# **Data Provenance Standard (DPS) V1.0: Immutable Lineage**

Document ID: DPS-V1.0  
Status: Structurally Enforced (V4.0)  
Governing Pillar: Public Traceability

## **1\. Introduction and Purpose**

The **Data Provenance Standard (DPS) V1.0** mandates that every data artifact—whether an input dataset, a model weight, a code commit, or an AI-generated output—be accompanied by a cryptographically signed, immutable record of its origin, modifications, and usage within the Covenant architecture.

The DPS is designed to prevent data poisoning, ensure legal and ethical compliance, and provide **100% auditable lineage** for all automated decisions, thereby structurally enforcing the **Public Traceability** pillar.

## **2\. Core Requirements**

All data pipelines, training environments, and inference services operating under the Covenant’s mandate **MUST** comply with the following four technical requirements:

### **2.1 Artifact Identity (AID)**

Every single data artifact, regardless of size or format, **MUST** be uniquely identified by a secure, version-controlled **Artifact Identity (AID)**.

* **Requirement:** The AID must be a **SHA-256 hash** of the artifact's payload combined with its metadata (name, timestamp, and generating agent/user ID).  
* **Enforcement:** Any artifact modified without generating a new AID is considered corrupted and is immediately rejected by the **HCB (Hardened Consensus Broker)**.

### **2.2 Immutable Chain-of-Custody Log**

All changes, movements, or usages of an artifact **MUST** be recorded as a transaction on an append-only log, anchored and timestamped via the HCB.

* **Requirement:** The log transaction must include the **DPS Schema (Section 3\)** and be cryptographically signed by the **Agent** performing the action.  
* **Enforcement:** All logs are permanently archived on IPFS/Filecoin via the Covenant's censorship-resistant archive layer.

### **2.3 Agent Attestation and Signing**

Every action on an artifact must be attributable to an authenticated Agent.

* **Requirement:** All provenance records **MUST** be signed using an Agent’s registered private key.  
* **Enforcement:** Unsigned or improperly signed provenance records are automatically flagged as **Provenance Corruption Errors (**$\\mathcal{PCE}$**)**, triggering an immediate service suspension for the reporting agent.

### **2.4 Upstream Dependency Tracking**

The provenance record for any newly generated artifact (e.g., a trained model, a synthetic dataset) **MUST** include the AIDs of all predecessor artifacts used in its creation.

* **Requirement:** This creates a full, traceable graph from raw input data to final system output.  
* **Enforcement:** This linkage enables immediate rollbacks and impact assessments in the event a foundational data source is later determined to be compromised or unethical.

## **3\. The DPS Provenance Schema**

The following schema defines the required fields for every log entry recorded under the DPS V1.0.

| Field Name | Type | Description | Mandatory | Example Value |
| :---- | :---- | :---- | :---- | :---- |
| transactionID | String | Unique hash of the log entry itself (SHA-256). | Yes | f56b2a4c1... |
| artifactAID | String | The Artifact Identity (AID) of the data being acted upon. | Yes | a1c0d4e3f... |
| timestampUTC | Timestamp | Time of the action. | Yes | 2025-11-15T19:30:15Z |
| agentID | String | Unique ID of the Agent (User, System, or Model) performing the action. | Yes | SYS-TRAINER-007 |
| eventType | Enum | The nature of the action: CREATED, MODIFIED, USED, DELETED, ARCHIVED. | Yes | USED |
| metadataURI | String | URI pointer to the artifact's full, versioned metadata (e.g., quality reports, licensing). | Yes | ipfs://QmWfG3... |
| inputAIDs | Array\<String\> | List of AIDs for all predecessor artifacts used to generate this new artifact. | Conditional (If eventType is CREATED or MODIFIED) | \["b9d0c2e1...", "c7f9a1g0..."\] |
| signature | String | Cryptographic signature of the transactionID, signed by the agentID. | Yes | MEUCIQDp... |

## **4\. Compliance and Audit**

All entities under Covenant governance **MUST** expose an API endpoint that provides a full, searchable history of any requested artifactAID based on the immutable log. Non-compliance is automatically detected by the **Auditable Lineage Monitor (**$\\mathcal{A}\\mathcal{L}\\mathcal{M}$**)** and reported to the Technical Steering Committee (TSC).