Blockchain Verify provides irrefutable evidence of backup data integrity by storing a cryptographic hash of the backup on a public ledger. Organizations can meet regulatory compliance requirements with a time-stamped audit trail of all modifications and deletions.
Blockchain Verify is a feature that allows customers to verify that their data in their backups has not been changed or deleted. The best practice for integrity verification is to compute a cryptographic hash (e.g., SHA256) of data when it is initially preserved and to store the hash value for future comparison. Blockchain Verify follows this best practice, and writes the hash value, along with the backup ID and the date of the backup, to the blockchain on a public ledger to enable irrefutable and independent confirmation by Own, or any third party with authorized access to the blockchain. This is to allow customers to prove the integrity of their backups as a reliable source to restore normal operations, and specifically meet the SEC17a-4 regulation, intended for fraud prevention. The verification process is performed via an independent hash calculation of the backup data. To verify the data is unchanged, customers or auditors can calculate the backup hash themselves and compare it to the one on the blockchain. If the hash values are identical, the data was not changed and the backup is reliable, complete and accurate.
Generating a Hash
Secure hash algorithms are used to map data to fixed-sized values in a secure manner suited for cryptographic applications. The same content, run through the same hash algorithm, always produces the same hash. Therefore, secure hash functions are widely used to irrefutably and independently confirm the integrity of data.
Recalculating the backup hash, identical to the one stored on the blockchain, is a multi-step procedure. Within the zip file containing the backup are individual object data files (.csv.gz files).
Each object data file within the backup is hashed with the SHA-256 algorithm. Those hashes, in ascending order, are concatenated and hashed with the SHA-256 algorithm, resulting in the final hash.
- Verify Unchanged Backups Using Hash Algorithms
Confirm the integrity of your Salesforce backup data using a cryptographic hash stored on a public ledger. Using blockchain verification helps you meet compliance requirements and prevent fraud by maintaining a time-stamped audit trail.