Zero-Trust Storage System for Secure Cloud Data Block Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enterprises are reluctant to store sensitive data in cloud storage due to security and privacy concerns, as existing methods like encrypting document portions leak unacceptable information about the document, compromising privacy.
Innovation Solution
A zero-trust storage system that breaks documents into data blocks, encrypts each block, and uploads them to backend storage while hiding access patterns and storage locations, using a pseudorandom number generator to randomly distribute data across storage locations, ensuring that neither the frontend system nor the backend storage has knowledge of the data's metadata or storage locations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is encrypted and stored in cloud storage, then security is improved, but information about the document leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides documents into multiple data blocks and stores them as separate encrypted entities in cloud storage. Each block is independently encrypted and can be stored at different locations, preventing the cloud provider from reconstructing the original document structure or content, thus eliminating information leakage while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary encryption layer between the user and cloud storage that transforms the original document into unreadable ciphertext blocks. This intermediary process ensures that even if cloud storage is compromised, the actual document information remains protected, resolving the contradiction between security and information preservation.
2Quantity of substance
If cloud storage is used for scalability, then storage capacity is improved, but privacy concerns worsen
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting documents into discrete encrypted blocks, the system enables scalable cloud storage while preventing the cloud provider from accessing meaningful information about the stored data. The cloud storage infrastructure can expand capacity without compromising privacy, as each block remains independently encrypted and meaningless in isolation.
3Reliability
If data blocks are distributed across storage locations, then security is improved, but access complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an intermediary indexing system that maps encrypted data blocks to their storage locations without revealing content information. This intermediary layer manages the complexity of distributed access while maintaining security, as the index structure itself does not leak document information but enables efficient retrieval of encrypted blocks.
Data Source
AI summary
In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a processor configured to receive an instruction to read a data file within a database and an identifier associated with the data file. The processor is also configured to identify, based on the identifier, a set of logical block identifiers associated with a set of storage locations of the database, and retrieve data stored at each storage location from the set of storage locations using the set of logical block identifiers. The processor is then configured to identify, based on the data stored at each storage location from the set of storage locations, a subset of storage locations from the set of storage locations. The data stored at each storage location from the subset of storage locations pertain to the data file. The processor is configured to compile the data file based on the data within the subset of storage locations.