Virtual File Gateway for Secure Storage Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storage devices allow authenticated hosts with malicious software to access private memory areas, leading to unauthorized data access, as they grant full access to prevent unauthorized hosts from accessing protected content.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual file in the public memory area that acts as a gateway to protected files in the private memory area, allowing the storage device's controller to selectively provide access to authorized hosts while preventing unauthorized access by using file-based commands and controlling data streaming.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the storage device grants full access to the private memory area to authenticated hosts, then authorized hosts can access protected content, but malicious software on authenticated hosts can perform unauthorized acts on the data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual file system as an intermediary layer between the host and the private memory area. This virtual file acts as a gateway that mediates all access requests to protected files, allowing the storage device controller to selectively provide access based on authentication status and file-specific permissions, rather than granting direct access to the entire private memory area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the private memory area into individual protected files, each with its own access controls and permissions. Instead of treating the private memory area as a single accessible block, the system divides it into discrete file units that can be independently controlled, allowing fine-grained access management where different hosts can access different subsets of files based on their authentication credentials.
2Reliability
If the storage device uses a virtual file gateway system, then selective access control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual file gateway is designed to be universally compatible with multiple host types and operating systems. The storage device controller implements a standardized interface that works across different hosts, allowing the same virtual file mechanism to serve multiple functions: authentication verification, access control enforcement, data streaming management, and cross-platform compatibility, thereby reducing the need for host-specific implementation variants.
3Reliability
If the controller selectively provides access to protected files through a virtual file, then unauthorized access is prevented, but data access speed may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The storage device controller performs preliminary authentication and access verification when the host first requests access to the virtual file. The controller pre-establishes the authenticated connection and prepares the data streaming pathway in advance. Once authentication is complete, subsequent file access operations can proceed efficiently without repeated authentication overhead, as the controller maintains the authenticated session state for the duration of the data transfer.
Data Source
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AI summary
A storage device and method for using a virtual file in a public memory area to access a plurality of protected files in a private memory area are disclosed. In one embodiment, a storage device receives a request from a host for access to a virtual file in the public memory area, wherein the virtual file is associated with a plurality of protected files stored in the private memory area. The storage device responds to the request by selecting and providing the host with access to one of the plurality of protected files stored in the private memory area. The storage device receives an additional request from the host for access to the virtual file and responds to the additional request by selecting and providing the host with access to a different one of the plurality of protected files stored in the private memory area.