Blockchain-Enhanced Academic Certificate Verification: A Decentralized and Trustworthy Framework

The issue of certificate forgery is widespread in Southeast Asia, adversely affecting qualified individuals' access to employment opportunities. Job applicants are required to submit their academic records as evidence of their educational achievements, both within and outside of school. It is imperative to thoroughly verify these academic documents during the hiring process to mitigate fraudulent activities. The integration of blockchain technology emerges as a promising solution to this challenge. Blockchain provides an immutable and incontro-vertible electronic certification system, making it considerably more challenging for individuals to manipulate their academic credentials. This paper introduces a prototype model that utilizes the security features of both blockchain and cloud storage to au-thenticate academic credentials. Certificates undergo a temporary storage phase on a server before transitioning to the cloud, where a unique hash code is generated through a hashing algorithm. This hash code serves as the certificate's distinct identifier and is securely stored within the blockchain nodes. Employers can subsequently verify an applicant's qualifications by searching for their previously validated certificates. The incorporation of cloud storage as an interim platform reduces the costs associated with directly storing extensive data in blockchain verification processes. Additionally, a custom encryption algorithm is imple-mented in the system to ensure heightened security.