Data Management via Threshold Secret Sharing and Crypto-Processors
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data management approaches are susceptible to data loss, theft, and malware attacks, as they either fail to protect against physical threats or are vulnerable to unauthorized access and brute force attacks.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing secure crypto-processors and a threshold scheme to split data into shares, which can only be reconstructed with a predetermined threshold number of shares and a corresponding password, providing secure storage and protection against unauthorized access and attacks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If data is stored online on a server or internet connected device, then data accessibility is improved, but data security is worsened due to susceptibility to malware attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides data into multiple discrete parts (shares) and stores them in different locations (online and offline). This segmentation ensures that no single location contains the complete data, making malware attacks ineffective unless they compromise multiple locations simultaneously. The data is split using secret sharing schemes where each share is essential but insufficient alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary verification mechanism that checks the integrity and authenticity of data shares before reconstruction. This intermediary layer (verification step) prevents malicious or corrupted shares from compromising the reconstructed data, thus maintaining security while enabling online accessibility.
2Reliability
If data is encrypted, then data security is improved, but the attack vector shifts to the encryption key itself
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the encryption key into multiple shares distributed across different storage locations. Instead of protecting a single encryption key, the system protects multiple key shares where none alone can decrypt the data. This eliminates the single point of attack that exists in conventional encryption schemes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple key shares from different locations (online and offline storage) to reconstruct the full encryption key only when needed for data access. This merging process ensures that the complete key never resides in a single location, preventing attackers from obtaining the key through compromise of any single storage location.
3Reliability
If data is replicated and stored in different locations, then protection against physical loss is improved, but data theft risk is worsened as access to any one location compromises the data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments data into multiple shares distributed across different locations. Unlike simple replication where each location has a complete copy, segmentation ensures that each location holds only a fragment. This fragment is useless without other fragments, thus preventing data theft even if one location is compromised, while still providing redundancy against physical loss.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If data is split into discrete parts and stored in different locations, then data theft risk is reduced, but data accessibility is worsened as loss of any one storage makes data inaccessible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary verification of data shares before reconstruction. This preliminary action (verification step) ensures that only valid, uncorrupted shares are used in the reconstruction process. It compensates for the reduced accessibility by adding a verification layer that automatically handles share validation, making the system robust against share loss or corruption while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of share distribution by storing shares in different states (encrypted, compressed, or in different formats) across locations. This parameter change allows flexible reconstruction strategies where shares can be transformed or converted during the reconstruction process, improving accessibility even when some shares are lost or degraded.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a system, device and method for data management. The system includes a processor configured to: receive, from an entity, data packets; receive, from the entity; generate a plurality of shares pertaining to the data packets by applying a threshold scheme to the data packets; and distribute the plurality of shares amongst at least two secure cryptoprocessors, wherein each secure cryptoprocessor allows access to the plurality of shares stored within it upon receipt of a corresponding second password, and wherein the processor is configured to re-generate the data packets from a threshold number of shares out of the plurality of generated shares, the value of the threshold number being predetermined.