Man-in-the-Middle Data Provenance Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for managing data privacy and intellectual property in computing networks, particularly with mobile devices, lack effective control over data disclosure and provenance tracking, leading to vulnerabilities in privacy and intellectual property protection.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a friendly man-in-the-middle device and agent program code on mobile devices to track the location and provenance of data objects, generating chain of custody and provenance reports, and applying policies to ensure data security and integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If data is transmitted freely across computing networks, then ease of operation and data accessibility are improved, but data privacy and intellectual property protection deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a man-in-the-middle device that acts as an intermediary between data sources and data destinations. This device intercepts data transmissions, attaches provenance metadata (including origin, creation time, and custody chain information), and forwards the data. The intermediary enables continued data flow while embedding tracking information that protects privacy and intellectual property without blocking legitimate data access.
2Reliability
If provenance tracking is implemented for all data objects, then data security and intellectual property protection are improved, but device complexity and system overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the provenance tracking function into a separate man-in-the-middle device rather than embedding complex tracking logic in every endpoint device. This segmentation isolates the complexity to a dedicated intermediary that handles metadata attachment and tracking, while endpoint devices maintain their original simplicity. The provenance system becomes a separate layer that operates transparently on data in transit.
3Measurement precision
If contextual data is collected and tracked for all data objects, then measurement precision of data location and provenance is improved, but loss of time for data processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent attaches provenance metadata to data objects at the point of creation or initial transmission, performing the tracking setup in advance. The man-in-the-middle device embeds contextual information (origin, creation time, initial custody) into the data stream before it enters the network. This preliminary action eliminates the need for continuous tracking during data transmission, as the provenance information is already embedded and can be queried later without adding processing delays.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed for tracking locations of data objects in a computing network. In one example, a method comprises the following steps. Contextual data is received. The contextual data is associated with a given data object and transmitted from one or more computing devices. The one or more computing devices created the given data object and/or accessed the given data object. At least a portion of the received contextual data is used to track one or more locations of the given data object. A chain of custody report and/or a provenance report may be generated from the one or more tracked locations of the given data object. Also, a policy can be applied.