in the description which follows.

DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE FIGURES

Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly on reading the description below, made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1a and 1b show a system for verifying and authenticating a digital content published according to an embodiment, respectively, of a first part of the system in which a digital content is created and declared by an identified creator and publicly making said digital content, and a second part of the system in which the published content is authenticated by a third party user.

FIGS. 2a and 2b schematically represent a system for verifying and authenticating digital content published according to another embodiment, respectively, of a first part of the system in which digital content is created and declared by an identified creator and the public provision of said digital content, and a second part of the system in which the published content is authenticate by a third-party user.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF

THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the present application and they concern mainly three groups of objects:

a user software application (1 a, 1 b) enabling a user creator (a) to create digital content, so as to certify the origin and the originality of the digital content created;

a computer server (2) capable of communicating with a software application (1a, 1b), for certifying digital content created by an authenticated creator and verifying the authenticity of this digital content published online;

a system (10) using a user software application (1a, 1b) and a computer server (2) for verifying and authenticating that digital content published in a computer network conforms to the digital content initially created.

The present invention relates to a software application (1a, 1b) constituting at least one user application intended to be executed on at least one computer platform or a portable computing device for creating digital content and authenticating the digital content published in a computer network.

The software application is able to manage memories including at least one memory of the computer hardware (software application) memorizing a unique pair of signature keys (CA) associated with each application loaded by a creator, such as a "public" key Cpub and a "private" key Cpri and this "private" key is not accessible from the outside realizes a digital signature (S) of the content. The software application contains instructions that when executed by a hardware processor enable communication with a distributed database server to enable the creation of the content and the determination of existence or not (ie ie an absence or an anomaly of a user profile) of the creator on the server. The software application is a succession of instruction sequences which, when executed on the computer platform or the computer device, makes it possible to perform in addition at least one of the following functionalities:

- Creation of a digital content by a creator, authenticated and signed after creation or existence of a user profile accepted by the server that can author the creation of digital content (for example by an approval message) to the user software application;

generating a first hash value (HA) from the created content (for example using a key, preferably a hash key), and a first signature (SA) that can be calculated on the digital content created and the hash generated, then;

the declaration of the digital content by the application by transmitting to the server a first message containing the content, associated with the first hash value (HA) and a first signature (SA), and secondly, for setting public provision by the server only, on the computer network of the content of the registered and authenticated creator, after verification by the server of the signature (SA) and the hash value (HA), receipt by the application of the creator of a specific identifier number (IDNc) generated by the server (for example in the form of a QRC code which is two-dimensional barcode); - viewing by a third party user from the software application on its digital platform or digital device, the digital content published by the server comprising in addition to the digital content, a hash (Hp) and an identifier (IDNp); verification of the authentication of the published digital content, in which the software application also comprises execution means configured to perform an authentication request, on the one hand, by generating (or calculating) a second value of hashing (Hp) the published content and comparing the similarity between this second value (Hp) and the first hash value (HA) of the content created and stored in the application, and secondly by transmitting to the server (2 ) a second message containing at least the second hash value (Hp) identical to the first hash value (HA), so that the server certifies the authentication of the published digital content.

For example, the server performs a similarity comparison between the stored information of the first message (such as the first hash value HA and / or the IDNc identifier number) and the information from the second message (such as the second value of Hp hash and / or IDNp ID number and / or published digital content).

The declaration of digital content created by a signature (SA) and associated with a (unique and authentic) user profile avoids the reappropriation of a profile / user account and make reliable all digital content created and published from this profile declared. The use of a digital signature also has the advantage of requiring a creator to be "serious" (ie to create and publish only digital content with authentic and reliable information / data), in order to that the reputation or notoriety of the creator (name and image associated with the content it will publish) is not hindered. In some embodiments, the user's software application (e.g., the creator or author) includes execution means for:

- To prepare the signature of a digital content created by a "serious" creator, in which a first hash (or first condensate or first hash value or HA fingerprint) of the created content, is produced by a hash function of the application ;

then the application makes it possible to sign said hash from a private key Cpri of a pair of signature keys (CA) to obtain a signature (SA) of the content created;

- finally the created and signed content is prepared by placing the said content in clear and the signature and / or the hash in any container to be sent to the server by a non-secure or secure channel.

