Attribute-based Privacy-Preserving Confidential Reporting Framework to Multiple Auditors

Attribute-based Privacy-Preserving Confidential Reporting Framework to Multiple Auditors | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Attribute-based Privacy-Preserving Confidential Reporting Framework to Multiple Auditors Dawood Islam, Shahzad Khan, Gulzar Mehmood, Insaf Ullah, Faheem Khan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6800534/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In today's strict corporate hierarchies, rigid structures and strict disciplinary rules make employees hesitant to report mistakes, especially involving their superiors, due to fear of blame, punishment, or career setbacks. Despite various concerns, protecting privacy remains the reporters' top priority. In this paper, we present an attribute-based privacy-preserving confidential reporting system with support for multiple reporters (AP-CRS) to ensure the protection of report confidentiality and the preservation of reporter privacy. The proposed AP-CRS offers several notable features: (1) for a given event, multiple auditors can be designated for a report; (2) the system operates without a centralized authority for key distribution, enhancing reporters' trust; and (3) in the absence of an auditor, their superiors within the hierarchy can access and review reports on their behalf. We present a detailed framework and formalize both the security model and its proof for our AP-CRS. The implementation demonstrates its efficiency effectively. Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Mathematics and computing confidential report systems attribute-based multiple auditor blockchain privacy-preserving Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6800534","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":490006647,"identity":"00a8e6fe-b919-441c-aeff-5c527ebd5e85","order_by":0,"name":"Dawood Islam","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Dawood","middleName":"","lastName":"Islam","suffix":""},{"id":490006649,"identity":"65a7d652-485b-436d-bfcb-5d2259df56f4","order_by":1,"name":"Shahzad Khan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Sheringal","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Shahzad","middleName":"","lastName":"Khan","suffix":""},{"id":490006650,"identity":"d82e111e-6e40-4093-93bd-e7c66dbeafb7","order_by":2,"name":"Gulzar Mehmood","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Iqra National University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gulzar","middleName":"","lastName":"Mehmood","suffix":""},{"id":490006652,"identity":"601284d3-40d0-4a0a-b842-0c27f8bb8802","order_by":3,"name":"Insaf Ullah","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Essex","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Insaf","middleName":"","lastName":"Ullah","suffix":""},{"id":490006653,"identity":"3c307f2c-a523-48df-8890-f14a4c7d2447","order_by":4,"name":"Faheem Khan","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYeEGUDxDxQIR7cqiHyB8Aq0kjXcpgULexnDz74mHPerr/97MHHBQx28gw8Zx/g18KTl2w4c9vt5Bln8pKNZzAkGzbwthvg1WLPkGMmzQvUwnCDx0yah4E5gYGfjYDD+N+Y//677VyyPERLPRFaJHLMmBm3HbAzgGg5nMDA20ZIyxtjyd5tyQmGZ3KMjXkMjhu28Rwj5LAcww8/t9nZyx0/Y/iYp6Janp8nDb8WGEhsAFPAsCLgEwSwJ1bhKBgFo2AUjEAAADtAOn+0GX1gAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Gachon University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Faheem","middleName":"","lastName":"Khan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-02 09:08:33","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6800534/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6800534/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":88306410,"identity":"48540bec-8b1e-4e9f-86c7-9dc72eab4ae7","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-05 06:02:06","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":416668,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ScintificReportConfidentialReportingSystemFinal300625.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6800534/v1_covered_a0dc7db9-18f1-42a3-a977-e0e932e385e8.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Attribute-based Privacy-Preserving Confidential Reporting Framework to Multiple Auditors\n\n\n","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"confidential report systems, attribute-based, multiple auditor, blockchain, privacy-preserving","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6800534/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6800534/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"In today's strict corporate hierarchies, rigid structures and strict disciplinary rules make employees hesitant to report mistakes, especially involving their superiors, due to fear of blame, punishment, or career setbacks. 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