Key Cache and Rotation Structure for Secure Encrypted Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data encryption methods for data at rest provide insufficient protection against unauthorized access, especially when a malevolent actor gains remote privileged access to a server or penetrates unsecured applications, and require manual passphrase input for full-disk encryption.
Innovation Solution
Implement a unified structure for key encryption and decryption keys in local memory, with separate rates for key removal and eviction, and utilize a pool of key encryption keys and cache of key decryption keys to enhance security and enable rapid access without remote retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a unified structure for key encryption and decryption keys is implemented in local memory, then data security is enhanced by thwarting malicious correlation of keys, but device complexity increases due to separate rates for key removal and eviction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the key management system into two separate structures: a pool of key encryption keys with its own removal rate, and a cache of key decryption keys with its own eviction rate. This segmentation prevents malicious actors from correlating encryption and decryption keys, enhancing security while managing complexity through structured organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of key lifecycle management by implementing different removal rates for encryption keys and eviction rates for decryption keys. This parameter differentiation allows the system to independently control the security lifecycle of each key type, enhancing security posture while maintaining manageable complexity through parameterized control.
2Speed
If key decryption keys are cached in local memory, then rapid decryption access is enabled without remote retrieval, but loss of information increases when keys are evicted from the cache
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by caching key decryption keys in local memory before they are needed for decryption operations. This allows the system to rapidly access decryption keys without remote retrieval when decryption is required, while the key eviction mechanism ensures that the cache is maintained with relevant keys.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic action through the key eviction mechanism, where decryption keys are periodically removed from the cache based on defined criteria. This periodic eviction balances the need for rapid access with the need to manage cache resources, ensuring that the most relevant keys are retained while older or less frequently used keys are evicted.
3Reliability
If separate rates for key removal and eviction are implemented, then security is enhanced by preventing key correlation attacks, but productivity decreases due to increased key management overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the key management operations into separate removal processes for encryption keys and eviction processes for decryption keys. This segmentation prevents correlation attacks by ensuring that the lifecycle management of encryption and decryption keys is independently controlled, while the modular structure allows for efficient implementation of each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the key pool and cache automatically manage their respective keys based on defined removal and eviction rates. This automation reduces the manual overhead of key management while maintaining security through consistent application of the separate rates, allowing the system to serve itself in key lifecycle management.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
AI summary
Key management for encrypted data (280) includes establishing a cache (150) of key decryption keys (140) and periodically evicting the keys from the cache. A pool (110) of key encryption keys (120) also is created and periodically, selected key encryption keys are removed from service. Notably, the rate (110A) of removable of the encryption keys differs from the rate (150A) of cache eviction for the decryption keys. Thereafter, clear data (280) is encrypted with a cipher (100) to produce cipher text (190), and the cipher is encrypted with a selected key encryption key from the pool. Finally, in response to an access request for the clear data, an attempt to locate in the cache a key decryption for the encrypted cipher (170) is made. If attempt fails, the key decryption key is retrieved from remote memory. Finally, the encrypted cipher is decrypted with the located key, and the cipher text decrypted to produce the clear data.