Multi-Factor Content Protection via Trusted Agent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing content protection methods lack robustness in managing access and usage restrictions across different credential types and environments, failing to provide flexible and secure multi-factor encryption solutions for digital content.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a trusted agent and access server to manage content access through multi-factor encryption, where the content key is encrypted to a trusted agent key and additional factors, allowing for flexible usage restrictions and access control based on various credentials, including smartcards and biometrics, without requiring the publisher to know specific factor keys.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional single-factor encryption methods are used for content protection, then the system is simpler to implement, but the security and access control flexibility are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The encryption system is segmented into multiple independent factors (trusted agent key, additional factor keys) that work together to protect the content key. Each factor can be independently managed and validated, allowing the system to achieve high security through combination rather than through a single complex encryption mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The trusted agent serves as an intermediary component that coordinates between multiple encryption factors and the content protection system. It manages the trusted agent key and additional factor keys, validating their combination before releasing the content key, thereby simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining multi-factor security.
2Ease of operation
If the publisher manages multiple protection factor keys directly, then key distribution is straightforward, but the publisher's workload and security management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The complex task of managing multiple protection factor keys is extracted from the publisher and assigned to the trusted agent. The publisher only needs to distribute the content key encrypted by the trusted agent key, while the trusted agent handles the additional factor keys and their validation, significantly reducing the publisher's workload and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The trusted agent autonomously manages the additional factor keys and performs validation without requiring direct publisher intervention. The system enables self-service key management where the trusted agent independently handles key distribution, validation, and coordination, reducing the publisher's operational burden.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multi-factor encryption is implemented without a trusted agent, then the system is more decentralized, but coordinating multiple factors becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The trusted agent is designed as a universal component that can handle multiple types of factor keys (smart card keys, biometric keys, password-based keys) through a standardized interface. It provides multi-functional key validation and coordination capabilities, allowing the system to support diverse access control methods without increasing coordination complexity.
4Reliability
If content access requires multiple decryption factors, then security is improved, but the user authentication process becomes more time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The trusted agent pre-validates and combines multiple decryption factors before the actual content access request. By performing preliminary authentication and key validation, the system ensures that when content access is requested, the decryption process can proceed quickly without re-validating each factor, thus maintaining high security while reducing authentication time.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C
Figure 2
AI summary
Protecting content. A recipient receives content from a publisher. Some content is managed by an access server. The access server controls the recipient's use of managed content through interaction with a trusted agent at the recipient. The content is encrypted to a content key, and the content is associated with policy information. The policy information includes the content key for decrypting the content. The policy information is encrypted to an access server key allowing the policy information to be decrypted by the access server. The content key is received from the access server. The content key is encrypted to a trusted agent key. The content key is further encrypted to additional factor(s) defining additional content protection beyond that provided by trusted agent. The content key is decrypted using the trusted agent key and the at least one additional factor. The content is decrypted using the content key.