Distributed Vault Data Segmentation for Secure Emergency Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in securely storing and retrieving sensitive data, such as passwords or keys, due to trust issues with emergency data holders and the risks of hacking or loss, especially when these data holders need access in emergency situations.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for storing and retrieving data from distributed vaults, where a data item is split into multiple pieces, each stored in a unique vault, allowing reconstruction with a subset of pieces, and ownership transfer is recorded on a blockchain for transparency and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the password or key is stored with an emergency data holder, then access in emergency situations is enabled, but trust and security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the password or key into multiple separate pieces and stores them in different vaults. No single vault holder has complete access, eliminating the trust issue while enabling emergency access when sufficient vaults combine their pieces. This directly resolves the contradiction by segmenting the secret so that emergency access is possible without concentrating trust in a single holder.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces distributed vaults as intermediaries between the user and the emergency data holder. Instead of directly trusting a human holder, the system uses multiple vaults that collectively hold the pieces. The vaults act as mediators that can provide access in emergencies through cryptographic verification without requiring personal trust in any single entity.
2Ease of operation
If the data is stored in a single location with an emergency data holder, then retrieval is simple, but security against hacking and loss deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data into multiple pieces stored across different vaults. This segmentation means that hackers would need to compromise multiple vaults simultaneously to obtain the complete password or key, dramatically increasing the security threshold while maintaining straightforward retrieval through the same segmented structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Each vault stores only a specific piece of the data with its own security characteristics. This allows different security measures to be applied locally at each vault without affecting the entire system. The local quality approach enables tailored security at each storage location while the collective system provides enhanced protection against hacking and loss.
3Reliability
If the data item is split into multiple pieces and stored in different vaults, then security is enhanced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal system where the same vault infrastructure and cryptographic protocols handle multiple functions: secure storage, emergency access, ownership transfer, and audit logging. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity by reusing the same distributed vault mechanism for various security operations rather than creating separate systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service operations where users can independently manage their own data items, split them into pieces, store them in vaults, and control access without requiring complex manual coordination. The automated cryptographic protocols and smart contracts handle the complexity of managing multiple pieces across different vaults, making the system appear simple to users while maintaining high security.
4Reliability
If ownership transfer is recorded on a blockchain, then transparency and security are improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-recording ownership information and access permissions in the blockchain before actual data access is needed. This preliminary setup includes storing the relationship between data items, vaults, and owners on the blockchain in advance, so that when emergency access is required, the verification process can proceed quickly using pre-established cryptographic proofs rather than requiring complex real-time computations.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods, systems, and media for storing and retrieving data from distributed vaults are provided. In some embodiments, a method for storing and retrieving data from distributed vaults is provided, the method comprising: generating, by a first user device, a plurality of pieces of a data item, wherein a count N of the plurality of pieces equals a count of vault devices in a group of vault devices, wherein the data item can be reconstructed from a subset of the plurality of pieces, and wherein the data item corresponds to a key to access secure content; for each piece of the data item, transmitting the piece of the data item to a unique vault device; requesting, by a second user device, the subset of the plurality of pieces; generating the data item using the subset of the plurality of pieces; and using the data item to access the secure content.