Privileged Server Encryption for Restricted Data Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Data privacy laws restrict the processing and storage of personal data outside specific geographical regions, hindering the implementation of globally integrated enterprise strategies by requiring explicit consent and imposing compliance challenges on data handling and transfer.
Innovation Solution
A data processing system with multiple application servers connected to a shared database, where privileged servers encrypt and process restricted-access data, using cryptographic keys and masking rules to ensure compliance with privacy regimes, allowing plaintext reconstruction and secure storage and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data is stored in a shared database outside the EU/EEA region to enable global enterprise integration, then data accessibility and processing efficiency are improved, but compliance with data privacy laws deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The database is segmented into encrypted data fields and unencrypted metadata fields. Restricted-access data is encrypted using cryptographic keys that are segregated from the main database system, while non-sensitive metadata can be stored and accessed freely. This segmentation allows the system to maintain global data accessibility while ensuring that sensitive personal data remains protected through encryption, thus complying with data privacy laws that restrict cross-border transfer of personal information.
Solution Approach 2:
Cryptographic keys serve as intermediaries between the stored data and authorized access. The keys are managed separately from the database and only released to authorized applications when needed. This intermediary mechanism enables global data accessibility while maintaining compliance, as the actual personal data remains encrypted and inaccessible without proper authorization, effectively creating a controlled access layer that satisfies legal requirements.
2Reliability
If restricted-access data is encrypted and stored in a shared database to ensure data protection, then data security is improved, but data accessibility and processing speed deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Data is encrypted at the point of entry into the database, before any storage or retrieval operations occur. This preliminary encryption action ensures that data is always in protected form during storage and transfer, eliminating the need for additional security processing during retrieval operations. The encryption is performed once during data ingestion, allowing subsequent read operations to proceed efficiently without repeated encryption/decryption cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates and maintains cryptographic key copies in secure locations separate from the database. These key copies enable authorized applications to decrypt data efficiently when needed, without requiring the actual data to be moved or copied. The separation of key management from data storage allows fast data retrieval while maintaining security, as the decryption process can occur locally in authorized applications rather than requiring centralized cryptographic processing.
3Ease of operation
If cryptographic keys are maintained in database clients for plaintext reconstruction, then data accessibility is improved, but security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
Cryptographic keys are distributed to specific database clients based on their authorization levels and operational needs. Each client receives only the keys necessary for its specific functions, not all keys in the system. This localized key distribution minimizes the security surface area, as compromise of one client does not expose all cryptographic keys. It also improves operational efficiency by allowing authorized clients to access and decrypt data locally without requiring centralized key management during operational transactions.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments relate to operating a data processing system. An aspect includes receiving a request for data storage by an application server, said request comprising restricted-access data. Another aspect includes processing the request in the first application server thereby extracting said restricted-access data from the request. Another aspect includes encrypting said restricted-access data with a cryptographic key associated with said privacy regime to a cipher representation. Another aspect includes defining a masking rule relative to the field designated for storage of the cipher representation, the masking rule defining a set of privacy regimes applicable to processing of the restricted-access data. Another aspect includes forwarding the cipher representation and the masking rule to the shared database by a database client. Another aspect includes maintaining information about the cryptographic key in said database client for allowing plaintext reconstruction of restricted-access data from the cipher representation when retrieved from the shared database.