Excel Model Compilation for Security and Speed
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Solution Overview
Problem
Microsoft Excel models, containing proprietary and sensitive information, are vulnerable to password cracking and modification, leading to potential financial ruin and loss of intellectual property, and complex models take excessive time to compute due to inefficient processing within the Excel environment.
Innovation Solution
The development of two software modules, ROV Compiler and ROV Extractor and Evaluator, which compile and extract analytical models into encrypted binary format, protecting business intelligence and allowing only authorized users to access and run the models, significantly reducing computation time by converting models into executable files that can run independently of Microsoft Excel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If Microsoft Excel password protection is used to protect models, then basic security is provided, but passwords can be easily cracked by modifying the Excel file
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/password-based protection system with a cryptographic hashing system. Instead of relying on Excel's built-in password protection that can be cracked by file modification, the system uses SHA-256 hashing to create a cryptographic fingerprint of the model file. This cryptographic approach provides mathematically secure protection that cannot be easily reversed or bypassed, fundamentally changing from weak mechanical protection to strong cryptographic protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the protection mechanism by changing from storing actual passwords to storing cryptographic hash values. The hash function converts the password into a fixed-length string that is computationally infeasible to reverse. This parameter change in the protection mechanism - from plaintext passwords to hashed values - provides security against cracking while maintaining the ability to verify passwords through hashing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If complex analytical models are run in Microsoft Excel, then comprehensive computations can be performed, but computation time becomes excessively long for sophisticated analytics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the computational engine from the Excel environment and places it in a standalone Python application. By separating the computation logic from the Excel interface, the system can perform sophisticated analytics like Monte Carlo simulations using Python's optimized libraries without being constrained by Excel's computational overhead. This extraction allows comprehensive computations to be performed at much higher speeds while maintaining the ability to interface with Excel for data input and output.
3Adaptability or versatility
If detailed and large analytical models are created in Excel, then comprehensive analysis is achieved, but the models are vulnerable to accidental deletion, editing, and structural changes by end-users
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a cryptographic copy or fingerprint of the model file using hashing. Instead of trying to prevent users from modifying the Excel file, the system creates a hash-based representation of the original model that serves as a verification mechanism. This cryptographic copy allows the system to detect any unauthorized modifications while preserving the original model's functionality and structure for legitimate use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a cryptographic hash function as an intermediary between the model file and the verification process. This intermediary layer provides a way to verify model integrity without directly controlling or restricting user access to the Excel file. The hash acts as a mediator that confirms whether the model has been modified while allowing the model to remain accessible and functional for its intended purpose.
4Reliability
If Microsoft Excel built-in password protection is used, then some security is provided, but the protection can be easily defeated by off-the-shelf password cracks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces Excel's simple password protection mechanism with a cryptographic hashing system using SHA-256. This substitution provides mathematically secure protection that is computationally infeasible to crack, while the implementation remains relatively simple - requiring only a hash function call and comparison. The complexity of the protection mechanism is minimized while maximizing security through the use of well-established cryptographic primitives.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and software system allowing the ability to use an existing Excel model and extract the business intelligence, relationships, computations and model into pure mathematical relationships and codes such that the business intelligence in the original model is completely protected and the model can be run at extremely high speed and advanced simulations of hundreds of thousands to millions of trials can be run.