The signed content is published by the server to be received by an application of a computer platform or portable (or mobile) computer device of a third party user (or the creator user) to verify and validate the authenticity of the published content . For that, the application includes algorithms allowing:

producing a second hash (or second condensate or second hash value or Hp imprint) of the clear content and published using the hash function of the application,

then the signature is decrypted by the application with the public key C _pU b of the pair of signature keys,

- and finally comparison of the similarity between the deciphered signature and the calculated second chopping.

This embodiment describes (not only) an operation or a conventional method of signature by asymmetric encryption and a hash function. Other techniques, known to those skilled in the art, can be implemented by the application of the present application to achieve a digital signature on a digital content. In some embodiments, the final digital content (i.e., digital content declared and ready to be published on the internet) is anchored in an immutable and secure environment, for example, in a blockchain network or a secure server with a trusted third party that guarantees the immutability of the information.

In some embodiments, the server certifies the authentication of the published digital content by comparing the at least similarity between the hash values (HA; Hp) and / or the ID number (IDNp) of the published content and the number of the identifier (IDNc) of the created content. In some embodiments, the server may further compare the similarity between the created (original) content and the published content.

In some embodiments, the creation of a digital content is performed by several creators, so as to obtain several signatures (SA) associated with each of said creators and a unique identifier number (IDNc) associated with the digital content created by said creators. Indeed, several authors can participate in the creation of a digital content for which a signature is associated with each of the authors and a single identifier (IDN) is generated by the server which will be specific to the digital content created.

In certain embodiments, as represented for example in FIGS. 1a and 2a, the software application comprises execution means configured to perform calculations, on the one hand, of the first hash value (HA) when the digital content has been created and finalized by the creator, and on the other hand, the signature (SA) from the signature key pair (CA) of the software application's memory, which is specific to the digital content and related to the software application of the user and / or creator. Hashing the created digital content ensures the integrity of that content. Thus, any modification (voluntary or involuntary) of the content occurring after performing a hash function, changes the hash value initially assigned by the function. A comparison of similarity between the hash value initially assigned to the content and the value of hash assigned after content modification, can detect and verify any change in digital content and thus provides information on the integrity of digital content. The signature of the digital content created, being specific to the software application of the user and / or the creator, makes it possible to authenticate the identity of a content creator.

In some embodiments, the private key Cpri and the public key Cpub of the signature key pair (CA) are obtained simultaneously by the user profile of the application, in order to create a unique and specific link between the user name profile and the digital content created. Said keys can be saved in a secure manner (in particular for the private key that is not accessible from the outside, while the public key is shared with the server) in the memories of the application.

In some embodiments, the user creator of the application also has the possibility to save the pair of signature keys since it is generated by the application of the creator (and therefore by the creator himself). In this case, the creator takes responsibility for the backup (and secrecy or non-disclosure) of the private key, while the public key is shared with the server. The backup of the signature key pair at the expense of the creator can be performed by the application or by other means of backup known to those skilled in the art.

In some embodiments, the software application includes execution means configured to create if necessary a creator profile not yet registered, by displaying an application for defining and assigning several specific information related to the creator to record and authenticate the creator of the digital content on the server. Creating an unregistered profile (and stored in the server) allows a new content creator to register as an authenticated creator so that it can create digital content whose integrity can be verified, including by the system of the present application. For example, the creator registers and / or identifies himself through the application with an identifier (IDC) and a unique password and specific to the creator that can be stored in the server. In order to authenticate a content creator, the application offers the creator to fill out several creator-specific information. In some embodiments, the user software application includes execution means for combining a plurality of specific creator-related information to authenticate the creator of the digital content. For example as shown in Figure 2a, the application may include tests to ensure that several specific information related to the creator have been defined and assigned in the profile of each creator, in order to validly identify each creator. In some embodiments, the specific information related to the creator includes according to the degree of reliability referred one or more confidential information such as name, address, work, leisure, photo ID, identity card or the fingerprint. For example, in a non-limiting manner, the creator during the creation of his profile fulfills several identification parameters through application identification request windows (or boxes) that can be checked and authenticated, for example by reading. and comparing information from the creator's identity card, fingerprint recognition, facial recognition, or any other means and / or data to authenticate the creator's identity (which may be pre-registered in the server).

