Informatics Domain Model: Introducing a core data domain model for computational systems

January 1, 1983, is considered the official birthday of the current Internet. Before that date, there was no standard way for the various computer networks at the time to communicate with each other. The Internet introduced a new suite of communication protocols for interconnecting network devices called the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). At the time of writing, the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP) at the heart of the TCP/IP framework is version 6 (IPv6). This communications protocol provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. It works by assigning devices on the Internet a unique IP address for identification and location definition.

In nodal systems, IP addresses are the primary root of trust for message exchange, revealing the geolocation of our internet-connected devices. However, with sensitive user-generated data (including user IP addresses) aggregated and held by service providers in one centrally stored location following interaction with consumers, a breach of the core system translates to losses for all nodes and stakeholders that rely upon it. In other words, centrally stored databases present targets for hackers to illegally access sensitive personal data, a treasure trove for hackers, and a security risk for both service users and, by financial implication, providers. For example, if a hacker hacks into a country’s central bank database, it usually spells trouble for the economy — including private banks, businesses, and individual consumers. Therein lies the risk of system modelling based on IP addresses and geolocational information. 

The ongoing threat of data breaches in nodal systems continues to fuel the development of a next-generation internet. The IP address becomes a second-class citizen in a new data-agile economy with security bound to transacted data objects (data-centric) rather than endpoint nodes (IP-centric).

Going back to the first principles of Computer Science, the authors of this presentation introduce a core data domain model for computational systems, replacing the focus from IP-centric to data-centric categorisation.