Keychain Synchronization with Peer Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data-sharing technologies among multiple devices often lack secure communication protocols and fail to verify if devices in a network have matching keychains, leading to potential unauthorized access and synchronization issues.
Innovation Solution
A method for securely synchronizing keychains between devices using a peer-to-peer network with a secure transport layer, employing protocols like OTR messaging or SSL, and implementing a keychain manager to manage synchronization, conflicts, and access control, ensuring only authorized devices with matching keychains can access and sync data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data sharing is implemented among multiple devices, then data synchronization is improved, but security and authorization control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary keychain matching between devices before allowing data synchronization. The master device compares keychains of slave devices to verify authorization beforehand, ensuring only authenticated devices can access and sync data, thus preventing unauthorized access while maintaining synchronization capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a keychain manager as an intermediary component that handles security verification and authorization control. This mediator verifies keychain matches and manages access rights between devices, enabling secure data synchronization without compromising security
2Reliability
If keychain verification is implemented, then authorization control is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the keychain verification function with the existing synchronization mechanism. The master device performs keychain comparison as part of the normal sync initiation process, combining authorization verification with data synchronization operations to avoid adding separate complex verification systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the master device's existing keychain to verify and authorize slave devices. The master device compares its own keychain with slave device keychains to determine authorization, allowing the system to self-verify without requiring external authentication services or complex verification infrastructure
Data Source
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AI summary
There is provided a method comprising: receiving, at a first peer device, a modification to a keychain stored on the first peer device in a group of peer devices, each peer device having been registered into the group through a user account; for each respective other peer device in the group of peer devices, determining (1220), by the first peer device, whether the keychain of the first peer device matches a respective other keychain on the respective other peer device; generating (1230), by the first peer device, a respective update request for each respective other peer device in the group of peer devices for which the other respective other keychain does not match the keychain of the first peer device, the respective update request indicating one or more modifications to be made to the respective other keychain; encrypting (1240), by the first peer device and for each respective other peer device for which the respective update request was generated and using a respective encryption key that specifically corresponds to, and was received from, the respective other peer device, the respective update request; and transmitting (1250), by the first peer device and to each respective other peer device through a network, the respective encrypted update request for each respective other peer device.