Data Entanglement for Secure Enterprise Search Indexes

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing encryption systems are ineffective for protecting sensitive data in search indices, as they do not allow for search operations and can be bypassed by system administrators or IT staff with logical access.

Innovation Solution

The use of data entanglement, which transforms sensitive data into an entangled form that maintains positional and term context, allowing for secure search and analysis without decrypting the data.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional encryption is used to protect sensitive data, then data security is improved, but search capability and analytical operations are lost

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata securityVSAvoidsearch capability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the data protection approach by separating the search index storage from the original data storage. The search index stores encrypted data while the original data remains accessible for analysis in a separate secure location. This segmentation allows search functionality to operate on encrypted data without compromising the ability to perform analytical operations on the original data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediary encryption layer between the data and the search index. This encryption intermediary allows the search engine to query encrypted data without accessing the plaintext, thus maintaining both security and search capability. The intermediary enables secure data storage while preserving search functionality through encrypted query processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If data is stored in cleartext for search operations, then search capability is maintained, but data security and protection against breaches are compromised

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesearch capabilityVSAvoiddata security

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary encryption action before data is stored in the search index. The data is encrypted in advance, and the encrypted form is what gets stored and searched. This preliminary action ensures that even if the search index is breached, the actual data remains protected, while still allowing search operations to be performed on the encrypted data structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If encryption is applied at the application layer, then data security is improved, but computational cost increases and system complexity grows

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata securityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a copy of the data in encrypted form for storage in the search index, while the original unencrypted data remains accessible to authorized applications. This copying approach allows the system to maintain security through encryption without requiring all data to be permanently encrypted, thus reducing the computational burden and system complexity compared to full encryption at the application layer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentUS20250190567A1The use of data entanglement for improving the security of search indexes while using native enterprise search engines and for protecting computer systems against malware including ransomware

Publication Date: 2025.06.12 PORTAL26 INC

AI summary

A method for preprocessing cleartext strings is provided. In some embodiments, the method includes creating dynamic multidimensional spaces based on a key. The method further includes creating a position specific variability for the cleartext strings to form a preprocessed strings, where characters that appear in different positions within the cleartext strings are encoded differently in the preprocessed strings. The method also include applying encryption to the preprocessed strings or to preprocessed string fragments to form encrypted preprocessed strings, wherein the encrypted preprocessed strings are searchable in a search index.