A DAG-enabled cryptographic framework for secure drug traceability with identity-bound authentication and anomaly...

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Information Security
• Supply Chain Management

Background:

• Counterfeit pharmaceuticals pose a significant global public health risk.
• Limited regulatory oversight and digital traceability exacerbate the problem, especially in resource-constrained regions.
• Existing systems often lack the real-time monitoring and decentralized security needed for effective pharmaceutical supply chains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a cryptographically anchored drug traceability framework using Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) ledgers.
• To enhance pharmaceutical supply chain security, decentralization, and verifiability.
• To address the challenges of counterfeit drugs in regions with limited regulatory enforcement.

Main Methods:

• Developed a decentralized traceability framework utilizing Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) ledger technology.
• Integrated encrypted Near Field Communication (NFC) tags (NTAG424 DNA) with Aadhaar-linked identities for secure, identity-bound authentication.
• Employed a hybrid deep learning model (LSTM-CNN) for anomaly detection, trained on simulated datasets with environmental and behavioral covariates.
• Utilized edge-ledger buffering for offline/rural deployments and Merkle-root anchoring for eventual DAG synchronization.

Main Results:

• Achieved 94.5% anomaly detection precision and 0.92 traceability accuracy in a simulated environment.
• Demonstrated a median latency of 85 ms, suitable for real-time monitoring.
• The DAG structure facilitated parallel transaction validation, zero fees, and low-latency edge operations.
• The system showed potential for scalability and privacy preservation under controlled conditions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed DAG-NFC framework is simulation-based feasible for secure and interoperable pharmaceutical traceability.
• The system effectively addresses key challenges in combating counterfeit drugs.
• Further real-world validation and regulatory assessment are necessary for full operational deployment.