Data sharing system method

• US 10,187,347 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2016
• Issued: 01/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brian Lee Moffat
• Original Assignee: Brian Lee Moffat
• Inventors: Moffat, Brian Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thu Ha T
• Application Number:
  US15/192,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20170054674A1
• Time in Patent Office: 942 Days
• Field of Search: 709206, 709207, 709223, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/16 Obfuscation or hiding, e.g. involving white box
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/212 using filtering or selective blocking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/52 for supporting social networking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0435 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply symmetric encryption, i.e. same key used for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for symmetric key encryption H04L9/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/065 for group communications cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management involving conference or group key H04L9/0833
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0822 using key encryption key
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0825 using asymmetric-key encryption or public key infrastructure [PKI], e.g. key signature or public key certificates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0891 Revocation or update of secret information, e.g. encryption key update or rekeying
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0894 Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage

Abstract

A novel architecture for a data sharing system (DSS) is disclosed and seeks to ensure the privacy and security of users'"'"' personal information. In this type of network, a user'"'"'s personally identifiable information is stored and transmitted in an encrypted form, with few exceptions. The only key with which that encrypted data can be decrypted, and thus viewed, remains in the sole possession of the user and the user'"'"'s friends/contacts within the system. This arrangement ensures that a user'"'"'s personally identifiable information cannot be examined by anyone other than the user or his friends/contacts. This arrangement also makes it more difficult for the web site or service hosting the DSS to exploit its users'"'"' personally identifiable information. Such a system facilitates the encryption, storage, exchange and decryption of personal, confidential and/or proprietary data.

Claims

1. A method for data exchange between a plurality of users where a third party receives, stores, and transmits data between each of said users, comprising:

associating a personal computing device with each user;

providing a third party data sharing server, where the associated personal computing devices are each connected to the third party data sharing server;

establishing a data obscuring module to each personal computing device;

generating a user identification confirmation protocol to confirm the identity of the user, the user identification confirmation protocol associated exclusively for the exchange of data between the personal computing devices through the third party data sharing server;

using the data obscuring module to transform an original data file to an encrypted data file, and then transmitting the encrypted data file to the third party data sharing server for storage, the third party data sharing server being without a capability to reconstitute the original data from the encrypted data file;

forwarding the encrypted data file from the third party server to a second user'"'"'s personal computing device that has been qualified by the first user, the data obscuring module of the second user'"'"'s personal computing device reconstituting the original data file from the encrypted data file; and

selectively exchanging security keys between users without revealing said security keys to the third party data sharing server, the security keys used to qualify a personal computing device for reconstituting the original data file from the encrypted data file.

2. The method for data exchange of claim 1, further comprising:

sending a unique inquiry by the third party server to a user'"'"'s obscuring module;

receiving a reply to the inquiry from the user'"'"'s obscuring module by the third party server;

comparing the reply to an expected reply; and

negating further access to the third party server if the reply conflicts with an expected reply.

3. The method for data exchange of claim 2, wherein the reply is dependent upon a configuration of the personal computing device.

4. The method for data exchange of claim 2, wherein a user'"'"'s data obscuring module disconnects the user'"'"'s personal computing device from the third party data sharing server after a predetermined period of time.