Remote Data Integrity Verification via Separate Hash Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional data integrity checking schemes fail to verify the integrity of data blocks stored on remote storage devices, as they do not allow extra data to be appended to the data blocks, making it difficult to ensure the authenticity of data retrieved from untrusted storage locations.
Innovation Solution
An encryption appliance generates and stores a cryptographic hash tag for each data block written to remote storage, allowing for integrity verification by recalculating and comparing the hash upon retrieval, ensuring data integrity even in untrusted environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional data integrity checking schemes are used, then data integrity can be verified for locally stored data, but they fail to verify integrity of data blocks stored on remote storage devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data block into two separate components: the actual data and a separate integrity tag (hash value). This allows the integrity verification mechanism to be applied independently to remote storage without modifying the storage protocol itself. The integrity tag is stored separately from the data block, enabling verification without appending extra data to the data blocks during storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification process where the system recalculates the hash of retrieved data blocks and compares it against the stored integrity tag. This intermediary comparison mechanism enables integrity verification for remote storage without requiring the storage device to inherently support it, thus extending reliability to untrusted remote storage locations.
2Reliability
If extra data is appended to data blocks for integrity checking, then data integrity can be verified, but remote storage protocols do not allow appending extra data to data blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the integrity verification data from the actual data block storage. Instead of appending the integrity tag to the data block (which would violate remote storage protocol constraints), the integrity tag is stored separately in a lookup table or database. This segmentation allows compatibility with existing remote storage protocols while maintaining integrity verification capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the integrity verification function from the data block itself and places it in a separate verification process. The integrity tag is extracted from the data storage operation and stored independently, allowing the remote storage protocol to operate unchanged while still enabling integrity verification through a separate lookup and comparison operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If data is stored on untrusted storage locations, then storage flexibility is improved, but data authenticity cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by calculating and storing the integrity tag (hash value) of the data block before writing it to remote storage. This preliminary computation of the expected hash value allows the system to later verify authenticity by comparing the recalculated hash with the stored tag, thus ensuring data authenticity even when stored on untrusted locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system recalculates the hash of retrieved data and compares it against the stored integrity tag. This feedback loop provides continuous verification that the data retrieved from untrusted storage matches the original data, enabling the system to detect and prevent data tampering or corruption.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods to securely store data in a remote storage (e.g., cloud storage or server). In one approach, a method includes: receiving, from a local device, data blocks to be stored; generating a hash from a hash of each data block; storing each respective hash (e.g., in a local or remote memory for later use); and writing the data blocks to remote storage. Data integrity is verified when each data block is read from the remote storage by generating a hash of the respective read data block, and comparing the generated hash to the respective stored hash.