Centralized Authentication System with Distributed Data Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current e-commerce authentication methods, primarily relying on 'user ID and password' combinations, face challenges such as weak security due to easily rememberable yet insecure passwords, reuse of credentials across multiple platforms, and the difficulty in managing numerous loyalty cards, leading to compromised user data and reduced loyalty status.
Innovation Solution
A centralized authentication system with safe private data storage, utilizing ID Tokens that combine hardware tokens with cryptographic keys for secure user authentication and data storage, ensuring mutual authentication between users and service providers, and dispersing user data across multiple storage nodes for redundancy and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If simple password protection is used for authentication, then ease of operation is improved, but security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple authentication factors (password, hardware token, cryptographic keys) into a unified authentication system. The user profile integrates various credential types, and the authentication process merges multiple verification steps into a single coordinated flow, resolving the contradiction by making strong authentication as convenient as simple password entry.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal authentication mechanism that works across multiple service providers and platforms. The centralized user profile and distributed credential storage enable single sign-on functionality, allowing users to authenticate once and access multiple services, thereby maintaining ease of operation while enhancing security through consistent multi-factor authentication across all platforms.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple loyalty cards are carried for different platforms, then adaptability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple loyalty card functionalities into a single digital wallet or mobile device application. The system consolidates various platform-specific credentials, rewards programs, and loyalty cards into one unified interface, eliminating the need to physically carry multiple cards while maintaining adaptability across different platforms through standardized authentication protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The authentication system provides universal access across multiple platforms and service providers through a single user profile and credential set. The system enables one card to function across multiple platforms by implementing platform-agnostic authentication mechanisms, thereby achieving both adaptability and operational convenience.
3Ease of operation
If user data is stored centrally in service provider databases, then ease of operation is improved, but security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments user data storage across multiple distributed nodes rather than concentrating it in a single centralized database. Credentials are split into multiple components stored in different locations, and the user profile is distributed across multiple service providers. This segmentation reduces the impact of any single data breach while maintaining ease of data access through coordinated retrieval mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary authentication layer that mediates between users and service provider databases. Rather than direct access to centralized databases, the intermediary authentication service verifies credentials and retrieves only necessary information, reducing exposure to data breaches while maintaining operational efficiency. The intermediary acts as a security buffer that preserves data accessibility while mitigating breach risks.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A token-based centralized authentication method for providing access to a service provider to user information associated with a user's relationship with the service provider includes the steps of: authenticating a user presenting a user token at a user terminal, the user token having stored thereon a user ID; deriving a resource identifier using at least two data input elements, the at least two data input elements including the user ID of the user and a service provider ID of the service provider, wherein the user information is stored in a storage network and the resource identifier is associated with the user information; retrieving the user information from the storage network using the resource identifier; and providing the retrieved user information to the service provider.