ARCHANGEL: Securing UK national archives with AI and blockchain

Blockchain is the technology behind crypto-

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currencies like Bitcoin. The University of Surrey is exploring alternative non-financial uses of blockchain for the public good. ARCHANGEL's blockchain works as a database maintained by multiple archives; everyone can check and add records, but no one can change them. As no data can be modified, the integrity of the historical record remains intact.

ARCHANGEL is specifically built to identify incidences of accidental modifications or tampering with the digital public record, and it is backed up by a proof-of-authority blockchain system. The new system has been trialed in national government archives of the UK, Estonia, Norway, Australia and the US (NARA).

Professor John Collomosse, who leads the project at the University of Surrey, said, "Archives across the world are amassing vast volumes of digital content, and it is important that they can prove their provenance and integrity to the public in a secure and transparent way.

"By combining blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies, we have shown that it is possible to safeguard the integrity of archival data in the digital age. It essentially provides a digital fingerprint for archives, making it possible to verify their authenticity."

ARCHANGEL was recently recognised as a research highlight in 10 years of the UKRI Digital Economy programme, which funds the project via the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). ARCHANGEL is part of the Surrey blockchain testbed. The testbed includes more than £3.5 million of UKRI and EU funded projects in this emerging technology.

https://phys.org/news/2019-05-archangel-uk-national-archives-ai.html