# US 2022/0035932 A1 · System, device and method for securely transferring information from a hardware to a blockchain > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2022/0035932 A1 - Document ID: US20220035932A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/298,857 - Filed: 2019-12-13 - Published: 2022-02-03 - Earliest claimed: 2018-12-14 - Assignees: Zerynth S.P.A. - Applicants: Zerynth S.R.L. - Inventors: Giacomo BALDI; Gualtiero FANTONI; Daniele MAZZEI; Gabriele MONTELISCIANI - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20220035932A1 ## CPC - G06F 21/34: involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards - G06F 21/606: {by securing the transmission between two devices or processes} - G06F 21/602: {Providing cryptographic facilities or services} - G06F 21/64: Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures - H04L 9/0897: {involving additional devices, e.g. trusted platform module [TPM], smartcard or USB} - H04L 9/3239: {involving non-keyed hash functions, e.g. modification detection codes [MDCs], MD5, SHA or RIPEMD} - H04L 9/3247: {involving digital signatures} - H04L 9/50: {using hash chains, e.g. blockchains or hash trees} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract The present disclosure is directed to a system and a method for acquiring data related to a certain event from a source like a data network gateway or an industrial machine or a set of sensors, extract relevant information from the acquired data, encrypt the information by means of hardware powered security chips and then securely transfer the information to a single or multiple blockchain, or other kind of distributed ledgers, for validation, automatically and without any need of human intervention. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A data communication system for transferring data from a hardware unit to a blockchain or other distributed ledger, comprising: a hardware interface to connect to the hardware unit; a device in turn comprising a microcontroller, a secure element connected to the microcontroller, first communication module, a communication protocol for enabling the microcontroller to communicate with the hardware interface through the first communication module, wherein the microcontroller is configured to: read data from the hardware unit through the hardware interface; generate a transaction corresponding to the data; securely generate a blockchain private key, dB, and store it into the secure element; digitally sign the transaction by means of the blockchain private key, dB; deliver the signed transaction, and then delete the blockchain private key, dB, from the secure element characterized in that the microcontroller is adapted to generate a blockchain private key, dB, from parameters contained part in the device itself and part in the hardware interface. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1, wherein it further comprises a second communication module for connecting to a remote server where a blockchain or a generic distributed ledger node is hosted and for directly delivering the signed transaction into the blockchain or into the generic distributed ledger. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1, wherein the communication protocol for enabling the microcontroller to communicate with at least a hardware unit through the first communication means is based on the Hayes command set. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1, wherein the secure element comprises means for secure storage and a hardware cryptographic engine. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system according to claim 1, wherein the hardware interface comprises a computational unit, communication means adapted to connect to the device to exchange data and memory means for storing the data. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The system according to claim 5, wherein the memory means are secure memory means. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) Method for transferring data from a hardware unit to a blockchain or other distributed ledger with the system according to claim 1, wherein an initial priming phase is performed comprising the following steps: the hardware interface generates and stores a Unique Identifier string, UIDH, a Private Key, dH, and a Public Key, QH; the hardware interface prompts the device by sending a priming command and the Public Key, QH, through the first communication module; the device extracts the public key QH of the hardware interface; the device generates a Private Key, do, and a Public Key, QD and stores them in the secure element; the device sends the Public Key QD to the hardware interface and stores the Public key QH in the secure element; the device generates a Unique Identifier string UIDD and stores it in the secure element. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) Method according to claim 7 wherein a first transaction phase is performed comprising the following steps: the hardware interface sends a command to initiate a blockchain transaction to the device with a primed secure element that does not contain a dangle blockchain address, QB; the hardware interface and the device cooperate in securely generating and exchanging a secret key K, said secret key K being generated from the keys dD, QD, dH and QH; the device decrypts the command received using the secret key K and extracts the hardware interface Unique Identifier, UIDH, and the message, M, to be sent to the blockchain; the device reads the Unique Identifier string, UIDD, from the secure storage and generates from UIDD and UIDH the blockchain private key dB; the device derives the blockchain address, QB, from the blockchain private key dB and then the blockchain address, QB, is stored into the secure element; the device generates the blockchain transaction and sends it to the blockchain; the device deletes UIDH, dB, UIDD and QB. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) Method according to claim 7 wherein the nth transaction phase, when n>1, is performed comprising the following steps: the hardware interface sends a blockchain AT command to the device with a primed secure element that contains the dongle blockchain address QB; the hardware interface and the device cooperate in securely generating and exchanging a secret key K, said secret key K being generated from the keys dD, QD, dH and QH; the device decrypts the command received using the secret key K and extracts the hardware interface Unique Identifier, UIDH, and the message, M, to be sent to the blockchain; the device reads the Unique Identifier string, UIDD, from the secure storage and generates, from UIDD and UIDH, the blockchain private key dB; the device the blockchain address, QB, from dB; the device compares the blockchain address, QB, as calculated at the previous step, with the the blockchain address, QB, stored in the secure element; if the blockchain addresses compared at the previous step differ, the transaction is not generated, if the blockchain addresses compared at the previous step match, then the device generates a blockchain transaction from the message M and the blockchain private key dB; the device deletes UIDH, dB, UIDD and QB. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) Method according to claim 8 wherein the step of generating a blockchain transaction is carried out as follows: the device extracts from the message M the address, QT, of the blockchain receiving the transaction; the device extracts from the message M additional data, D, to be embedded in the blockchain transaction; the device generates a blockchain transaction, T, by signing the tuple with dB. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) Method according to claim 8 wherein the step of generation of the blockchain private key, dB, is carried out by the interaction of the device with multiple hardware interfaces each one carrying a different UIDH and dH. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) Method according to claim 8 wherein the step of generation of the blockchain private key dB is carried out only when a subset of at least m hardware interfaces of the total n hardware interface interacts with the device. ### Claim 13 A device for transferring data from a hardware unit to a blockchain or other distributed ledger, comprising: a microcontroller, a secure element connected to the microcontroller, a first communication module, a communication protocol for enabling the microcontroller to communicate with an external hardware interface through the first communication module, wherein the microcontroller is adapted to: read data from the hardware unit through the hardware interface; generate a transaction corresponding to the data; securely generate a blockchain private key, dB, and store it into the secure element; digitally sign the transaction by means of the blockchain private key, dB; deliver the signed transaction, and then delete the blockchain private key, dB, from the secure element. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The device according to claim 13, wherein the microcontroller is adapted to generate a blockchain private key, dB, from parameters contained part in the device itself and part in the hardware interface. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The device according to claim 13, wherein it further comprises a second communication module for connecting to a remote server where a blockchain or a generic distributed ledger node is hosted and for directly delivering the signed transaction into the blockchain or into the generic distributed ledger. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The device according to claim 13 wherein it is manufactured in form of a dongle.