DRM Manifest Encryption for Data Stream Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital rights management (DRM) schemes can be expensive and impractical for controlling access to digital information, such as audio and video data streams, as they often require encrypting the data itself, which may not effectively prevent unauthorized access or distribution.
Innovation Solution
Encrypting the description of how data segments should be assembled and obfuscating segment names to control access, while keeping the data segments unencrypted, using a combination of keys and pseudorandom sequences to secure the assembly order and segment names.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional DRM schemes encrypt the digital information to prevent unauthorized access, then security is improved, but implementation cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the media file into multiple segments and separates the data from its description (manifest). By encrypting only the manifest and not the data segments themselves, the system achieves security while reducing complexity. Authorized users receive the encrypted manifest which contains instructions for assembling segments, while unauthorized users cannot determine the correct assembly order even if they obtain the segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the encrypted manifest) that mediates between the data segments and the user. The manifest acts as a controller that instructs authorized users how to assemble segments without exposing the assembly logic to unauthorized users. This intermediary approach provides security without requiring encryption of all data.
2Reliability
If DRM schemes encrypt digital information to control access, then access control is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the media distribution system into data segments and a controlling manifest. By applying encryption only to the manifest rather than all data segments, the implementation cost is significantly reduced while maintaining access control. The encrypted manifest contains the necessary instructions for authorized assembly, providing cost-effective security.
3Ease of operation
If the description of data segment assembly is left unencrypted, then ease of operation is improved, but security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial encryption - only the manifest describing assembly instructions is encrypted, not all data segments. This partial action provides sufficient security to prevent unauthorized assembly while maintaining ease of operation for authorized users who receive the decrypted manifest with clear assembly instructions.
Data Source
AI summary
Access to one or more data streams can be controlled by encrypting a description of how segments of the data streams can be assembled, for example, to produce an audio or video program. Access to the one or more data streams can also be provided by obfuscating names of at least some of the segments in order to make it more difficult to determine the proper order for assembling the segments. In at least some embodiments, the data contained in at least some of the segments themselves is not encrypted.