Cryptographic Membership Proofs for Private Device Authorization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing group communication technologies expose group communication identifiers to third-party applications and servers, compromising user privacy and security during collaborative sessions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a tree data structure using cryptographic identities to verify device authorization without revealing user or device identifiers, allowing secure access to collaborative items without exposing group communication session information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If group communication identifiers are exposed to third-party applications and servers for verification, then device authorization can be verified, but user privacy and security are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces cryptographic tokens and zero-knowledge proofs as intermediaries between the device and the verification system. Instead of exposing group communication identifiers directly to third-party servers, the device generates cryptographic proofs that verify membership without revealing the actual identifiers. The server verifies these cryptographic proofs without ever seeing the sensitive group communication identifiers, thus acting as an intermediary that enables verification while protecting privacy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential verification property (membership proof) from the sensitive data (group communication identifiers). Using cryptographic techniques, the system separates the authorization verification function from the actual identifier data. The device generates a cryptographic token that contains only the necessary proof of membership, excluding the sensitive group communication identifiers themselves, which are never transmitted to third-party servers.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If cryptographic identities are used to preserve privacy, then user identifiers are protected, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary cryptographic operations during device initialization and group joining. The device generates cryptographic keys and tokens in advance, before any verification is needed. These pre-computed cryptographic identities are stored locally and can be used immediately for verification without requiring complex real-time computations. The heavy cryptographic work is done beforehand, simplifying the actual verification process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses cryptographic tokens as simplified copies or representations of the actual group communication identifiers. Instead of transmitting and processing the complex, sensitive identifier data, the system uses lightweight cryptographic tokens that replicate the essential verification function. These token copies are much simpler to handle, transmit, and verify than the original identifiers, reducing system complexity while maintaining security.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the subject technology include obtaining, by a first device associated with a first user account, one or more keys of one or more devices associated with a second user account and generating a data structure representing the one or more devices associated with the second user account based on the one or more keys. Aspects may also include providing an identifier of the data structure to a server for association with the item and generating an invitation for the second user account to access the item. Aspects may further include providing the invitation to a second device of the one or more devices associated with the second user account to provide the second device with access to the item via the server based on at least a portion of the data structure and a respective key of the second device.