OFFICER DATA CARD (ODC) DISSEMINATION POLICY, MODEL, AND BLOCKCHAIN-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM

The Officer Data Card (ODC) is an automated record that provides up-to-date data about U.S. Navy officers for use in detailing and promotion boards. Policy regarding ODCs requires controlled access and dissemination of ODC information. A better understanding of the policies associated with ODCs could allow current technologies to be employed to support their use and management. This work builds a model for ODC dissemination based on current policies and practices. A process model is built to describe controlled dissemination of ODCs during specific promotion board processes. It is found that the dissemination policies and model for ODCs have a strong similarity to those applied to ORCON-labeled information handled by the intelligence community. With the threat of unauthorized dissemination of ODCs in mind, a blockchain solution is proposed for auditing the access to and modification of ODCs. The proposed solution is a distributed auditing mechanism that does not rely on a central auditing server. The proposed blockchain solution is analyzed and determined to be able to provide accountability for record handling processes and ODC dissemination but does not provide enough new functionality or efficiency beyond that possible through intensive central audit logging.http://archive.org/details/officerdatacardo1094559665Ensign, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited