Self-Consistent Data Structures for Low-Latency Secure Retrieval
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for accessing distributed sensitive data, such as PDMP systems, suffer from slow response times, cumbersome authentication processes, and insecure data transmission, discouraging practitioners from complying with regulations due to prohibitions on data modification, storage, and transmission.
Innovation Solution
Implementations provide a self-consistent data structure for secure transmission and temporary storage using encryption keys built from participant identifiers and nonces, which are never transmitted, ensuring data is encrypted and stored temporarily, reducing query latency through pre-fetching and concurrent data retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If data is stored temporarily in memory for faster retrieval, then query latency is reduced, but data security is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-fetching and encrypting data in advance before it is actually requested. Data is encrypted with encryption keys derived from participant identifiers and stored in temporary memory (cache) ready for rapid retrieval. This allows the system to meet the dual requirement of fast response time and data security, as the data is already prepared and secured before the query occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of data by encrypting it before storage in temporary memory. The encryption transforms the data from a vulnerable state to a secured state, allowing it to be stored in fast memory without compromising security. The encryption keys are dynamically generated from participant identifiers, ensuring that even temporary stored data remains protected.
2Reliability
If multiple authentication systems are used to access distributed data, then data security is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a universal authentication mechanism using participant identifiers that can access data from multiple distributed sources (different state PDMP systems). Instead of requiring separate authentication for each data source, the same participant identifier-based encryption key mechanism works across all sources, simplifying the system while maintaining security through consistent cryptographic protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary layer (the encryption key derived from participant identifiers) that mediates access to distributed data sources. This intermediary mechanism unifies the authentication process across multiple systems, allowing secure access to distributed PDMP data without requiring practitioners to navigate multiple separate authentication systems.
3Reliability
If data is transmitted securely through encryption, then data security is improved, but transmission speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs encryption in advance before data transmission or storage. By pre-fetching data and encrypting it with participant identifier-based keys before the actual query occurs, the system eliminates the need for real-time encryption during data retrieval. This preliminary encryption action ensures both security and fast transmission speed when data is needed.
4Loss of information
If practitioners manually access multiple PDMP systems, then data completeness is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges access to multiple distributed PDMP systems into a single unified interface. By combining data from multiple state PDMP systems and encrypting it with a unified participant identifier-based mechanism, the system allows practitioners to access complete prescription history data through one system, dramatically improving productivity while ensuring data completeness across all states.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides a universal access mechanism that handles multiple data sources through a single interface. The participant identifier-based encryption system works across all PDMP systems, allowing one authentication and access mechanism to retrieve complete data from multiple distributed sources, eliminating the need for manual access to each system separately.
Data Source
AI summary
Implementations provide self-consistent, temporary, secure storage of information. An example system includes short-term memory storing a plurality of key records and a cache storing a plurality of data records. The key records and data records are locatable using participant identifiers. Each key record includes a nonce and each data record includes an encrypted portion. The key records are deleted periodically. The system also includes memory storing instructions that cause the system to receive query parameters that include first participant identifiers and to obtain a first nonce. The first nonce is associated with the first participant identifiers in the short-term memory. The instructions also cause the system to obtain data records associated with the first participant identifiers in the cache, to build an encryption key using the nonce and the first participant identifiers, and to decrypt the encrypted portion of the obtained data records using the encryption key.