BLOCKCHAIN FOR THE SECURITY OF DOCUMENTS AND UNIVERSITY DEGREES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZULIA

• Joseabel Cegarra Conde The University of Zulia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5395-528X
• Luisa Serra López The University of Zulia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7561-2541

Keywords: Blockchain, Document Security, Academic Fraud

Abstract

The University of Zulia (LUZ) faces critical challenges in the security, authenticity, and immutability of its academic documents, especially degrees and certificates, which exposes the institution and its graduates to the risk of fraud and forgery. This study proposes the use of blockchain technology as a decentralized and cryptographically secure solution for managing academic credentials. The main objective is to design a conceptual model that guarantees the traceability, instant verification, and perpetual immutability of documents issued by LUZ, based on the work of Zhang et al. (2020), Almahasees et al. (2023), and Lemieux (2021). A descriptive-projective methodology was employed. The results indicate that the proposed model will drastically minimize latency in document verification and eliminate single points of failure, reinforcing the reliability of LUZ's degree conferral system.

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