In some embodiments, the software application includes execution means for chronologically organizing the digital contents during the creation of said contents. Indeed, the server can take into account a notion of temporality associated with the digital content created (and / or the user profile) that can be saved in its information register (or database). This makes it possible to know, on the one hand, when a digital content has been created and published, and on the other hand, when said content could be modified to be able to check a write state with respect to a given moment (or a date and / or a time stamp).

In some embodiments, the identifier number (IDNp) generated by the server and received by the user's application includes at least one information on the filing date and the creator. Indeed, the generated and published identifier number being unique, it can make it possible to identify information associated with it, such as the date of deposit / publication (for example in a format "hhmmJJMMAAAA" in which "hh" corresponds at one o'clock, "mm" corresponds to one minute, "DD" corresponds to the day, "MM" corresponds to the month and "AA" corresponds to the year) and / or the creator (for example in the format in a format " AUTORNAME "or" NOMAUTEUR "), so as to obtain, for example, an identification in a format" xyzxyzhhmmJJMMAAAAxyzAUTORNAMExyzxyz ".

In some embodiments, the profiling is performed either by instructions contained in the user software application, or by instructions from the server, after a prior contact with the server by a new content creator without profile saved on the server.

In certain embodiments, as represented for example in FIG. 2a, the software application comprises means (for example through computer tests) enabling the creator to indicate the completion or incompleteness of the creation of the digital content. and allow a non-public temporary backup on the application's memories. In a non-limiting way, the addition of test allows the application to check and to know if the creator user has finished creating or not the digital content, before certifying and publishing it online. Thus, when the creator indicates on the application that its content is complete, the application can continue the execution of the other instruction sequences (including the calculation of the first hash value and the first signature of the content). In some embodiments, the second message transmitted by the application to the server contains at least one second hash value (Hp) and / or the published digital content, and / or the identifier number (IDNp). The third-party user software application is configured to calculate (and / or extract) the second hash value (Hp) associated with the published content. Then, the third-party user software application is configured to transmit to the server the second message comprising at least the second hash value and / or the published content, and / or the identifier number (IDNp) for the server to check and certify the server. authenticity of digital content published online. From said information of the second message, the server includes specific algorithms allowing at least one of the following actions:

identifying the first message saved in the server from the identifier number (IDNp) associated with the second message transmitted by the user software application; comparing the similarity between the hash values (HA _; HS) and / or the identifier numbers (IDNc _; IDNp) to authenticate the digital content published on the computer network.

In some embodiments, the computer server (2) comprises an algorithm for saving at least one hash table grouping the deposited and sorted hashes in ascending order, as well as updating said table. This data structure, called "hash table", is widely used in computer software to quickly search data. This hash table can be used to compare and verify published digital content without its sources. For example, a digital content comprising a text of fifteen lines is published by "AUTORNAME", then its content is taken from a site that does not give the sources. In this case, the application can cut one of the fifteen lines, then another hash of each line, and ask the server to identify said hashes and check the published digital content, while ignoring the published ID number of that line. content. For example and in a nonlimiting manner, the user software application (1 a) provides at least one browser menu "creation and declaration of authentic content" (example, Figure 1a) allowing one or more creative users (a) to achieve least one of the following features:

- create digital content;

- possibility to modify a digital content until complete finalization of the content;

- save digital content by creating a hash value and a specific signature of the software application used by a creator and / or specific to the creator himself;

- create or connect to a creative user profile to authenticate;

- declare a digital content hashed and signed from a creator user profile identified and stored (in the server);

- deposit a declared digital content (or the final digital content) with its hash value and its signature, immutably (or non-modifiable) in a distributed database server;

obtain a specific identifier number (IDNc) associated with the digital content declared by the server;

- public provision of digital content declared by the server.

Similarly, for example and without limitation, the user software application (1b) provides at least one browser menu "viewing and authentication of content" (example, Figure 2b) allowing one or more third-party users to achieve at least one of the following features:

- visualize digital content published in a computer network;

- request a verification of the authenticity of the published content;

- calculate a hash value corresponding to the published digital content to verify the originality of the content; - compare the similarity between the hash values;

- indicate published content that does not conform to the content created when the hash values differ;

- verify the authenticity of the creator of the published digital content (validated by the server, for example by comparing the similarity between the IDNc / IDNp ID numbers) to obtain a message of approval or corruption on the authenticity and the integrity of a published digital content.

