USB Memory Stick with Integrated Crypto Ignition Key Cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional crypto ignition keys are prone to loss due to their small size and separate storage from protected equipment, rendering encrypted USB drives unusable until recovered or replaced.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a crypto ignition key within a USB memory stick cap, which serves as both a storage mechanism and a hidden activation component, ensuring the key is not easily visible and providing secure authentication for data access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional crypto ignition keys are made small and held separately from protected equipment, then portability and ease of use are improved, but the risk of loss increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the crypto ignition key with the USB flash drive by embedding the CIK in the cap and the protected equipment (USB drive) in the body, creating a single integrated unit. This merging eliminates the need to carry separate CIK and USB drive, thereby maintaining portability while significantly reducing the risk of losing the CIK.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements nesting by placing the CIK inside the cap, which itself is part of the USB flash drive assembly. The CIK is hidden within the cap structure, making it neither easily visible nor easily separable, thus preventing loss while maintaining compactness.
2Reliability
If crypto ignition key is hidden within the cap, then security and prevention of unauthorized access are improved, but ease of activation may be worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-embedding the CIK in a specific location within the cap structure during manufacturing. This pre-positioning ensures that when the cap is removed or positioned correctly, the CIK is automatically in the required position for authentication, eliminating the need for users to manually locate or insert the CIK.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated design allows the USB flash drive to automatically utilize the CIK embedded in its own cap for authentication. The system self-serves by having the CIK and authentication mechanism in the same unit, eliminating the need for separate manual authentication steps while maintaining security through the hidden placement of the CIK.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods and systems provide a USB memory stick protected by an attached CIK. This system includes a USB memory stick composed of a main body and a cap. The main body houses the memory for data storage as well as the encrypt/decrypt device and ancillary circuitry. The cap houses the CIK, simultaneously providing a storage mechanism for the CIK as well as keeping the CIK obscured from plain view and visual detection.