Secure Mobile App Data Transfer via Dynamic Storage Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile devices face challenges in securely transferring sensitive content between and within applications, as existing methods expose such content to untrusted nodes due to the use of public storage locations like the clipboard, which can be accessed by any application.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that detects state-related events for managed applications, transfers content from public storage to a secure storage location, and uses encryption to ensure only authorized applications access the content, thereby reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If content is transferred to a public storage location for application-to-application transfer, then ease of operation is improved, but security is worsened as untrusted applications can access the content
Solution Approach 1:
The storage location is segmented into public storage (accessible by all applications) and secure storage (accessible only by managed applications). Content is transferred to secure storage when the managing application is not active, preventing untrusted applications from accessing it while allowing easy transfer when the application is active.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically transferring content from public storage to secure storage based on the state of the managing application. When the application transitions to an inactive state, content is proactively moved to secure storage before any untrusted application can access it.
2Reliability
If content is stored in secure storage location, then security is improved, but ease of operation is worsened as access is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The storage accessibility is made dynamic based on the state of the managing application. When the application is active, content is accessible in public storage for easy operation. When the application is inactive, content is moved to secure storage where it remains protected but can still be accessed by the managing application when it becomes active again.
3Reliability
If encryption is applied to content, then security is improved, but device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The encryption functionality is extracted as a separate service component that manages secure storage. The managing application interacts with this encryption service through simple APIs, avoiding the need to implement complex encryption logic within each application while still providing strong security protection for stored content.
Data Source
AI summary
Secure transfer of mobile application content is disclosed. A state-related event associated with a managed application in a managed set of applications may be detected. It may be determined that content from the managed application is stored at a public storage location on a mobile device. At least a portion of the content may be transferred to a secure storage location accessible to the managed set.