A Secure and Privacy-Preserving Student Credential Verification System Using Blockchain Technology

Abstract

Advancements in digital technologies have made the storage, sharing, and verification of educational credentials extremely important for entities such as students, universities, institutions, and companies. Digital credentials play an important role in students’ lives as a lifelong learning passport. The educational field is experiencing numerous issues such as academic record forgery, record misuse, credential data tampering, time-consuming verification procedures, and issues related to ownership and control. Modern-day technology, Blockchain, is an appropriate alternative to resolve these issues and increase trust among entities. In this research, we intend to propose a Blockchain-based educational digital credential issuance, and verification model that addresses these issues in the education system using Ethereum Blockchain and smart contracts. The method we propose offers a way to demonstrate the correctness of specific credential attributes without revealing other attributes, thereby leading to ownership, minimal disclosure, and control. We offer an interface for storing massively encrypted academic records in a decentralized file system like Interplanetary File System (IPFS). Furthermore, Ethereum provides tamper-resistant chains to maintain the integrity of digital credentials. Finally, in comparison with the time it requires to issue credentials, our model safely accelerates the verification process by about 8%.