Trusted-Area Data Management for Secure External Service Linkage

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing data management systems face challenges in securely linking with external services while maintaining the confidentiality of personal information, as storing user secret keys with external services increases security risks and burdens on service providers.

Innovation Solution

A data management system with a trusted area in the storage device ensures security by decrypting and encrypting data within this isolated area, allowing secure transmission to external services without exposing user secret keys.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If user secret keys are stored on external services to enable data decryption and linkage, then linkage capability with external services is improved, but security risk increases and burden on service providers increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelinkage capabilityVSAvoidsecurity risk
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a trusted execution environment (TEE) as an intermediary between the data management system and external services. The TEE acts as a secure mediator that can decrypt concealed data using user secret keys stored within its protected boundaries, then encrypt and transmit the data to external services. This allows linkage capability while preventing direct exposure of user secret keys to external services, thereby maintaining security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the system into distinct security zones: the data management system, the trusted execution environment (TEE), and external services. By isolating user secret keys within the TEE segment and preventing their exposure to other segments, the system enables controlled data sharing while maintaining security boundaries. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by allowing linkage through controlled interfaces rather than direct key exposure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If user secret keys are distributed to all external services for decryption, then linkage capability is improved, but device complexity and management burden increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelinkage capabilityVSAvoidmanagement burden
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The TEE serves as a centralized intermediary that manages decryption operations. Instead of distributing user secret keys to multiple external services (which would increase complexity), the TEE集中 manages the keys and performs decryption centrally. External services only receive encrypted data from the TEE, eliminating the need for each service to have key management capabilities and reducing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of operation

If user secret keys are stored in the server managing concealed information, then decryption capability is improved, but security risk increases due to lack of isolation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedecryption capabilityVSAvoidsecurity risk
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The TEE acts as an intermediary layer between the server's data storage and decryption operations. User secret keys are stored within the TEE's protected memory space, isolated from the general server environment. The TEE enables decryption operations while maintaining security isolation, preventing other server processes from accessing the keys even though decryption capability is available.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by creating a specialized secure region (TEE) within the server with different security properties than the rest of the system. In this local region, user secret keys are stored with enhanced protection mechanisms, while the rest of the server maintains normal operational characteristics. This allows decryption capability locally within the TEE while maintaining overall system security.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP4704370A1Data management system and information processing method using concealed data
Publication Date: 2026.03.04 HITACHI LTD
  • EP4704370A1 patent drawingFigure 1~3
  • EP4704370A1 patent drawingFigure 4~5
  • EP4704370A1 patent drawingFigure 6A

AI summary

A data management system has functions for managing a database that stores concealed data having been encrypted based on a probabilistic encryption scheme using a user secret key, for connecting to a client terminal and to a service providing system, and for generating a trusted area on a storage device. Upon receiving a request indicating use of a service that uses the concealed data from the client terminal, the data management system acquires concealed data from the database, stores the concealed data in the trusted area; decrypts the concealed data thus acquired, in the trusted area; generates transmission data to be transmitted to the service providing system, in the trusted area, by using the concealed data thus decrypted, for the use of the service; encrypts the transmission data in a format that is decryptable by the service providing system, in the trusted area; and transmits the transmission data thus encrypted to the service providing system.