In some embodiments, the computer platform is a website or a server. In some embodiments, the portable or mobile computing device is one or more mobile phone, computer, touch pad, etc. and capable of holding or connectable to at least one camera, a playback device, an input device and / or a scanner. The portable computing device may have an internet connection and at least one internet browser.

In some embodiments, information exchanges (e.g., digital content, instructions, notifications, updates, etc.) between the software application and the distributed database server are performed on either a secure and encrypted network or on a public network. When the server receives a message over an encrypted network, it includes additional decryption means for decrypting the encrypted message. While, when the server receives a message on a non-encrypted network, it is able to directly read the message to extract (without module or additional step).

The present invention also relates to a computer server (2) comprising a computer program which, when executed by a computer system, allows at least one of the following actions to be performed: generate messages enabling a user to register (or "logger" or "user register" in English), to create digital content even if the user is not yet registered,

- to create an identifier (IDC) specific to each creator (a). The server also allows at least one of the following:

the registration of the creator and / or the content is performed by a blockchain network (3) for storing in a memory of a distributed database of the blockchain network at least a first message comprising a digital content created and declared, associated with a first hash value (HA) and a first signature (SA), from a user software application (1 a, 1 b) of a computer platform or a device computer according to one of the features of the present invention, interfacing with the server;

- the generation by the server of a specific identifier number (IDNc) sent to the creator, after verification by the server of the signature (SA) and the hash value (HA), and secondly, the setting publicly available digital content created and declared on the computer network, only for a creator stored and authenticated on the server in combination with the hash and the identifier number:

- verifying the authenticity of the digital content made available to the public or published on the computer network, after having formulated an authentication request by the software application of a third party user from its digital platform or its digital device .

In some embodiments, the final digital content (i.e., digital content declared and ready to be published on the internet) is anchored in an immutable and secure environment. For example, said content may to be deposited in a chain of blocks network. In some embodiments, a network other than the blockchain network may be used, for example a secure server with a trusted third party that guarantees the immutability of the information. In the present invention, a block chain technology (or system or network or DLT or blockchain) is adapted to provide several advantages in terms of provenance, certification and traceability. .

Blockchain (3) is not a typical source system, but rather a distributed type of database (or registry) whose information sent by users and internal links to the database are checked and aggregated at intervals of regular time in blocks and thus forming a chain. This blockchain (3) is capable of storing information securely through cryptographic evidence without the need for a central (trusted) instance. The blockchain (3) therefore stores the information in block form, which is concatenated into a string and stored in a distributed manner. Each block has a reference to the previous block, which allows to cross the entire chain from the last block. Since new blocks can be added at the same time, "ramifications" can appear, and generate several last blocks. Only one string can be valid to guarantee a single last block, and is determined by a consensus protocol.

Each block includes several transactions, which are secured with asymmetric cryptography. Each new transaction can be validated by users or minors, which creates a chain of validated transactions. As proof of validity, the owner of a current transaction digitally signs a hash value of the new transaction. The hash value uses the current transaction and the cryptographic key of the owner of the new transaction as input. It's important to note that the block chain (3) is devoid of state. The transactions stored in a block are the only existing state.

The term "transaction" generally refers to all messages exchanged to ensure the consumption of a service. A transaction, as for the databases, is either executed in full (successful consumption of the service, with all the related message exchanges), or in failure (no consumption of service).

The term "hash" refers to the value returned by a hash function (or executable code). A hash function is any function that can be used to map data of arbitrary size to fixed size data. For example, as shown in the figures, "SHA-256" is a function among other functions that can produce a hash, but many algorithms can be used to produce a hash of starting digital data and / or digital content. .

An ideal cryptographic hash function has the following four properties:

• the hash value of a message is calculated "very fast";

• By definition, it is impossible for a given hash value to construct a message with this hash value.

• it is, by definition, impossible to modify a message without changing its hash value;

• it is, by definition, highly unlikely to find two different messages with the same hash value

An example of use is a data structure called "hash table", widely used in computer software to quickly search for data. Hash functions speed up the lookup in a table or database, for example by detecting duplicate records in a large file. Example: search for similar sections in DNA sequences. They are also useful for cryptography. A cryptographic hash function makes it easy to verify that some input data is mapped to a given hash value, but if the input data is unknown, it is deliberately difficult to reconstruct (or otherwise) it by knowing the hash value stored. This is used to guarantee the integrity of the transmitted data.

