Data Anonymization System with Case Preservation for Secure Cloud Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
As more enterprises use third-party hosted applications, there is a need for efficient data security measures to protect data from unauthorized access, particularly in cloud computing environments where data is transmitted and stored across networks.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for anonymizing data transmitted to a destination computing device by converting characters to a known case and applying a selective anonymization strategy, including the use of tokenization and encryption, to generate anonymized data with embedded case information and strategy indicators, ensuring secure transmission and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If data is transmitted in plain text to third-party hosted applications, then data transmission is simple and fast, but data security and protection from unauthorized access deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary anonymization of data before transmission to the third-party hosted application. The data is anonymized at the client side prior to transmission, so that when data is sent over the network, it is already in an secure, anonymized form. This preliminary action ensures data security without adding complexity during the actual transmission process.
Solution Approach 2:
The anonymization system acts as an intermediary between the client and the third-party application. It includes an anonymization module that processes data before transmission and a de-anonymization module that restores data after retrieval. This intermediary layer ensures that data remains secure during transmission while maintaining functionality at the destination.
2Reliability
If data is anonymized before transmission, then data security is improved, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anonymization process is segmented into distinct modules: an anonymization module that processes outgoing data, and a de-anonymization module that processes incoming data. Each module handles specific tasks independently, making the overall complex process more manageable and maintainable. The segmentation allows for specialized processing of different data types and security requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters of the data during anonymization, such as transforming data into encoded formats, modifying data structures, or altering data representations. These parameter changes enable the data to be securely transmitted while maintaining its functionality. The de-anonymization process reverses these parameter changes to restore the original data.
3Reliability
If case-sensitive data is transmitted, then data integrity is maintained, but search and sort operations become more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a copy of the original case-sensitive data during anonymization. This copy includes metadata or indicators that preserve case information. When data is transmitted in anonymized form, the case information is maintained separately, allowing for case-insensitive searches and sorts while preserving the integrity of the original data. The de-anonymization process uses this copied information to restore the original case-sensitive data.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for anonymizing data to be transmitted to a destination computing device is disclosed. Anonymization strategy for data anonymization is provided. Data to be transmitted is received from a user computer, the data including a plurality of characters, with at least one character case sensitive. A case information word indicative of the case of the characters is created. The characters in the data is converted to a known case. Selective anonymization of the converted data is performed, based on a selected anonymization strategy, using an anonymization module. The anonymized data with the case information word and data indicative of the selected anonymization strategy is transmitted to the destination computing device over a network.