Decentralized and Secure Blockchain Solution for Tamper-Proof Logging Events

Abstract

Log files are essential assets for IT engineers engaged in the security of server and computer systems. They provide crucial information for identifying malicious events, conducting cybersecurity incident analyses, performing audits, system maintenance, and ensuring compliance with security regulations. Nevertheless, there is still the possibility of deliberate data manipulation by own personnel, especially with regard to system access and configuration changes, where error tracking or debugging traces are vital. To address tampering of log files, this work proposes a solution to ensure data integrity, immutability, and non-repudiation through different blockchain-based public registry systems. This approach offers an additional layer of security through a decentralized, tamper-resistant ledger. To this end, this manuscript aims to provide a solid guideline for creating secure log storage systems. For this purpose, methodologies and experiments using two different blockchains are presented to demonstrate their effectiveness in various contexts, such as transactions with and without metadata. The findings suggest that Solana’s response times make it well suited for environments with moderately critical records requiring certification. In contrast, Cardano shows higher response times, thus making it suitable for less frequent events with metadata that requires legitimacy.