Trust Center Mediator for Secure Cloud Data Sharing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face challenges in securely and conveniently accessing shared data on cloud servers due to the need to log in to multiple service provider sites, which compromises security and convenience.

Innovation Solution

A data sharing method involving a trust center that encrypts user data before upload, uses a public key to encrypt the user key, and authorizes access through a secure channel, allowing authorized users to access encrypted files without needing to log in to multiple service provider sites.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If users log in to multiple service provider sites to access shared data, then data access is enabled, but security is compromised and convenience is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecloud securityVSAvoiddata access convenience
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a trust center as an intermediary between users and cloud service providers. The trust center manages user keys and authorization, allowing users to access shared data from multiple cloud providers through a single interface without logging into each provider's site directly. This mediator approach maintains security while improving convenience.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system separates the authentication and key management functions from the cloud service providers and places them in a dedicated trust center. This segmentation allows the cloud providers to focus on data storage and sharing while the trust center handles security-sensitive operations, improving both security and operational simplicity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Reliability

If user data is encrypted before upload to cloud server, then security is improved, but access complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata securityVSAvoidaccess process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The trust center automatically manages the decryption and re-encryption processes. When a user requests access to shared data, the trust center retrieves the necessary user keys, decrypts the data, and provides it to the user without requiring the user to manually perform cryptographic operations. This self-service approach maintains security while reducing access complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

User data is encrypted with user-specific keys before upload to the cloud server. The encrypted data remains in this state during storage and transfer. Decryption occurs only when authorized access is requested, and the system has already prepared the necessary keys and authorization in advance through the trust center.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2814200B8Method and apparatus for data sharing
Publication Date: 2019.06.12 HUAWEI DEVICE CO LTD

AI summary

Embodiments of the present invention provide a data sharing method and device, and the method includes: receiving a request by a second user through a uniform resource locator URL for a user key of a shared file of a first user, where the second user is a legitimate user authorized by the first user through a trust center to access the shared file, and the shared file is a shared file encrypted by using the user key of the first user; obtaining, according to the URL, a file description of the corresponding shared file from a cloud server, where the file description is a file description obtained by encrypting the user key by using a public key of the trust center; decrypting the file description by using a private key corresponding to the public key of the trust center to obtain the user key of the first user; and sending the user key to the second user. The embodiments of the present invention solve technical problem in the prior art that a user cannot securely and conveniently access data on a cloud server.