The creation of a block capable of storing transactions in the blockchain (3) may consist, for example (as in "Bitcoins"), of finding certain nonce values (random or pseudo-random number to be used a only once) so that the hash value for the transactions to be stored starts with a group of zeros.

This is also referred to as "mining" (Bitcoin); the miner is rewarded with bitcoins for his computation efforts. A new block, if checked by other explorers, is then added to the block chain (3), which serves as storage confirmation for the associated transactions.

By minor, we mean a person (and / or an autonomous computer module) that has at least a hardware and software architecture to implement the mining process above.

In some embodiments, the distributed database server (2) includes an algorithm for generating a timestamp (or "timestamp" in English), preferably without limitation of the "absolute" time or date of the creation of the content, digital content created and declared. Note that by the term "timestamp or timestamp", we define a chronological order of transactions and blocks between them. The timestamp and the identifier number (IDN), which can result from an encryption, by a server-specific encryption key (Ce), of the digital content transmitted by the software application, are stored in the database under a a distributed and immutable log file format in one of the immutable blocks of the blockchain.

In some embodiments, for each creator (a) validly registered through the user software application (1a, 1b), the server (2) comprises in its database a specifically storing space (for example, sus form table ) a hash key (Cha), a signature key (Csa) and / or an encryption key (Cca). In a nonlimiting manner, the hash key makes it possible to decrypt the hash value associated with the published digital content, the signature key makes it possible to calculate (and / or decrypt) the second signature value associated with the published content and the encryption key enables to encrypt (or encrypt) the digital content created and declared (for example: by a timestamp and an ID number). The server may further comprise a decryption key, when the received messages are encrypted. These keys are specific to each user application creator (and therefore the creator) and stored in the server base, so that the latter can execute in a secure and automated manner the instruction requests received by the user software application (creator or third party ).

In some embodiments, the server includes algorithms for identifying and authenticating each content creator by at least one of the hash keys, a signature key, and / or an identifier number specific to each registered creator, from the identifier (IDC) specific to each creator and stored in the database of the server and / or from the ID number (IDNp) associated with the digital content published for all third-party users. For example and without limitation, the server is configured to access the memory space storing the first hash value, the first signature value and / or the ID number (IDNc) of the digital content created from the profile. user of each creator (including the registration or authenticated identification of the creator by its specific identifier (IDC)) and / or the ID number (IDNp) transmitted by the third party (which is extracted from the second message of the published content).

In some embodiments, the server includes algorithms for accessing the block (s) containing the created and declared digital content of the network of the blockchain, the first hash value (HA), the first signature (SA) and ID Number (IDN), when a creator registers or identifies with the server by its specific IDC. Indeed, the server identifies and authenticates each creator by its specific identifier (IDC) (and its account opening password or creator profile), to allow transactions between the user software application of the creator and the server computer. This configuration makes it possible to control the certification of the identity of each creator of content and the origin of each digital content deposited on the server. Thus, the server accesses only the digital content of a creator identified and stored in the server.

In some embodiments, the server includes specific algorithms and at least one server specific decryption key (Cs) for decrypting the second encrypted message and the second hash value (Hs) associated with the published digital content. Thus, the server is configured to verify the authenticity and integrity of the published content from the hash values (HA _; Hs) and the ID number (IDNp).

In some embodiments, the server includes specific algorithms for:

compare the similarity between, on the one hand, the hash values (HA _, Hs) to guarantee the integrity of the published digital content, and / or the numbers identifier (IDNc _; IDNp) for authenticating digital content published on the computer network.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2b, and in a nonlimiting manner, the server is configured to search in its database for the stored identifier number (IDNc) similar to and / or corresponding to the identifier number (IDNp) received by the second message (whether or not containing the IDNc ID number). From the ID number (IDNc) in the database, which is specific to the digital content created and declared by a creator and therefore the first message, the server can identify the first hash value (HA) and the first signature (SA ) available in the server memories and associated with the ID number (IDNc) and thus the original digital content. After verification, the server notifies the third-party user application by two types of authentication notifications: either an approval that the published digital content complies with the digital content created and declared and therefore original, when the identifier numbers (INDc; IDNp ) and / or the hash values (HA _; HP) are similar to each other; a denial that the published digital content does not conform to the original digital content, when the identifier numbers (INDc; IDNp) and / or the hash values (HA _; Hs) are not similar to each other. (NK: I do not understand these two signatures ...)

