Key Distribution Service Centralized Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Distributed computing systems face challenges in managing and rotating secrets such as certificates, passwords, and storage account keys, which become invalid over time, requiring frequent renewal and posing compliance and security risks due to ad hoc user and application variations.
Innovation Solution
A key distribution service provides centralized and standardized management of encryption and decryption keys, using a key derivation scheme to autonomously manage keys away from the data protector, ensuring secure key rotation and access control, with a security token service for identity management and key operations performed on a server-side component.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If keys are managed locally at the data protector on each client device, then each client can independently perform encryption and decryption operations, but key management complexity increases and security risks arise from ad hoc user and application variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts key management functionality from the local data protector on each client device and centralizes it in a dedicated key management service. The local data protector retains encryption and decryption capabilities but delegates key generation, storage, and rotation to the centralized service, thereby reducing local complexity while maintaining operational independence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a key management service as an intermediary between clients and the key lifecycle. This service acts as a mediator that handles key generation, distribution, rotation, and revocation, eliminating the need for each client to implement its own key management logic and reducing ad hoc variations across different users and applications.
2Reliability
If secrets are renewed frequently to maintain security, then security compliance improves, but system complexity and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automated key rotation where the key management service autonomously generates new keys, updates them in the system, and manages the transition without requiring manual intervention. The service monitors key lifecycles and performs renewals based on predefined policies, maintaining security compliance while reducing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes periodic key rotation schedules where keys are automatically renewed at predetermined intervals. This systematic approach ensures security compliance through regular key updates while the automation reduces the operational overhead compared to manual key management processes.
3Speed
If key management is performed locally at each client, then data access speed is maintained, but storage overhead increases and centralized security control is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts key storage from local client devices and centralizes it in a secure key management service. Clients retain only minimal key reference information locally, dramatically reducing storage overhead. The actual cryptographic keys are stored and managed centrally, eliminating the need for each client to maintain full key copies.
Data Source
AI summary
Various methods and systems are provided for autonomous secrets management for a key distribution service (“KDS”). A KDS server performs centralized management and distribution of keys for client devices in a distributed computing system, which obviates key management and distribution at the client devices. In operation, a key request is received at a KDS server from a KDS client device. The key request is generated using a data protector and a KDS client component of the KDS client device. The key request is associated with a caller and a security token of the caller. The caller is authenticated at a security token service (STS) based on a security token. An encryption key or decryption key associated with the key request is generated. The encryption key or the decryption key is generated based on an interval-based key derivation scheme. The encryption key or the decryption key is communicated to KDS client.