Digital Signatures Long-Term Preservation Services, IPFS and Blockchain are a Good Match

Thanks to adoption of eIDAS Regulation, Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) were adopted for many digital processes by companies. Still, QES validity is not assured only by the signature itself, and need a long-term preservation service, for ensuring the signature status over long periods. In this paper we present an implementation variant for a long-term preservation service, that uses InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) and blockchain technology to create a robust file storage and ensure traceability. In the paper we also analyze the performance of the distributed storage against the classical storage solutions. The results demonstrate significant improvements in data redundancy, security, and accessibility, making a compelling case for adopting this combined approach for long-term digital preservation.