A telecoms firm owned by American cloud communications company Vonage has been awarded a patent for using blockchain technology to secure communications and recordings. The patent was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 12.

NewVoiceMedia, Ltd. — a cloud service company based in Basingstoke, England — has been granted a patent for “system and methods for tamper proof interaction recording and timestamping.”

Specifically, the development represents a system for securely recording voice communications, such as phone calls, using a distributed blockchain network. The system is purportedly designed to streamline secure file creation, storage and access through authentication and authorization for users.

The patent filing reveals that a database could be a physical or logical storage means, while an authentication server may verify the validity of a voice communication. The system also considers the application of software or hardware components to access recorded data. The filing further explains:

“[...] signatures and timestamps may be published to a public block chain [sic] such as that used for Bitcoin cryptocurrency transactions, or a block chain specifically configured for use in signature and timestamp publication. [...] a block chain may be used to publish signatures and timestamps to a public medium, and the use of distributed database nodes inherent in a block chain protects data against tampering, falsification, or loss due to individual nodes going offline.”

Earlier this month, tech giant IBM revealed two patents targeting network security and focusing on database management using blockchain technology.The filing description read that “securing a data log using monitor security protocols may be accomplished with different levels of security, ranging from low security to high security, and have various combinations of hardware and software configurations.”

Last December, American telecoms giant AT&T filed a patent for a blockchain-based social media history “map.” The filing describes a blockchain-powered system that may include a transaction history controller to store subscribers’ data, which may be used for various purposes, such as creating and sharing information, ideas, and career interests through virtual communities and networks.