In 2021–2022, 5.57 crore students are expected to enroll in higher education in India, and every year, there will be close to 9 million graduates. According to estimates, there are 0.5 cases of this type of blindness per 1,000 people in India. Many children are blind or have severe visual impairment (SVI) or blindness (BL). Dealing with sight loss or low vision is just one of the difficulties that the visually impaired face in everyday life. There are many challenges in their daily life such as navigating around places, most of the information is inaccessible, finding reading material, etc. They are also facing many challenges in their educational careers as well. If any blind student has graduated and he/she wants to maintain all the original certificates, then it becomes tiresome to track these certificates and manually verify their legitimacy for them. Also, everything needs to be digitized with the principles of confidentiality, reliability, and availability in order to make the data more secure and safe.
Top1. Introduction
Blockchain technology has gained significant attention due to its potential to enhance security across various domains. Blockchain is a decentralized, distributed digital ledger that records transactions and data in a secure and transparent manner. Its inherent properties contribute to improved security in several ways. Blockchain technology is a cutting-edge database system that enables open information sharing inside a company network (Pande, Chetty, 2021). Data is stored in blocks that are chained together in a blockchain database. Since the chain cannot be deleted or changed without the network’s approval, the data is chronologically consistent (Sonnad, et al., 2022). As a result, you can use blockchain technology to build an unchangeable or immutable ledger for keeping track of orders, payments, accounts, and other transactions (Ramesh, et al., 2017). The System is equipped with mechanisms that stop unauthorized transaction entries and establish consistency in the shared view of these transactions (Vashishtha, et al., 2020).
The first application of blockchain technology in the real world is Bitcoin, one of the most expensive digital currencies. Since the creation of the coin, Bitcoin’s value has multiplied thousands of times, and this is the primary factor that accounts for blockchain’s current level of popularity (Pidikiti, et al., 2023). In addition to cryptocurrencies, blockchain has also become a valuable technology that may be utilized to solve many contemporary social issues brought on by a lack of trust between various parties (Veeraiah, et al., 2022).
A phishing-resistant cryptographic method called certificate-based authentication allows computers to utilize digital certificates to securely identify one another across a network. Certificate privacy, authenticity, and anonymity are improved using blockchain technology (Ogunmola, et al., 2021). The possibility of certificate forgery is decreased by using the blockchain-based System (Gunturu, et al., 2023).
Blockchain is a foundational technology that underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but its applications extend far beyond digital currencies (Sharma, et al., 2021). At its core, blockchain is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger that records transactions and data in a secure, transparent, and tamper-resistant manner (Sonnad, et al., 2022).
Decentralized and Distributed Ledger: Unlike traditional centralized databases where a single entity controls the data, a blockchain operates on a decentralized network of computers known as nodes. Each node has a copy of the entire ledger, ensuring redundancy and making the System resilient to failures or attacks.
Blocks and Chains: A blockchain consists of a series of “blocks,” each containing a group of transactions or data. These blocks are linked together in chronological order, forming a “chain.” Each block includes a unique identifier (hash) of the previous block, creating a tamper-resistant linkage between blocks.
Consensus Mechanisms: To achieve agreement on the state of the ledger and validate transactions, blockchains employ various consensus mechanisms. One common mechanism is Proof of Work (PoW), where nodes compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles to add new blocks. Another is Proof of Stake (PoS), where validators are chosen based on the amount of cryptocurrency they hold and are willing to “stake” as collateral (Uike, et al., 2022).
Immutability and Security: Once data is recorded in a block and added to the blockchain, it’s extremely difficult to alter or remove. This immutability is achieved through cryptographic hashing, where each block’s content is combined with the previous block’s hash to form its own unique hash. If any information in a block is changed, it would invalidate subsequent blocks and be immediately noticeable (Suthar, et al., 2022).
Cryptography: Blockchain uses cryptographic techniques to secure transactions and control access. Each participant in the network has a pair of cryptographic keys: a public key (used for encryption) and a private key (used for decryption and digital signatures). This ensures secure and authenticated transactions (Gurumurthy, et al., 2021).