Secure Online Repositories with Hierarchical Lockboxes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital storage solutions lack centralized, secure, and easily accessible mechanisms for storing personal and important records, falling short of providing robust access control and event-driven access features.
Innovation Solution
The development of secure online repositories with hierarchical lockboxes offering public and private areas, accessible via various keys that can be issued based on events or user-defined rules, providing centralized, secure, and accessible storage across multiple devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional digital storage solutions (share drives, file cabinets) are used, then storage capacity is available, but security and centralized access control are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The repository is divided into multiple hierarchical lockboxes with different access levels. Each lockbox can contain specific documents or folders, and users can be granted access to specific lockboxes based on their needs. This segmentation enables fine-grained access control while maintaining centralized management, resolving the contradiction between security and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Different lockboxes within the repository can have different security characteristics and access requirements. Critical documents are placed in highly secure lockboxes with restricted access, while less sensitive documents are in lockboxes with broader access. This local differentiation allows the system to provide both high security where needed and easy access where appropriate.
2Reliability
If centralized secure storage is implemented, then security is improved, but accessibility across multiple devices is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The repository system is designed to be universally accessible across multiple devices and platforms. Users can access their locked documents from any device with internet connectivity through a web interface or application. The system maintains centralized secure storage while providing universal access capabilities, resolving the contradiction between security and multi-device adaptability.
3Extent of automation
If event-driven access is implemented, then automated security is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Users pre-configure access rules and events during repository setup. They define which events (e.g., document upload, view, download) should trigger access control actions and specify which users or groups should be affected. This preliminary configuration enables automated event-driven access control without requiring complex real-time decision-making logic, reducing system complexity while maintaining high automation.
Data Source
AI summary
Mechanisms are disclosed herein for storing various records. Numerous keys and parties can access online repositories. These repositories contain a plurality of lockboxes, structured hierarchically and otherwise, providing public and private areas with varying levels of access. Some content of such lockboxes can be sharable. These lockboxes can be used not only to store diverse content, ranging from birth certificates to deeds and social security numbers, but they can also be accessed in a variety of ways. For example, keys to lockboxes can be made available by such events as the issuing of death certificates or birth certificates. Alternatively, keys can be issued according to various rules and heuristics stipulated by lockbox users. In either case, the plurality of lockboxes residing in repositories can be configured to provide centralized storage facilities that are secure and readily accessible from various computing devices.