Architecture and method to secure database records from tampering in devices such as postage value dispensing mechanisms

• US 20020161742A1
• Filed: 03/28/2002
• Published: 10/31/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Heiden, Richard W., Lee, David K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,092,930 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

A method for ensuring the freshness of records in a system comprising the steps of storing a plurality of customer records, each customer record including a counter indicative of the transaction status of the customer record; storing a plurality of freshness records, each freshness record including at least a subset of the total number of counters for all of the customer records and also including a freshness record counter that is related to the subset of the total number of counters in the freshness record; storing in a cryptographic device separate from the customer and freshness records a cryptographic device counter initially set to be consistent with an initial value in the freshness record counter; upon a request to update a specific customer record, identifying the freshness record that includes the counter associated the specific customer record and sending the freshness record and the specific customer record to the cryptographic device; extracting at the cryptographic device from the freshness record the freshness record counter; determining if a predetermined relationship exists between the extracted freshness record counter and cryptographic device counter; if the first predetermined relationship exists, extracting the counter associated with the specific customer record from the customer record and comparing it to the counter associated with the specific customer record stored in the freshness record to determine if a second predetermined relationship exists; and if the second predetermined relationship exists, permitting the specific customer record to be updated; and if the second predetermined relationship exists, permitting the specific customer record to be updated.

Claims

1. A method for ensuring the freshness of records in a system comprising the steps of:

storing a plurality of customer records, each customer record including a counter indicative of the transaction status of the customer record;

storing a plurality of freshness records, each freshness record including at least a subset of the total number of counters for all of the customer records and also including a freshness record counter that is related to the subset of the total number of counters in the freshness record;

storing in a cryptographic device separate from the customer and freshness records a cryptographic device counter initially set to be consistent with an initial value in the freshness record counter;

upon a request to update a specific customer record, identifying the freshness record that includes the counter associated with the specific customer record and sending the freshness record and the specific customer record to the cryptographic device;

extracting at the cryptographic device from the freshness record the freshness record counter;

determining if a first predetermined relationship exists between the extracted freshness record counter and the cryptographic device counter; and

if the first predetermined relationship exists, extracting the counter associated with the specific customer record from the customer record and comparing it to the counter associated with the specific customer record stored in the freshness record to determine if a second predetermined relationship exists; and

if the second predetermined relationship exists, permitting the specific customer record to be updated.