Secure Data Broker for Law Enforcement Cloud Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for accessing law enforcement data do not provide secure access for mobile users on public networks and fail to integrate with cloud-based law enforcement services, posing risks due to lack of coverage and inadequate data security.
Innovation Solution
A secure data broker is introduced to form an interface between authorized client devices and secure databases, enabling encrypted access to sensitive data across public networks, with the ability to store encrypted data in cloud storage for secure retrieval, ensuring only authorized users can access the data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If law enforcement data is accessed through private networks only, then data security is maintained, but mobile access and coverage are limited
Solution Approach 1:
A secure data broker is introduced as an intermediary component that sits between the private network database and public network clients. The broker receives encrypted queries from mobile clients over public networks, forwards them to the private network database, and returns encrypted results. This mediator enables public network access while maintaining private network security boundaries, resolving the contradiction between data security and mobile accessibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If law enforcement data is stored in cloud storage, then accessibility and deployment are improved, but data security risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the system are assigned different security characteristics. The cloud storage component stores only encrypted data with security properties matching cloud accessibility requirements, while the private network database stores decrypted data with security properties matching private network protection requirements. The secure data broker maintains encryption keys and controls the decryption/encryption process. This local quality differentiation allows cloud integration while maintaining appropriate security at each layer.
3Reliability
If data is encrypted for secure transmission, then data security is improved, but processing and retrieval complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The secure data broker implements self-service encryption management by automatically generating, storing, and managing encryption keys without requiring manual intervention. The broker handles the complete encryption/decryption workflow autonomously - encrypting queries before sending to the database, decrypting results, and re-encrypting for cloud storage. This automation reduces the operational complexity that would otherwise be associated with manual encryption key management.
Data Source
AI summary
A secure data broker includes a public network interface, an authorization module, a database interface, and an encryption module. The public network interface is configured to receive a database query and authorization information from a client device over a secure connection and return a response to the database query to the client device over the secure connection. The authorization module is configured to authorize the client device based on the authorization information, which was issued to the client device by the public safety platform. The database interface is configured to submit the database query to a secure database in response to the authorization of the client device and to receive the response to the database query from the secure database. The encryption module is configured to encrypt the response to the database query using a broker key.