Volatile Decryption Key Management for Secure Data Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data access systems allow companies to analyze customer data for purposes beyond those consented to by the customer, as they possess decryption keys, leading to potential unauthorized data usage.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where data is stored encrypted, with decryption keys stored only in volatile memory, ensuring they can be deleted or destroyed upon purpose changes, and restored only with customer consent, using separate encryption and decryption keys generated from a secret provided by the customer, ensuring secure access and control over data usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the company stores decryption keys to enable data analysis, then data analysis capability is improved, but data security and customer consent control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the decryption key from permanent storage and places it only in volatile memory during analysis operations. This allows the company to analyze data when needed while ensuring the key cannot be retained or misused after the analysis is complete, as volatile memory automatically clears when power is removed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary encryption of data with customer-specific keys before analysis. The decryption keys are then temporarily loaded into volatile memory only when analysis is authorized, and are automatically destroyed after use. This preliminary setup enables both secure storage and controlled access.
2Ease of operation
If decryption keys are stored permanently for future access, then ease of operation is improved, but loss of information control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts decryption keys from permanent storage and maintains them only in volatile memory during authorized operations. This extraction approach provides ease of operation during analysis while preventing permanent retention that would lead to loss of consent control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the storage state of decryption keys from permanent to temporary (volatile). This parameter change in memory persistence allows convenient access during analysis while automatically enforcing consent control by clearing keys when power is removed or memory is reset.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a system and a method for secure access to data, where the data comprises a number of data records each assigned to an entity, such as a user, and where the data records are stored in encrypted form in a database. A first decryption key assigned to a particular entity is used to decrypt the data records assigned to the particular entity. The first decryption keys are stored in a volatile memory, and the first decryption keys assigned to the particular entity are encrypted by an encryption key assigned to the particular entity, and the encrypted first decryption keys are stored in a permanent memory. After the volatile memory is cleared, the encrypted first decryption keys are copied from the permanent memory into the volatile memory, and in the volatile memory, the first decryption keys are decrypted by a second decryption key assigned to the particular entity.