Application of permissioned block chain technology on population data consolidation and sharing
Date
2020
Authors
Omoka, Richard Siang'ani
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Population registers should provide the single source of truth for data regarding each resident of a
jurisdiction of the register, over the lifetime of the individual. This data can then be shared and
used by government agencies and private organizations regarding matters concerning the
individual. In Kenya, however, data regarding an individual is collected by multiple government
agencies resulting in duplication (of effort and data) and data inconsistency. The multiple
collections of population data result in an individual having multiple valid identification
documents. The use of relational database management systems, which have shortcomings in
support for temporal data as well as no inbuilt security and auditability capability makes relational
database management systems ineffective in the storage of population data. Lack of clear policy
and standards; interoperability issues and data security are among the challenges affecting data
sharing among government agencies. Blockchain technology, a shared, immutable, distributed
ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business
network, is a promising technology in the management of population registers. Blockchain
technology has inbuilt capacity to solve most of the problems inherent in the current systems
especially duplication, tampering, and sharing of data. This research, therefore, through the
development of a prototype based on permissioned blockchain technology, explores the viability
and validity of permissioned blockchain technology, in storing, securing, auditing, and sharing of
population data to achieve the single source of truth of the population register. The prototype,
implemented using a local installation of hyperledger fabric, enabled consolidation of data since
all invited participants on the permissioned blockchain network were able to write data to the single
blockchain. The invited participants were also able to read data off the chain based on defined
access control rules therefore achieving a uniform standard for data sharing. Provenance, a key
quality of blockchain was leveraged to track an individual’s data changes over time, with the
current block holding the latest records about the individual, yet still maintaining the historical
chain of an individual’s data changes. This was a key outcome especially because it solves the
inability of relational database systems to support temporal data. This model for data consolidation
and sharing was found to be simple in design and implementation since it provided a standard way
of reading and writing data to the chain through the use of RESTful APIs.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Information in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of Master of Science in Information Technology
Keywords
Block chain technology, Population, Data management