Immutable Data Lineage Using Blockchain for Regulatory Compliance

  • Authors

    • Dr. Stephen Cook Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, United States. Author
    • Dr. Alan Perlis Professor, Yale University, United States. Author

    DOI:

    https://doi.org/10.67228/30715717/IJDEIC-2022PII1Y7N

    Published 06-12-2022

  • Blockchain, Data Lineage, Regulatory Compliance, Immutability, Smart Contracts, Data Governance, Audit Trails, GDPR, Decentralized Systems, Data Provenance

    Issue

    Section

    Articles

    How to Cite

    [1]
    S. Cook and A. Perlis, “Immutable Data Lineage Using Blockchain for Regulatory Compliance”, IJDEIC, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 01–14, Jun. 2022, doi: 10.67228/30715717/IJDEIC-2022PII1Y7N.
  • Abstract

    In today’s data-driven enterprises, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, and traceability of data across its lifecycle is paramount for regulatory compliance. Traditional data lineage solutions often fall short in offering tamper-proof, transparent, and verifiable records, leading to risks in audits and legal scrutiny. This paper proposes a novel approach to implementing immutable data lineage using blockchain technology, leveraging its core properties immutability, decentralization, and transparency to build a robust framework for regulatory data governance. We present a blockchain-based architecture that records lineage events, transformations, and metadata via smart contracts and immutable ledgers, ensuring end-to-end traceability. Through illustrative use cases in finance, healthcare, and supply chains, we demonstrate how this approach enhances trust, reduces compliance costs, and enables real-time auditability. The paper also discusses implementation strategies, security considerations, and limitations, paving the way for future advancements in trustworthy data governance.

  • References

    [1] Wang, Y., Han, J., & Wang, J. (2019). A survey on data lineage: tracing data and its operations. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 52(2), 1–35.

    [2] Zyskind, G., Nathan, O., & Pentland, A. (2015). Decentralizing privacy: Using blockchain to protect personal data. IEEE Security and Privacy Workshops, 180–184.

    [3] Mukkamala, R., Vatrapu, R., & Ray, P. (2018). Blockchain for social data: Opportunities and challenges. Computer Communications, 129, 27–30.

    [4] Hyperledger Foundation. (2020). Hyperledger Fabric Documentation. Retrieved from https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io

    [5] European Union. (2016). General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Official Journal of the European Union.

    [6] Sarbanes-Oxley Act. (2002). Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act. U.S. Congress.

    [7] Nakamoto, S. (2008). Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. Retrieved from https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

    [8] Kuo, T. T., Kim, H. E., & Ohno-Machado, L. (2017). Blockchain distributed ledger technologies for biomedical and health care applications. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 24(6), 1211–1220.

    [9] OpenLineage. (2021). Open standard for data lineage collection. Retrieved from https://openlineage.io

    [10] Christidis, K., & Devetsikiotis, M. (2016). Blockchains and smart contracts for the Internet of Things. IEEE Access, 4, 2292–2303.

    [11] Deloitte. (2019). The future of compliance: How blockchain will transform regulatory reporting. Deloitte Insights.

    [12] IBM. (2020). Blockchain for supply chain transparency. IBM Blockchain White Paper.

    [13] World Economic Forum. (2019). Data Policy Framework for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org

    [14] ISO/IEC 20547-3:2020. Information technology – Big data reference architecture – Part 3: Reference architecture. International Organization for Standardization.

    [15] Tan, B., & Lim, E. P. (2021). Smart contract-based data governance in distributed environments. IEEE Transactions on Services Computing.

  • Downloads