A decentralised architecture for secure exchange of assets in data spaces: the case of SEDIMARK

Abstract

The European Union's (EU) data strategy aims to create a single market for seamless data flow while ensuring proper governance, privacy, and data protection. In this paper, we present SEDIMARK, an EU project, that builds on this strategy by developing a fully decentralised, secure data marketplace. The goal of SEDIMARK is to build a complete toolbox that enables users to purchase and process data assets. The toolbox includes tools for data cleaning, decentralised machine learning models and secure data exchange. SEDIMARK offers users full control over data assets by enabling them to keep their data locally and thus removing the need for central servers. With customisable pipelines and tools, SEDIMARK supports a wide range of users, from novices to experts, promoting seamless collaboration and fair access to high-quality datasets across Europe. The decentralised connectivity in SEDIMARK is achieved with the use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). Furthermore, SEDIMARK's architecture features a unique Connector component using Self Sovereign Identities (SSI), fostering trust and secure interactions. Transactions in SEDIMARK are stored in a Registry, a decentralised, immutable, non-repudiable and permissionless database. Together the technologies used in SEDIMARK ensure privacy, trust and data quality for secure management, sharing, and monetisation of assets in data spaces.