Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-23
2001-11-20
Cosimano, Edward R. (Department: 2161)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
C705S051000, C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06321201
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the technical field of computer-aided information management, and concerns more specifically a method and an apparatus for data processing for accomplishing increased protection against unauthorized processing of data.
BACKGROUND ART
In the field of computer-aided information management, it is strongly required that the protection against unauthorized access of data registers be increased, especially against violation of the individual's personal integrity when setting up and keeping personal registers, i.e. registers containing information on individuals. In particular, there are regulations restricting and prohibiting the linking and matching of personal registers. Also in other fields, such as industry, banking, insurance, etc, improved protection is desired against unauthorized access to the tools, databases, applications etc. that are used for administration and storing of sensitive information.
WO95/15628, which has the same owner as the present application, discloses a method for storing data, which results in increased possibilities of linking and matching with no risk of reduced integrity. The method, which is illustrated schematically in
FIGS. 1 and 2
on the enclosed drawing sheets, concerns storing of information comprising on the one hand an identifying piece of information or original identity OID, for instance personal code numbers Pcn and, on the other hand, descriptive information DI. The information OID+DI is stored as records P in a database O-DB according to the following principle:
Step 1 OID (Pcn) is encrypted by means of a first, preferably non-reversible algorithm ALGL to an update identity UID;
Step 2 UID is encrypted by means of a second, reversible algorithm ALG
2
to a storage identity SID;
Step 3 SID and DI are stored as a record P in the database O-DB, SID serving as a record identifier;
Step 4 At predetermined times, an alteration of SID in all or selected records P is accomplished by SID of these records being decrypted by means of a decrypting algorithm ALG
3
to UID, whereupon UID is encrypted by means of a modified second, reversible algorithm or ALG
2
′ to a new storage identity SID′, which is introduced as a new record identifier in the associated record P as replacement for previous SID. This results in a security-enhancing “floating” alteration of SID of the records.
For a closer description of the details and advantages of this encrypting and storing method, reference is made to WO95/15628, which is to be considered to constitute part of the present description. The storing principle according to steps 1-4 above is herein referred to as PTY, which is an abbreviation of the principal of PROTEGRITY which stands for “Protection and Integrity”.
A detailed technical description of PTY is also supplied in the document “PROTEGRITY (ASIS) Study 2”, Ver. 1.2, Mar. 1, 1996, by Leif Jonson. Also this document is to be considered to constitute part of the present description.
In the technical field at issue, so-called shell protections are today the predominant method of protection. Shell protection comprises on the one hand the external security (premises) and, on the other hand, an authorization check system ACS with user's passwords for controlling the access. ACS is used as shell protection for main frames, client/server systems and PC, but it does not give full protection and the information at issue can often relatively easily be subjected to unauthorized access. This protection has been found more and more unsatisfactory since, to an increasing extent, “sensitive” information is being stored, which must permit managing via distribution, storing and processing in dynamically changing environments, especially local distribution to personal computers. Concurrently with this development, the limits of the system will be more and more indistinct and the effect afforded by a shell protection deteriorates.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of that stated above, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved method for processing information, by means of which it is possible to increase the protection against unauthorized access to sensitive information.
A special object of the invention is to provide a technique for data processing or managing, which makes it possible for the person responsible for the system, the management of the organization etc. to easily establish and continuously adapt the user's possibility of processing stored information that is to be protected.
A further object of the invention is to provide a technique for data processing which offers protection against attempts at unauthorized data processing by means of non-accepted software.
One more object of the invention is to provide a technique for data processing according to the above-mentioned objects, which can be used in combination with the above-described PTY principle, for providing a safety system with an extremely high level of protection.
Thus, the invention provides a method for processing of data that is to be protected, comprising the measure of storing the data as encrypted data element values of records in a first database (O-DB), each data element value being linked to a corresponding data element type.
The inventive method is characterised by the following further measures:
storing in a second database (IAM-DB) a data element protection catalogue, which for each individual data element type contains one or more protection attributes stating processing rules for data element values, which in the first database are linked to the individual data element type,
in each user-initiated measure aiming at processing of a given data element value in the first database, initially producing a compelling calling to the data element protection catalogue for collecting the protection attribute/attributes associated with the corresponding data element type, and compellingly controlling the processing of the given data element value in conformity with the collected protection attribute/attributes.
In the present application the following definitions are used:
“Processing” may include all kinds of measures which mean any form of reading, printing, altering, coding, moving, copying etc. of data that is to be protected by the inventive method.
“Data element type” identifies a specific category of data. For example, identification information (name and address) could be a particular data element type. Whereas, some descriptive information (social allowance) could be a different data element type, and other descriptive information could be yet another different data element type.
“Data element value” concerns a value which in a given record specifies a data element type.
“Record” concerns a number of data element values which belong together and which are linked to the respective data element types, optionally also including a record identifier, by means of which the record can be identified. Example:
DATA ELEMENT TYPE
RECORD ID
SOCIAL ALLOWANCE
CAR
XXXX XXXXX
encrypted data element value
encrypted data element
value
YYYY YYYYY
encrypted data element value
encrypted data element
value
“Protection attribute indicating rules of processing” may concern:
data stored in the data element protection catalogue and providing complete information on the rule or rules applying to the processing of the corresponding data element, and/or
data stored in the data element protection catalogue and requiring additional callings to information stored in some other place, which, optionally in combination with the protection attributes, states the processing rules involved.
“Collection of protection attributes” may concern:
collection of the protection attributes in the form as stored in the data element protection catalogue, and/or
collection of data recovered from the protection attributes, for instance by decryption thereof.
“Encryption” may concern any form of encryption, tricryption, conversion of coding of plain-text data to non-interpretable (encrypted) data, and is especially to concern also methods of
Anonymity Protection In Sweden AB
Cosimano Edward R.
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