# Process Automation and Blockchain in Intelligence and Investigation Units: An Approach
## 5 Evaluation, Results, and Discussions
### The Management, Storing, and Sharing of Generated Digital Assets: Discussions  
Regarding the management, storage and/or sharing of digital assets generated during the approach, the characteristics' inherent of blockchain technology, as well as the adoption of permissioned blockchains, cryptography, and the use of Hyperledger Fabric (as proposed in the sample topology scenario in Appendix A), may contribute in activities related to auditability (traceability), access control, versioning identification, authenticity, non-repudiation, integrity verification, security, decentralization, and transparency. Regarding data integrity, the tamper resistance characteristic of blockchain makes it possible to be reached. Due to consensual validation of transactions stored in the ledgers by the participants of a network (including the adoption of hash algorithms), blocks become immutable. With the immutable log of transactions, traceability of changes, auditability, and versioning identification are possible to accomplish with greater reliability [37; 38; 39; 40; 41]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline  & **Before** & **After** \\ \hline Quantity of requests answered (average 12 months) & 60 per month & 664 per month \\ \hline Average time per request & 6 to 18 h & 1 to 5 min \\ \hline Number of specialists involved & 3 & * \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 11: Comparison before and after the use of the system (first process). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline  & **Before** & **After** \\ \hline Quantity of requests answered (average 12 months) & 2 to 3 per month & 16 per month \\ \hline Average time per request & 15 to 20 days & 3 to 8 min \\ \hline Number of specialists involved & 3 & * \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 12: Comparison before and after the use of the system (second process). Since all transactions are signed and registered with a generated hash value in the blocks, adopting cryptography to allow more security and confidentiality is also provides integrity verification, non-repudiation analysis, and authenticity. The use of private channels and/or cryptography increase the protection from data leaks, since only specific and authorized participants can access the channel [42; 43; 49; 59]. With the adoption of a permissioned blockchain, smart contracts and certificate authorities are identified and verified, allowing for permissioned participants to access and transact in the network. Security and access control can be achieved by the execution of the access roles written in smart contracts. [38; 49; 51; 52]. Finally, due to the synchronization of the distributed ledger between network peers, participants have more confidence in the authenticity, transparency, and accuracy of the stored information [48; 49; 50]. Despite the advantages with the use of blockchain technology as a support mechanism in the considered scenario, it is also necessary to comment on some issues and challenges regarding security. According to [PERSON] et al. [97], the majority attack (also known as the 51% attack) is an existing concern in blockchain networks, where, in the event of possible attackers taking control of more than half of the network's nodes, changes or inclusions may be manipulated, compromising the entire blockchain network. This kind of attack usually has more of an impact in public blockchains that are composed by unknown participants that do not trust each other. Ways to minimize these occurrences involve greater control over the network (e.g., private permissioned blockchains) since well-established configurations, access limitations, and properly identified participants can create a design that disadvantages this type of attack. For example, given an organization that has five participants, it may contain a network configuration that determines new changes or additions approved by all participants, thus making it more difficult for an attack to occur.