In some embodiments, the server-specific algorithms allow, on the one hand, to validate the integrity of the published digital content when the hash values (HA _; Hp) are similar, and on the other hand, to validate the authenticity of the creator of the published digital content when the signature values (HA _; HP) are similar. In certain embodiments, as represented for example in FIG. 2b, the verification of the authentication by comparison of the hash values (HA _; HP) and / or the identification numbers (INDc; IDNp) can be carried out in the form of testing by one or more server algorithms. In some embodiments, the blockchain network technology is of the "authorized", "private" and publicly accessible type to, on the one hand, only allow the validly identified and authenticated creator to create and declare digital content, and on the other hand, allow any third-party user to verify the authenticity of the digital content. This configuration protects the falsification of the created digital content and / or the identity of the content creator. In some embodiments, the server may include a separate blockchain network, which authorizes and uses only by creator users to create their profile and digital contents, of a second blockchain network, which allows and is used by third-party users to check the published content online, but these two blockchain networks are interrelated.

In some embodiments, the validated repositories of digital content in blocks of the blockchain can be realized either by a distributed mining module to automate the validation of the recording of the source content by its creator in the chain. blocks of the platform, either by the content custodian itself. In the latter case, each custodian (or depository creator) is in charge of creating its own content and profile record and the block string verifies that the deposit format is correct, for example by assigning a new record identifier.

For example and without limitation, the computer server (2) performs at least one of the following operations:

- save and store a creative user profile in its database;

- authenticate a content creator;

storing digital content created (associating a hash and a signature) and declared by the authenticated creator in his database (for example, in a blockchain); memorize the different keys (hashing, signature, encryption, etc.) making it possible to encrypt and decrypt a code associated with the digital content;

identify the content created from an ID number associated with the published content;

verify the integrity of the published content;

compare the hash values of published content and created content;

verify the authenticity of the creator of the published content;

compare the signature values of the published content and the content created;

notify the third-party user of the conformity of the originality or not of the published content.

The present application also relates to a system (10) for verifying and authenticating digital content published in a computer network conforming to the digital content initially created, the system comprising at least one computer platform or a computing device executing a user software application. according to one of the embodiments of the invention, communicating and using a computer server according to one of the embodiments of the invention, to create digital content for a validly authenticated and identified creator, and make it publicly available on the network computer and to authenticate each published digital content. The system (10) of the present invention has the advantage that only "authenticated and declared" creator users (or authors) can benefit from a guarantee of controlled origin proof of the digital content, and its integrity. This system also has the advantage of effectively managing in real time the "e-Reputation" (or online reputation of a person (individual) or entity (brand)) of each content creator, by providing secure and reliable authentication of the identity of each content creator and by preventing the system (or blockchain network) from being polluted by falsified and erroneous contents.

It will be readily understood from the present application that the components of the present invention, as generally described and illustrated in the figures, can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the description of the present invention and the accompanying figures are not intended to limit the scope of the invention but merely represent selected embodiments.

Several functional units described in this description have been named "modules" in order to emphasize their independence of execution. For example, a module may be implemented by electronic circuit, such as an integrated circuit for example or by other types of arrangement of components, such as for example semiconductors, logic gates, transistors or other discrete components. Such modules can also be implemented by one or more software application (s) or executable code portion (s) within at least one software environment, for execution by various types of software. processors and this, whatever the language used. An identified module may, for example, include one or more physical or logical blocks of machine instructions that may, for example, be organized into an object, process, or function. In addition, the routines and instructions of an identified module do not need to be physically located together, but may include disparate instructions stored in different locations that, when functionally and logically joined together, form the module and perform the task. purpose indicated for the module.

