Decentralized Data Distribution Using Segmented Cryptographic Keys
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data storage and sharing methods are insecure, vulnerable to attacks, and lack user control, with concerns about data misuse and unauthorized access, especially as data is replicated and shared across various platforms.
Innovation Solution
A secure data distribution and storage system that uses cryptographic keys, where data is encrypted with a symmetric key and further encrypted using a public key based on a unique physical attribute, ensuring only the data owner can decrypt it, and employs data splitting for secure storage across multiple locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If data is stored in an unencrypted manner on hard drives or databases, then data accessibility and ease of operation are improved, but data security and vulnerability to attacks deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides data into multiple portions and stores them in different locations. Each portion alone is insufficient to reconstruct the original data, providing security while maintaining accessibility through authorized reassembly. This directly addresses the contradiction by making data secure yet accessible to authorized users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces cryptographic keys as intermediaries between the data and authorized users. These keys control access without being stored in traditional secret locations, enabling secure data retrieval while preventing unauthorized access. The keys act as mediators that resolve the tension between security and accessibility.
2Reliability
If data is encrypted by a single master key on a single server, then data security is improved, but vulnerability to attacks and ease of operation deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments both the data and the cryptographic keys into multiple portions stored in different locations. This eliminates the single point of failure inherent in single-key systems while maintaining security. Authorized users can retrieve data by collecting sufficient portions and reassembling them, providing both security and operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent moves from a single-dimension security model (one key on one server) to a multi-dimensional model where data and keys are distributed across multiple spatial locations and can be accessed through different combinations of portions. This dimensional expansion provides both enhanced security and operational resilience.
3Ease of operation
If secrets such as tokens, passwords, and keys are stored in a system, then authentication and access control are improved, but security and vulnerability to theft deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the secret (cryptographic key) from traditional storage locations and embeds it within the data structure itself in encrypted form. The key is not stored separately but is reconstructed from distributed portions of the data, eliminating the vulnerability of separate key storage while maintaining authentication capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the data and the cryptographic key into a unified structure where the key is embedded within the data itself in encrypted form. This combination eliminates the need for separate key management systems and reduces security vulnerabilities associated with separate key storage.
4Reliability
If data is replicated or mirrored for storage on backup equipment, then data availability and reliability are improved, but security vulnerabilities and storage complexity deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into multiple portions that are distributed across different storage locations. This segmentation provides redundancy and availability similar to replication but with reduced complexity, as each portion is independently storable and retrievable without requiring complete system replication.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed embodiments relate to decentralized and scalable trust among a plurality of decentralized applications. Techniques include receiving, at a first decentralized application, a signature associated with a first public key, receiving data representing one or more permissions specified by a trusted root application and signed by the trusted root application, signing a second public key associated with a second decentralized application, signing data representing one or more permissions specified by the first decentralized application, and providing the signature associated with the second public key and the signed data representing one or more permissions specified by the first decentralized application, in order to thereby provide trust between the first decentralized application and the second decentralized application.