Secure Manufacturing Data Sharing With Encryption and Anonymization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing manufacturing systems face challenges in securely sharing proprietary data between entities due to growing concerns about data privacy, leading to unintentional loss of sensitive information during data analysis for predictive and corrective operations.
Innovation Solution
A system is implemented with a field service server and anonymizer that encrypts manufacturing process data using public-key cryptography, allowing joint administration by multiple entities, and performs anonymization operations to remove sensitive information before sharing, ensuring secure data exchange while maintaining confidentiality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If manufacturing process data is shared between entities for data analytics and predictive operations, then data value and operational insights are improved, but data security and confidentiality are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by encrypting manufacturing process data with multiple cryptographic keys before sharing it between entities. The data is pre-protected with encryption layers managed by different entities (customer and service provider) before any analytics operations occur, ensuring security is established in advance rather than as an afterthought.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using a shared database management system that requires joint administration through multiple cryptographic keys. This intermediary mechanism allows data to be accessed and analyzed by multiple parties without any single entity having full control, thus balancing data value utilization with security protection.
2Reliability
If data is encrypted with multiple cryptographic keys for security, then data confidentiality is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the cryptographic key management into distinct segments - a first cryptographic key managed by the customer and a second cryptographic key managed by the service provider. Each key segment handles a specific aspect of security, allowing complex multi-key encryption to be managed through modular, separated key responsibilities rather than a monolithic key management system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements multi-functionality by designing a database management system that can operate with multiple cryptographic keys simultaneously. The system is universally designed to handle encryption, decryption, and data sharing operations with different key combinations, allowing the same infrastructure to serve multiple security requirements without requiring separate systems for each key management scenario.
3Reliability
If sensitive information is removed through anonymization, then data security is improved, but data utility for analytics is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing anonymization operations on encrypted data before sharing it with external entities. The sensitive information is removed in advance through automated anonymization processes, ensuring that data utility is preserved for analytical purposes while security is enhanced by eliminating personally identifiable or proprietary sensitive information before data leaves the controlled environment.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device manufacturing system configured to receive, by a first computing system, a request for manufacturing process data request. The system further uses a first cryptographic key controlled by a first entity and a second cryptographic key controlled by a second entity, a database management system to retrieve the manufacturing process data from a data store. The system further obtains, using the database management system, the manufacturing process data stored in the data store. The manufacturing process data is encrypted. The system further sends the encrypted manufacturing process data to a second computing system configured to perform one or more anonymization operations on the manufacturing process data.