Indeed, a module may be a simple executable code instruction, or a plurality of instructions, and may even be distributed among several different code segments or among different programs and stored in several memory blocks. Similarly, operational data can be identified and illustrated in modules, and can be incorporated into any suitable form and organized into any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected or may be spread over different locations including different finished storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, simply as electronic signals on a system or network. In addition, by the term system means here any type of terminal or device arranged to perform the functions described with reference to the modules. The system comprises data processing means for performing these functions described and may therefore include specific circuits performing these functions or generally comprise computer resources for performing the instructions described above.

The references in the present description to an implementation, a mode or an alternative embodiment means that a device, or a module, or a structure, or a particular feature described is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and that the different examples do not necessarily relate to the same embodiment.

In addition, the disclosed devices, structures, or features may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments, unless they are incompatible with one another. In the present description, many specific details are provided for illustrative and not limiting, so as to detail precisely the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand, however, that the invention may be realized in the absence of one or more of these specific details or with variations. On other occasions, certain aspects are not detailed so as to avoid obscuring and weighing down the present description, and the person skilled in the art will understand that various and various means may be used and that the invention is not limited. to the only examples described. The present application describes various technical features and advantages with reference to the figures and / or various embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical features of a given embodiment may in fact be combined with features of another embodiment unless the reverse is explicitly mentioned or it is evident that these characteristics are incompatible or that the combination does not provide a solution to at least one of the technical problems mentioned in this application. In addition, the technical features described in a given embodiment can be isolated from the other features of this mode unless the opposite is explicitly mentioned.

It should be obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention allows embodiments in many other specific forms without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Therefore, the present embodiments should be considered by way of illustration, but may be modified in the field defined by the requested protection, and the invention should not be limited to the details given above.

Claims

A software application constituting at least one user application intended to be executed on at least one computer platform or a portable computing device to create digital content and to authenticate the digital content published in a computer network, the software application managing memories of which least a computer hardware memory storing a unique pair of signature keys (CA) associated with each application loaded by a creator, this key not accessible from the outside realizing a digital signature (S) of the content and the software application containing instructions that, when executed by a hardware processor, communicate with a distributed database server to enable the creation of the content and the determination of whether or not the creator exists on the server; the software application being characterized in that it is a succession of instruction sequences which, when it is executed on the computer platform or the computing device, makes it possible to carry out in addition the following functionalities:

generating a first hash value (HA) from the content and a key and a first signature (SA) calculated on the content and then hashing;

the declaration of the digital content by the application by transmitting to the server a first message containing the content, associated with the first hash value (HA) and the first signature (SA), and in that it also makes it possible to perform at least one of the following features:

- creation of a digital content by a creator, authenticated and signed after creation or existence of a user profile accepted by the server which authorizes by a message to the application; - for public provision by the server only, on the computer network of the content of the registered and authenticated creator, after verification by the server of the signature (SA) and the hash value (HA), reception by the application the creator of a specific identifier number (IDN) generated by the server, for example in the form of a QRC code;

- viewing by a third party user from the software application on its digital platform or digital device, the digital content published by the server including in addition to the content the hash and the identifier; verification of the authentication of the published digital content, in which the software application also comprises execution means configured to perform an authentication request, on the one hand, by generating a second hash value (Hp) of the published content and comparing the similarity between the first (HA) and the second (Hp) hash values, and secondly, by transmitting to the server a second message containing at least the second hash value (Hp) identical to the first hash value (HA), so that the server certifies the authentication of the published digital content.

2. Software application according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises execution means configured to perform calculations, on the one hand, of the first hash value (HA) when the digital content has been created and finalized by the creator, and on the other hand, the signature (SA) from the signature key pair (CA) of the software application's memory, which is specific to the digital content and linked to the software application of the user and / or the creator.

3. Software application according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises execution means configured to create if necessary a creator profile not yet registered, displaying an application to define and assign several specific information related to the creator to register and authenticate the creator of the digital content on the server.

4. Software application according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the software application comprises execution means for organizing in a chronological manner the digital contents during the creation of said contents.

5. Software application according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the identifier number generated by the server and received by the application of the user comprises at least one information on the filing date and the creator.

6. User software application according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the profile creation is performed either by instructions contained in the user software application, or by instructions from the server, after making contact with the server by a new content creator without a profile saved on the server.

7. User software application according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises means allowing the creator to indicate the completion or incompleteness of the creation of the digital content and allow a temporary non-public backup.

