Production Data Management System for Secure Diagnostics
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Solution Overview
Problem
In production environments, diagnostic and analytic operations are hindered by the presence of sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information, which must be protected from leakage outside the production environment, while still allowing for diagnostic and analytic processes to improve application performance and security.
Innovation Solution
A management system that identifies sensitive data locations within production data, masks the sensitive data to prevent leakage, and maintains metadata to facilitate analysis, using techniques such as data annotation, pattern matching, and encryption to conceal sensitive information while preserving diagnostic and analytic capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If production data is made accessible outside production environment for diagnostic purposes, then diagnostic capability is improved, but security and privacy protection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts sensitive data from production data by identifying and removing personally identifiable information (PII) and other confidential elements. This creates a sanitized version of production data that can be safely accessed outside the production environment for diagnostic purposes without exposing sensitive information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary processing system that sits between the production environment and external diagnostic tools. This intermediary automatically masks sensitive data while preserving diagnostic value, allowing diagnostics to proceed without direct access to raw production data containing sensitive information.
2Reliability
If sensitive data is masked to prevent leakage, then security is improved, but diagnostic utility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different masking strategies to different types of data based on their diagnostic value and sensitivity. Critical diagnostic data is preserved with minimal masking, while highly sensitive PII is heavily masked or removed. This localized approach to data masking maintains diagnostic utility while ensuring security compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms sensitive data by changing its parameters through masking techniques such as redaction, anonymization, or pseudonymization. These parameter changes preserve the structural and relational information needed for diagnostics while altering the sensitive content to prevent identification of individuals or confidential information.
Data Source
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AI summary
Production data is managed to avoid leakage of sensitive data. One or more of a number of techniques can be employed to discover sensitive data amongst production data. In one instance, data specified about production data in a production application, for example by way of an attribute, can be used to identify sensitive data. Sensitive production data can subsequently be masked to conceal sensitive data from view. Furthermore, metadata regarding sensitive data can be maintained.