Sensitive Data File Attribute Automatic Scrubbing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional data erasure methods do not effectively destroy sensitive information, as the erased data remains until new data is written over it, leaving a risk of confidentiality breach.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a method to mark sensitive data for automatic destruction upon erasure, where the storage device is scrubbed by writing over the erased data with random or fixed sequences of characters, either initiated by the operating system or the storage device itself.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If conventional data erasure is used where erased data is marked as available for writing but not immediately destroyed, then storage space is quickly available for new data, but sensitive information remains vulnerable to unauthorized access

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage space availabilityVSAvoiddata security risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary identification of sensitive data before erasure operations. When data marked as sensitive is erased, the system proactively triggers immediate scrubbing operations rather than waiting for subsequent write operations, thereby eliminating the security vulnerability window while maintaining storage efficiency

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The invention converts the potential harm of delayed data destruction into a benefit by implementing automatic scrubbing triggered by erasure events. The scrubbing process, which writes random or zero patterns to destroy data, is immediately activated when sensitive data is erased, transforming the security risk period into a controlled destruction process that enhances overall data protection

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

2Reliability

If immediate scrubbing is performed when sensitive data is erased, then data confidentiality is immediately protected, but additional write operations are required which may impact storage performance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata confidentialityVSAvoidstorage operation speed

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different quality treatments to different data based on sensitivity markings. Only data marked as sensitive triggers immediate scrubbing operations, while non-sensitive data follows conventional erasure procedures. This localized approach ensures high reliability for sensitive data without unnecessarily impacting overall storage performance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs scrubbing operations selectively rather than on all erased data. By applying the intensive scrubbing action only to sensitive data portions identified through marking mechanisms, the system achieves adequate data protection without the excessive performance penalty that would result from scrubbing all erased data uniformly

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS9411513B2Sensitive data file attribute

Publication Date: 2016.08.09 UNISYS CORP

AI summary

Data on a storage device may be marked as sensitive data and this marked sensitive automatically destroyed (e.g., scrubbed) upon erasure. For example, when sensitive data is erased, new data may be immediately written over the erased sensitive data. To destroy the erased data, random characters and/or a fixed sequence of characters may be written over the erased data. The storage device, the operating system, and/or other software may share tasks related to tracking and scrubbing sensitive data. Scrubbing may include writing a fixed sequence, such as zeroes, or writing random characters of data.