Secure File Transfer via Slicing and Signed URIs
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Solution Overview
Problem
The transfer of valuable digital files over networks is vulnerable to interception and unauthorized access, as existing methods lack robust security measures to ensure secure and controlled access.
Innovation Solution
A network architecture that employs a server-client system with a storage application and instruction service to manage access through bucket policies, permissions, and instructions, which slice files, encrypt, and use time-limited signed URIs to control access and transfer processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If files are transferred over the network, then accessibility and convenience are improved, but security and risk of interception deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides files into multiple slices before transmission. Each slice is a separate data segment that can be independently transmitted and tracked. This segmentation allows the system to maintain security by requiring reconstruction of all slices to access the complete file, while still enabling convenient network transfer of individual smaller segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a file transfer service as an intermediary between the client and storage system. This service manages the slicing, transmission, and reconstruction processes, handling security protocols and access control. The intermediary abstracts the complexity of secure transfer from users while maintaining both accessibility and security.
2Reliability
If access control measures are implemented, then security is improved, but system complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal permission system where a single set of bucket policies and instructions manages multiple aspects of file access control. The same mechanism that controls file access also controls slice reconstruction and transfer authorization, eliminating the need for separate control systems and reducing overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses self-validating signed URLs that automatically verify permissions without requiring continuous intermediary validation. The permission checks are embedded in the transfer instructions themselves, allowing the system to enforce security rules autonomously without adding complex external control layers.
3Reliability
If files are sliced and encrypted, then security and integrity are improved, but processing time and complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs file slicing and encryption as preliminary actions during the initial file upload phase. By completing these security-critical operations before transmission begins, the system ensures file integrity is established upfront rather than during transfer, reducing time pressure during the actual transfer process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of file slices for transmission while maintaining the original encrypted versions for storage. The transmitted copies contain only the necessary data segments with embedded metadata, reducing processing overhead during transfer while the full security verification occurs during reconstruction using the original encryption keys.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are various systems, methods, and other embodiments for the secure storage of files and the like. In one example, a determination is made in a server as to whether an entity indicated in a request received in the server is authorized to transfer a file from a client to a mass storage system over a network. A plurality of instructions are obtained in the server to send to the client, where the instructions are configured to control activity of the client in transferring the file from the client to the mass storage system over the network. The instructions are sent to the client in order to implement the transfer of the file from the client to the mass storage system.