File Content Splitting with Shared Key Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
File transfer in network environments is hindered by bandwidth limitations, especially when the transmitting node has limited or expensive bandwidth, and existing solutions do not adequately ensure security for personal or sensitive content while allowing the transfer of widely available content.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where multiple transmitting nodes split a file into portions and share a partial encryption key, requiring multiple shares to decode the content, ensuring that only the recipient with complete information can reconstruct the file, thereby securing personal content while allowing the transfer of widely distributed content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the transmitting node transmits the entire file to ensure complete information transfer, then the receiver can access the content, but the bandwidth consumption increases and security for personal content is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the file into multiple portions and distributes transmission responsibility among multiple transmitter nodes. Each node transmits only a portion of the file, reducing individual bandwidth consumption while ensuring complete information transfer when all portions are assembled. This segmentation directly addresses the contradiction by enabling complete content transfer without requiring any single node to transmit the entire file.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a shared secret key as an intermediary mechanism that enables secure decoding of file portions. The shared key is distributed among multiple nodes, and each node uses its portion of the key to decrypt corresponding file portions. This intermediary security mechanism ensures that personal content remains protected while still allowing legitimate receivers to access the complete file assembly.
2Productivity
If multiple transmitter nodes transmit portions of the file simultaneously to reduce bandwidth pressure, then the transfer efficiency improves, but the complexity of coordinating and assembling the portions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the transmission and security functions into a unified system where multiple transmitter nodes simultaneously transmit file portions while sharing a common secret key management mechanism. The receiver consolidates these portions and uses the assembled key portions to decrypt the complete file. This merging approach improves transfer efficiency through parallel transmission while managing complexity through standardized assembly procedures.
3Reliability
If the transmitting node encrypts the entire file using a shared key before transmission, then the security of personal content is ensured, but the bandwidth consumption increases due to encryption overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation both to the file content (dividing into portions transmitted by different nodes) and to the encryption process (using different key portions for different file segments). This dual segmentation reduces the encryption overhead on any single transmission while maintaining overall security, directly addressing the contradiction between security and bandwidth consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by using different key portions tailored to specific file segments. Each transmitter node uses its assigned key portion to encrypt its corresponding file portion, optimizing the security-efficiency tradeoff locally for each transmission rather than applying uniform encryption to the entire file. This reduces overall bandwidth consumption while maintaining security.
Data Source
AI summary
The gathering of content (such as a file) from a variety of different sources. Rather than provide the whole content, a given one of the sources instead provides only a portion of the information represented by the content. The source also provides a share of, but not the entirety of, the shared secret that will be used to decode. For instance, in one embodiment, the source might encode only a portion of the content using the shared key, and then transmit the encoded portion. As an alternative, the source might encode the entire content, and then transmit a portion of that encoded content. Thus, the transmitter has security with their private content, while still allowing widely available content to be transferred for the benefit of the greater whole.