Data processing: database and file management or data structures – Database design – Data structure types
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-13
2004-03-23
Mizrahi, Diane D. (Department: 2175)
Data processing: database and file management or data structures
Database design
Data structure types
C707S793000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06711594
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a data archive device and a data archive system capable of saving digital data in a predetermined location by the use of a network and extracting it when necessary. More specifically, the present invention relates to a data archive system capable of distributing a copy of valuable digital data to a plurality of locations on a network and retaining it for backup purposes.
BACKGROUND ART
It has been widely carried out to transmit a backup of data created by, for example, a computer from the computer to other file servers, or the like, connected through a network so as to save the valuable data. If this network is extended to a global wide area network like the Internet, it will be possible to save the data from any place in the world and extract the saved data from any place in the world as long as there is an environment accessible to the Internet. However, although the convenience of users improves proportionately with the enlargement of the scale of a network to be used, security will decrease inversely. To-be-saved data usually includes private information about individuals, and therefore satisfactory security must be ensured so that only the person in question who has deposited the data or only the agent who has been entrusted by the person with the matter can extract the data. Accordingly, the conventional data archive system utilizing a network has a problem in that security decreases in inverse proportion to the improvement of the convenience of depositing data and extracting it from any place.
The present invention has been made in consideration of this problem. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a data archive system that allows only a person who has deposited data or only a specific person who has been permitted to access data to safely access the deposited data from an arbitrary location and that does not require the server side saving the data to prepare special devices and software.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In order to solve the above problem, the present invention prepares a distributed data archive device that comprises a verification means for checking the authenticity of a user, a division means for dividing data to be saved into a plurality of parts, an integration/reconstitution means for reconstituting divided/saved data into an original single data file, a network communication means for transferring the data files divided by a communication protocol determined among data servers keeping the data to be saved, and a data management means for recording data depository information that indicates a depository of the data to be saved and data-saving procedure information that indicates a dividing method of the data to be saved and the like when data-saving is newly carried out, wherein the data to be saved is divided into a plurality of parts when the data is saved, and the divided parts are each transferred to a plurality of servers on a network and are distributed/saved therein, and, when the data to be saved is extracted, the data to be saved that has been distributed into the plurality of servers on the network and has been saved therein is extracted in accordance with the data depository information and the data-saving procedure information that have been recorded when saved, and the divided parts are integrated and reconstituted into the original file, and it is provided to a user. It is difficult to steal valuable data when the data is divided and saved in a plurality of servers.
Further, in order to solve the above problem, the present invention prepares a distributed data archive device that comprises a reading/writing means for reading/writing digital data from/onto a portable recording medium, a verification means for checking the authenticity of a user, a division means for dividing data to be saved into a plurality of parts, an integration/reconstitution means for reconstituting divided/saved data into an original single data file, a network communication means for transferring the data files divided by a communication protocol determined among data servers keeping the data to be saved, and a data management means for recording data-depository information that indicates a depository of the data to be saved and data-saving procedure information that indicates a dividing method of the data to be saved and the like onto the portable recording medium when data-saving is newly carried out. The present invention forms a distributed data archive system that is made up of this distributed data archive device, the portable recording medium, a network, and a plurality of data servers, wherein, when the data is saved, the data to be saved is divided into a plurality of parts in accordance with the data-depository information and the data-saving procedure information that have been recorded on the portable recording medium, and the divided parts are each transferred to the plurality of servers on the network and are distributed/saved therein. Whereas, when the data to be saved is extracted, the data to be saved that has been distributed into the plurality of servers on the network and has been saved therein is extracted in accordance with the data-depository information and the data-saving procedure information that have been recorded on the portable recording medium, and the divided parts are integrated and reconstituted into the original file, and it is provided to a user. According to this system, it becomes possible to access the saved data from an arbitrary distributed data archive device connected to the network as long as the portable recording medium is carried with the user. For example, if the user is carrying a recording medium, such as a floppy disk, that records data-depository information and data-saving procedure information, the user can extract desired archive data from any location by logging in an arbitrary distributed data archive device connected to the network.
Further, a pronounced effect will be produced if a means for encrypting data is added, and a plurality of divided data to be saved are formed in such a way as to perform the encryption after the to-be-saved data is divided by the division means or, alternatively, to perform the division after the to-be-saved data is encrypted, and cryptographic key information and the like that are needed for encryption/decryption are recorded as the data-saving procedure information by the data management means, and, according to the recorded data-saving procedure information, the integration/reconstitution means reconstitutes the divided data into the original data in such a way as to perform the integration after the saved individual divided data are decrypted or, alternatively, to perform the decryption after the divided data are integrated. The encryption of the individual divided data makes it difficult to know the original data, and therefore there is substantially no fear that a furtive glance will be cast at the data even though the data is retained on an open network like the Internet.
Further, if, when the data is saved, dummy data is added according to a given rule at any step when the to-be-saved data is divided or is encrypted after the division or is divided after the encryption, and the dummy data addition rule is recorded as data-saving procedure information by the data management means, whereas, when the data is extracted, the dummy data that has been added when the data is saved is removed at a predetermined step where the saved divided data are integrated or decrypted according to the data-saving procedure information, complete reconstitution cannot be achieved because of the intervention of the dummy data even if the saved data are subjected to a furtive glance and are decrypted, and therefore security is further improved when the saved data are stolen.
Further, if the divided data are saved in a plurality of data servers while being provided with redundancy, the original data can be reconstituted only from the data of the other normal servers even if one of the data servers goes down. In considerati
Handa Fukio
Oshima Naoyuki
Yano Yoshihiro
Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd.
Mizrahi Diane D.
Mofiz Apu M
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