Immutable Data Access Logs Using Encrypted Ledger Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud services that do not implement bring your own key (BYOK) or hold your own key (HYOK) expose clients to risks due to mishandling of keys, compromising data security, and visibility into key management systems is unreliable as it relies on the cloud provider's integrity.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that encrypts log entries with a public key for the data owner and commits them to a distributed ledger, ensuring immutability and cryptographic verifiability, using a public key infrastructure and Blockchain-based or Ethereum-based distributed ledgers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cloud provider stores and manages access logs internally, then the provider can control and protect the logs, but the client cannot verify the integrity or detect tampering of the logs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a distributed ledger (blockchain) as an intermediary between the cloud provider's log system and the client's verification system. The ledger receives log entries from the provider, stores them immutably, and allows clients to verify integrity through cryptographic proofs, thus mediating the trust relationship without requiring the provider to directly expose internal log storage mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The log entry is segmented into multiple components: the original log data, cryptographic hash values, and proof-of-existence records stored on the distributed ledger. This segmentation allows the client to verify specific aspects of log integrity (through hashes and proofs) without needing access to the entire internal log storage system, resolving the contradiction between provider control and client verification
2Reliability
If the cloud provider exposes full access logs to clients for verification, then the client can detect tampering, but the provider exposes sensitive information about other clients and internal systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential verification elements (cryptographic hashes, timestamps, and proof-of-existence records) from the complete log entries and stores them on the distributed ledger. This extraction allows clients to verify log integrity without accessing sensitive details such as other clients' data or internal system configurations, thus resolving the contradiction between verifiability and information exposure
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the log system have different quality characteristics: the distributed ledger portion contains verifiable but anonymized data (hashes and proofs), while the internal provider systems retain complete sensitive logs. This local differentiation of data quality and accessibility allows each component to serve its specific function without compromising overall security or verifiability
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the cloud provider implements strict access control and redaction of log entries, then sensitive information is protected, but the client's ability to audit and verify provider actions is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary cryptographic hashing to log entries before they are stored or exposed. By pre-computing hashes and storing them on the distributed ledger, the system enables future audit and verification capabilities without needing to expose the actual sensitive log contents. This preliminary cryptographic processing resolves the contradiction by enabling verification while maintaining privacy
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for maintaining immutable data access logs with privacy are disclosed. In one embodiment, in a cloud provider comprising at least one computer processor, the cloud provider having a plurality of clients, a method for maintaining immutable data access logs with privacy may include: (1) receiving data from a data owner, wherein the data owner is one of the clients; (2) storing the data in cloud storage; (3) executing an action or condition that impacts the data stored in cloud storage; (4) generating a log entry associated with the action or condition; (5) encrypting at least a portion of the log entry with a public key for the data owner; and (6) committing the log entry including the encrypted portion to a distributed ledger so that the committed log entry is immutable and cryptographically verifiable.