Wildcard Search Index for Encrypted Cloud Text
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cloud-based services lack effective search functionality for encrypted data, as existing searchable encryption algorithms only allow for exact match searching, preventing wildcard searches such as prefix or suffix searches in encrypted text stored on cloud storage services.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a wildcard searchable encryption method in a network intermediary, which preprocesses keywords to generate keyword-wildcard combinations, encrypts these combinations with an exact match searchable encryption algorithm, and stores a search index on the intermediary to enable wildcard searches of encrypted text.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If exact match searchable encryption algorithm is used, then data security is maintained, but wildcard search functionality is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the search index into multiple components: a primary index for exact match searches and a secondary index for wildcard search patterns. This allows the system to maintain exact match encryption security while adding wildcard search capability through a specialized secondary indexing structure that stores encrypted keywords with wildcard markers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-processing encrypted text to generate both exact match indices and wildcard search indices before storage. The system creates search indexes that include wildcard patterns (e.g., *ace for prefix matching) during the encryption process, enabling flexible searches without compromising the encrypted data structure.
2Ease of operation
If cloud-based storage is used, then data accessibility is improved, but search capability for encrypted data deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary search index structure that mediates between the encrypted cloud storage and search queries. The search index acts as a mediator that stores encrypted keywords and their positions, allowing the cloud storage system to perform searches without decrypting the data, thus maintaining both accessibility and search capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the search index multi-functional by enabling it to support both exact match searches and wildcard searches through a unified structure. The same search index can handle different search patterns (exact matches, prefix matches with *, suffix matches with *) without requiring separate indexing mechanisms, providing universal search capability across the cloud storage system.
Data Source
AI summary
A wildcard searchable encryption method enables wildcard search of encrypted text in a cloud-stored encrypted file. In some embodiments, the wildcard searchable encryption method is implemented in a network intermediary, such as a proxy server. The network intermediary encrypts files on behalf of a user or an enterprise destined to be stored on a cloud storage service. The wildcard searchable encryption method performs keyword pre-processing of the file to be encrypted to generate a set of keyword-wildcard combinations in plaintext for some or all of the keywords in the file. The processed file is encrypted using an exact match searchable encryption algorithm. As a result of the encryption process, a search index is generated to include the keyword-wildcard combinations. As thus configured, the wildcard searchable encryption method enables wildcard search of the encrypted text, such as searches for prefixes or suffixes of the keywords.