8. User software application according to one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that it comprises execution means for combining several specific information related to the creator to authenticate the creator of the digital content.

9. User software application according to claim 8, characterized in that the specific information related to the creator comprises, depending on the degree of reliability referred one or more confidential information such as name, address, work, leisure, photo d identity, identity card or fingerprint.

10. User software application according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the creation of a digital content is performed by several creators, so as to obtain several signatures (SA) associated with each of said creators and a unique number of identifier (IDNc) associated with the digital content created by said creators.

1 1. User software application according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the pair of signature keys comprises a private key and a public key that are generated simultaneously during the creation of the user profile, and saved so that secured in the application's memories.

12. User software application according to one of claims 1 to 1 1, characterized in that the second message further comprises the published digital content and / or the ID number (IDNp).

13. User software application according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the server comprises specific algorithms for at least one of the following actions:

identifying the first message saved in the server from the identifier number (IDN) associated with the second message transmitted by the user software application;

- to compare the similarity between the identifier numbers (IDNp; IDNc) to certify the integrity of the content and authenticate the digital content published on the computer network.

14. Computer server comprising a program which, when executed by a computer system, allows at least one of the following actions:

- generate messages allowing a user to register, to create content even if the user is not yet registered, - save the content in its database only when the profile of the creator has been completed or is already stored,

- to create an identifier (IDC) specific to each creator; characterized in that it further enables the creator and / or content to be recorded by a blockchain network for storing in a memory of a distributed database of the blockchain network, at least a first message comprising a digital content created and declared, associated with a first hash value (HA) and a first signature (SA), from a user software application of a computer platform or a computing device according to one of claims 1 to 13, interfacing with the server; and in that it allows at least one of the following operations:

- the generation by the server of a specific identifier number (IDN) sent to the creator, after verification by the server of the signature (SA) and the hash value (HA), and secondly, the setting publicly available digital content created and declared on the computer network, only for a creator stored and authenticated on the server in combination with the hash and the identifier number;

15. Server according to claim 14, characterized in that the distributed database server comprises an algorithm for generating a timestamp ("timestamp") of digital content created and declared; the timestamp and the identification number (IDN) resulting from an encryption, by a server-specific encryption key (Ce), of the digital content transmitted by the software application, are stored in the database under one Distributed and immutable log file format in one of the immutable blocks of the blockchain.

16. Server according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that, for each creator (a) registered, the server comprises in its database a space specifically storing a hash key (Cha) and a signature key (Csa) .

17. Server according to one of claims 14 to 16, characterized in that the server comprises algorithms for accessing the block (s) containing the digital content created and declared, the first hash value, the first signature and the ID number, when a creator registers or identifies himself to the server by his specific identifier (IDC).

18. Server according to one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that the server comprises specific algorithms and at least one decryption key (Cs) specific to the server for decrypting the second encrypted message and a second hash value (Hp). associated with the second message of the published digital content.

19. Server according to claim 18, characterized in that the server comprises specific algorithms allowing:

identifying the identifier number (IDN) associated with the first message saved in the server from the identification number (IDN) associated with the second message transmitted by the user software application;

comparing the similarity between, on the one hand, the hash values (HA _, Hp) to guarantee the integrity of the published digital content, and on the other hand, the identifier numbers (IDNc _; IDNp) for authenticating the digital content published on the computer network.

20. Server according to one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that the server comprises algorithms for identifying and authenticating each content creator by at least one of the hash keys, a key of signature and / or an identifier number specific to each registered creator, from the identifier (IDC) specific to each creator and stored in the database of the server and / or from the ID number (IDN) associated with published digital content for all third-party users.

21. Server according to one of claims 14 to 20, characterized in that the technology of the blockchain network is of the "authorized" and "private" type in order firstly to authorize only the validly identified and authenticated creator to be created. and declare digital content, and on the other hand, allow any third-party user to verify the authenticity of digital content

22. System (10) for verifying and authenticating digital content published in a computer network conforming to the digital content initially created, the system (10) being characterized in that it comprises at least one computer platform or a device computer executing a user software application according to one of claims 1 to 13 communicating and using a computer server according to one of claims 14 to 21, to create digital content for a validly authenticated and identified creator, and make it publicly available on the computer network and to authenticate each published digital content.