Blockchain-Based Secure Document Verification System for Ensuring Authenticity, Integrity, and Transparency

As a result of increased nefariousness of fraudulent documents in the last decade, the ability to trust the verification of credible documents has never been more important. Traditional verification processes can be tedious, require too much manual effort, and are open to tampering. This research project will seek to facilitate the verification of credentials by creating a blockchain enhanced credential verification structure. Blockchains include a decentralized, transparent, public, and immutable ledger that can be used for both storing and verifying credentials, and certificates. An employer, university, or credentialing stakeholder, at any time will now be able to instantly verify a credential from a ledger search on the blockchain where the credential is immutable and shared in a credentialing blockchain ecosystem. A blockchain enhanced credential verification system, as proposed, will reduce administrative burden and costs, develop trust from credentialing stakeholder users, and diminish fraudulent credential opportunities. The use of smart contracts and crypto/blockchain methods and protocols will improve efficiency, speeds, and faculties of integrity in the credential verification process. This proposed work could be extended in a number of areas of inquiry beyond education, including that which goes to the verification of a credential for professional certification, and the academic credentialing to learners.