File Recovery from Malicious Attacks Using Distributed Encryption
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Computing devices are vulnerable to malicious attacks, such as ransomware, which can compromise data storage systems, leading to the need for effective data protection and recovery methods.
Innovation Solution
A file recovery process is implemented using a file system replicated across multiple machines, where each machine has a unique symmetric encryption key. Files are scrambled, split into multiple pieces, and encrypted with different keys, ensuring that no single compromised machine can access the unscrambled data. The system allows for data recovery as long as a majority of machines remain uncompromised.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If files are stored on a single computing device, then data accessibility is simple and direct, but the system becomes vulnerable to malicious attacks and data loss
Solution Approach 1:
The file is divided into multiple slices and distributed across multiple computing devices. Each slice is encrypted with a unique symmetric encryption key specific to that device. This segmentation ensures that compromising one device does not expose the entire file, as all slices are required for reconstruction and each is protected by device-specific encryption.
2Reliability
If files are split and encrypted across multiple machines, then resistance to malicious attacks improves, but data recovery complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-dividing the file into slices and pre-distributing them across multiple devices with device-specific encryption keys before any attack occurs. This preparatory segmentation and encryption setup enables automatic recovery processes, as the system already has the file structure and encryption scheme in place to facilitate reconstruction from remaining slices.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple copies of file slices are distributed across different computing devices. Each device holds a portion of the file in encrypted form, and the system maintains knowledge of which slices are located on which devices. This copying strategy ensures that even if some devices are compromised, sufficient copies remain on uncompromised devices to enable file recovery.
3Ease of operation
If all file slices are stored on compromised machines, then data accessibility is maintained, but data security is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Each computing device is assigned a unique symmetric encryption key that is specific to that device. File slices stored on each device are encrypted with that device's unique key, creating local quality differentiation. This means that even if an attacker compromises one device, they cannot decrypt the slices stored on other devices, as each slice is protected by the specific encryption key of the device holding it.
Data Source
AI summary
A file recovery method executed by a storage device among a plurality of storage devices is provided. The file recovery method includes: detecting that the storage device is compromised and deleting file slices and an original encryption key from the storage of the storage device; after the deleting, generating a new encryption key different from the original encryption key; and instantiating a file recovery method to obtain the previously stored file slices on the compromised storage device from other non-compromised storage devices and to distribute new file slices encrypted using the new encryption key to non-compromised storage devices storing file slices encrypted using the old encryption key of the comprised storage device.