Resilient secret sharing cloud based architecture for data vault

Abstract

A method of securely storing data including: providing, within a secure data storage system, a plurality of secret sharing methods for selection and identifying a striping policy for storage of the data, in accordance with input preferences. The data can be split into N secret shares according to a secret sharing method, the selection being determined by the striping policy, wherein a threshold number, T, of such shares is sufficient to recover the data, where T is less than N, generating metadata associated with the data, the metadata identifying the selected secret sharing method and storing the metadata within the secure data storage system and writing the secret shares to storage that includes storage outside the secure data storage system, such that, when at least T shares are retrieved, the metadata can be recalled to identify the selected secret sharing method for recovery of the data.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT / GB2016 / 052009, filed Jul. 1, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 188,058, filed Jul. 2, 2015, the entire contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to the secure storage of data.BACKGROUND[0003]Computing has witnessed a change from on-premises infrastructure to convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction, also known as Cloud Computing.[0004]Cloud computing provides enterprises with benefits such as saving on capital and operational costs, improving scalability and flexibility and reducing the carbon footprint. However, Cloud computing also presents a number of disadvantages such as data security and reliability issu...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent describes a method for securely storing data by using a plurality of secret sharing methods. These methods involve dividing the data into multiple parts, with each part being stored in a separate location. The data is first fragmented into smaller parts, and then each fragment is written to a separate storage system. This allows for recovery of the data even if one of the storage systems fails. The method also includes a policy module that determines which storage system to use for storing the data based on user preferences. The system can be a secure data storage system that includes a secret sharing module, a policy module, and a metadata module. The technical effects of this invention include improved security and resilience, as well as efficient storage and retrieval of data.

Problems solved by technology

However, Cloud computing also presents a number of disadvantages such as data security and reliability issues.

This methodology has been shown to be weak from many aspects, especially related to: trusted administrator access; lack of proper access control; Advanced Persistent Threat (APT); and in the loss of private keys.

The current encryption methods in the Cloud often suffer where the loss of a single encryption key can result in large-scale data loss.

With the Cloud, there is a risk of a major outage in parts of the Cloud resulting in denial of service.

More severely, outage can cause business shut down as there is no alternative means of accessing data.

Beyond this, the user's privacy is usually jeopardised as Cloud service providers cache, copy and archive users' data, which can easily be retrieved, used and misused by miscreants, competitors or court of law even when the owner seems to have deleted them.

If any data elements are accessed, it will not be possible to recover the original data until the other relevant shares are available.

The performance overhead of the different secret sharing schemes, at increasing thresholds and increasing data sizes shows varied behaviours, and has restricted the advancement of secret sharing schemes in use.

Relying on a single Cloud Storage Provider (CSP) is subject to confidentiality and availability risks.

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