Payment System Transaction Data Encryption with Multi-Party Key Segmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing payment systems face challenges in ensuring secure, anonymous, and flexible transactions while preventing double spending and fraud, particularly in electronic coin data sets, without relying on central instances, and require mechanisms to de-anonymize transactions for law enforcement when necessary.
Innovation Solution
A method involving participant units that generate transaction data sets, encrypt them with a cryptographic key composed of multiple partial keys from remote instances, and send them to a transaction register for secure storage, allowing authorized access while maintaining confidentiality and integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If transaction data is encrypted with multiple partial keys from remote instances, then security and privacy are improved, but system complexity and key management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cryptographic key is segmented into multiple partial keys stored at different remote instances. Each participant unit holds only its own partial key, preventing any single instance from decrypting transaction data alone. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing security responsibilities across multiple entities, improving overall security while making the system robust against single-point failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a transaction register as an intermediary that coordinates the key management process. The transaction register facilitates the combination of partial keys when needed for decryption (e.g., by authorized law enforcement with proper authorization), without any single participant unit having full access. This intermediary manages the complexity of coordinating multiple keys while maintaining security.
2Loss of information
If direct anonymous payment between participant units is enabled, then privacy is improved, but the ability to detect and prevent fraud decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by encrypting transaction data with multiple partial keys before transmission and storing encrypted records in the transaction register. This preliminary encryption ensures privacy is maintained from the outset, while the encrypted records remain available for future fraud detection when proper authorization is obtained, thus resolving the contradiction between immediate privacy and future security needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of transaction data from plaintext to encrypted form, and can change back when authorized. The encryption parameter (encrypted vs. decrypted state) is dynamically adjusted based on authorization levels. This allows the system to maintain privacy by default while enabling fraud detection when necessary, resolving the contradiction through parameter transformation.
3Loss of information
If transaction data is stored in encrypted form in the transaction register, then confidentiality is improved, but the ability to de-anonymize for law enforcement requests decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the decryption state of transaction data based on authorization. Under normal conditions, data remains encrypted to maintain confidentiality. When law enforcement provides proper authorization, the system dynamically changes the state by combining partial keys to decrypt the data. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptive to different operational contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The transaction register serves multiple functions: it stores encrypted transaction data for privacy protection, facilitates fraud detection through encrypted record keeping, and enables authorized de-anonymization when law enforcement requests are validated. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction by making the same storage mechanism serve both confidentiality and law enforcement needs under different conditions.
4Speed
If electronic coin data sets are transmitted directly between terminals without central instance, then transaction speed is improved, but the risk of manipulation and double spending increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where transaction records are stored in the transaction register and can be verified by participant units. While transactions occur directly between terminals for speed, the encrypted records provide feedback loops for verification. Authorized parties can query the transaction register to verify transactions, creating a feedback mechanism that maintains integrity without slowing down the direct transaction process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary encryption of transaction data before transmission and storage. This preliminary action ensures that even if direct transmission occurs without central instance verification, the data is protected from manipulation. The encrypted records serve as preliminary evidence that can be verified later, maintaining integrity while enabling fast direct transactions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method involves a first participating unit having an electronic coin data set registered in a coin register of a payment system. The method includes: generating a transaction data set relating to the transmission of the electronic coin data set to a second participating unit; encrypting the generated transaction data set using a cryptographic key, wherein the cryptographic key is composed of at least two cryptographic sub-keys of different respective remote entities; and initiating a communication connection to a transaction register of the payment system in order to transmit the encrypted transaction data set to the transaction register.