Automation of voting processes for joint-stock companies using a homomorphic cryptosystem and block-chain technology

Abstract

In the article is proposed a method for conducting a safe voting among shareholders with the preservation of the secrecy of each vote and obtaining a trusted result on the basis of the use of the Paillier cryptographic system, which implements the additive property of ciphertexts. On the basis of the proposed method, the voting protocol using the blockchain technology was implemented. This technology provides a trusted transaction processing environment. The theoretical concepts of technology of the block transaction chain, the mechanism of homomorphic encryption, distributed key generation are briefly outlined. The step-by-step algorithm of operation of the system is given, the main technical aspects and advantages of using decentralized technologies for data storage and processing are described. Existing decisions in the area of voting systems were investigated and a comparative analysis was made. On the basis of the analysis, the main criteria for holding a safe voting process were formed. The method of distributed key generation among participants of the system is briefly described taking into account the differences between the keys of the Paillier cryptosystem from the standard RSA keys. The paper describes in detail the algorithm of the hierarchical generation of shareholder keys. Using this algorithm allows to optimize the process of storing and processing cryptographic materials on a client application. The feasibility of using smart contract technology, which is a decentralized application with a shared data storage environment and consensus algorithm, was also disclosed and substantiated. Contracts represent an algorithm for processing transaction data in the network, allowing to check the rules of operation of the system and conduct logical operations on the data in a secure way. This method can be used to conduct voting in consortia, joint stock companies and private networks, to be integrated into decentralized data storage systems to provide a secure decision mechanism.