TLDR Tech / InfoSec
Tamper-Evident Audit Logs: Hash Chains, Merkle Trees, and External Anchoring
This article explains how access control addresses the key questions an auditor has about logs by introducing specific mechanisms: hash chains for integrity, Merkle trees with signed checkpoints for an append-only history, and trusted time anchors like RFC 3161 or OpenTimestamps. It provides an implementation perspective on creating a cryptographically verifiable audit trail, including data structures, proof algorithms, and working Rust code. The guidance is based on established standards.
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