Research Data Security & Sovereignty
Privacy Policy.
All customer and research data remains strictly confidential, encrypted, and governed by applicable data protection standards. ScholarMark is operated by DECENTRASEC (PRIVATE) LIMITED.
Data Ownership & Sovereign IP
- 100% data ownership remains exclusively with the author, researcher, and sponsoring institution.
- Submitted manuscripts and draft papers are never reused, sold, or utilized for training public AI models.
- You may request full export or permanent deletion of your uploaded research drafts at any time.
Payment Security & PCI-DSS Compliance
- All card transactions are processed securely via Bank Alfalah payment gateways and certified payment aggregators.
- ScholarMark does not store, process, or retain sensitive cardholder data (such as full card numbers, CVV, or PINs) on its application servers.
- All checkout sessions utilize 256-bit TLS/SSL encryption and comply with global PCI-DSS data security standards.
Secure Processing Protocols
- Encrypted data transmission across all platform touchpoints (HTTPS / TLS 1.2+).
- Encrypted storage for manuscripts and author metadata (AES-256 equivalent standard).
- Strict access-controlled environments with continuous security monitoring and role-based permissions.
Confidential Double-Blind Review Workflow
- All peer reviewers within the GEAR Network are bound by strict non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
- Reviewer-facing manuscripts are automatically anonymized before assignment to protect author confidentiality.
- Granular access audit logs record every review interaction and document inspection.
Information Collection & Purpose
- We collect account credentials, contact information, and billing identifiers solely to deliver subscribed integrity tools.
- Transaction history and digital invoices are maintained to satisfy accounting and regulatory requirements in Pakistan.
- We do not sell, rent, or monetize personal or institutional contact lists to any third parties.
Integrity Proof & Cryptographic Timestamps (Metadata Only)
When we register a Proof of Discovery integrity seal, we store only a cryptographic one-way SHA-256 fingerprint — never your full manuscript or text. Your actual research file is never exposed on any public record or blockchain ledger.
- Only a timestamped, mathematical fingerprint is stored.
- No full paper content or unpublished text is ever exposed publicly.
DECENTRASEC (PRIVATE) LIMITED (DBA ScholarMark)
Registered Address: A-201, Block-12, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Karachi, Pakistan.
Direct Phone: +92-310-1288813 | Privacy Desk: partners@decentrasec.com
Questions about how we handle your research or payment data? Our team is happy to walk through our security protocols.