Encrypted Search Index on Third-Party Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional third-party storage services face challenges in securely maintaining search indexes for encrypted files, as unsecured indexes can reveal private data, compromising customer privacy and compliance with data protection regulations.
Innovation Solution
The development of systems and methods for maintaining encrypted search indexes on third-party storage systems, which involve identifying and encrypting keywords, generating encrypted search indexes using pseudo-random functions, and storing them with unique lookup keys, ensuring secure keyword indexing and searching while protecting sensitive information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If search indexes are maintained for encrypted files to enable keyword searching, then search functionality is improved, but security is worsened because unsecured indexes can reveal private data
Solution Approach 1:
The search index is segmented into multiple components: encrypted file identifiers, encrypted keywords, and their associations. Each component is encrypted separately using different keys, allowing the index to maintain search functionality while preventing reconstruction of original data from any single component
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary encryption layer is introduced between the search index and stored data. The system uses encrypted keywords as intermediaries that can match search queries without revealing the actual content of encrypted files, acting as a secure mediator that enables searching without compromising data privacy
2Productivity
If keywords are extracted from encrypted files to create search indexes, then search capability is improved, but privacy is worsened because keyword extraction may expose sensitive information
Solution Approach 1:
Keywords are extracted from encrypted files and stored separately in an encrypted form in the search index. This extraction allows search functionality to operate on keyword metadata without requiring access to or exposure of the actual encrypted file contents, separating the search capability from the sensitive data
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of keywords from plaintext to encrypted form in the search index. By encrypting keywords using customer-specific keys, the system transforms searchable terms into secure representations that maintain searchability while eliminating privacy risks associated with storing plaintext keywords
3Object-affected harmful factors
If encrypted search indexes are implemented to protect data privacy, then security is improved, but system complexity is worsened due to additional encryption and key management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The encryption system is designed to be universal across multiple files and customers. A single encryption key can protect multiple keywords and file identifiers, and the same encryption framework serves both data-at-rest protection and search index security, reducing overall system complexity through consolidation
Solution Approach 2:
Encryption keys and search indexes are pre-configured and established before data is stored or searched. The system performs preliminary encryption of keywords and file identifiers during index creation, so that subsequent search operations can proceed without real-time encryption overhead, simplifying the operational complexity
4Speed
If conventional search indexes are used for encrypted files, then search efficiency is improved, but reliability is worsened because indexes may be compromised and reveal private data
Solution Approach 1:
The search index structure is segmented into encrypted components that can be independently verified. File identifiers, keywords, and their associations are stored as separate encrypted elements, allowing the system to maintain efficient lookup operations while ensuring that compromise of one element does not reveal other sensitive information
Solution Approach 2:
Encrypted keywords serve as intermediaries between search queries and stored data. The search process uses these encrypted intermediaries to match queries without exposing actual file contents, maintaining search efficiency while ensuring that even if the index is accessed, the intermediate encrypted keywords cannot reveal private data
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method for maintaining encrypted search indexes on third party storage systems may include (1) identifying a plurality of encrypted files, (2) identifying a plurality of keywords contained in the plurality of encrypted files, and (3) generating an encrypted search index for searching the plurality of encrypted files by (i) identifying, for each keyword in the plurality of keywords, a list of encrypted files in the plurality of encrypted files that contain the keyword, (ii) encrypting the list of encrypted files, and (iii) storing the encrypted list of encrypted files such that the encrypted list of encrypted files can be identified using a lookup key generated by applying a pseudo-random function to the keyword. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.