Secure media transmission with incremental decryption

• US 20030051159A1
• Filed: 09/11/2001
• Published: 03/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Storage Technologies Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Storage Technologies Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Leonhardt, Michael L., Milligan, Charles A., McCown, Steven H., Selkirk, Stephen S., Noland, Thomas Nelson
• Application Number:
  US09/951,688
• Publication Number:
  US 20030051159A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0827 involving distinctive intermediate devices or communication paths network architectures or network communication protocols using different networks H04L63/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/14 using a plurality of keys or algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/234363 by altering the spatial resolution, e.g. for clients with a lower screen resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23439 for generating different versions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440281 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. by frame skipping television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44055 by partially decrypting, e.g. decrypting a video stream that has been partially encrypted
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8456 by decomposing the content in the time domain, e.g. in time segments
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

A method, computer program product, and data storage device for downloading data with variable quality (including audio or video data) from a server in a network to a computer or network-connected storage device is disclosed.

A file is encrypted using multiple keys, such that possessing less than all of the keys allows only a portion of the data to be decrypted. The quality of level of the data read decrypted from the file is dependent upon which keys the downloading party holds. The file is downloaded to a computer or network-connected storage device.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting data in a network comprising:

generating a plurality of keys;

dividing the data into portions;

encrypting each of the portions with one of the plurality of keys in a one-to-one relationship; and

transmitting the encrypted portions through the network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting at least one of the plurality of keys through the network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the at least one of the plurality of keys is transmitted over an encrypted communications channel.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the encrypted communications channel is a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) channel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data includes at least one of audio data, video data, and digital data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the encrypted portions are transmitted to a computer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the encrypted portions are transmitted to a network-attached storage device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the storage device stores the data in a removable medium.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the removable medium is one of a compact disc (CD) and a digital versatile disc (DVD).

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the removable medium is one of a tape cartridge and a tape cassette.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the removable medium is one of a holographic disc and a holographic cube.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the storage device is one of a tape drive and a disk drive.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the storage device is a solid-state storage device.

14. A method, operative in a client, of downloading data from a server, comprising:

receiving encrypted data from the server, wherein different portions of the encrypted data are encrypted using different keys;

receiving at least one key corresponding to the encrypted data;

receiving a quality level corresponding to the at least one key;

using the at least one key to decrypt such portions of the encrypted data as can be decrypted using the at least one key; and

assembling the decrypted portions to form decrypted data that conforms to the quality level.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the quality level is one of a sampling rate, resolution, and compression quality.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising playing back the decrypted data.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the decrypted data includes at least one of audio data, video data and digital data.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising storing the decrypted data in a storage device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the storage device stores the decrypted data in a removable medium.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the removable medium is one of a compact disc (CD) and a digital versatile disc (DVD).

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the removable medium is one of a tape cartridge and a tape cassette.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the removable medium is one of a holographic disc and a holographic cube.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the storage device is one of a tape drive and a disk drive.

24. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one key is received from the server.

25. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one key is received through an encrypted transmission.

26. A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for transmitting data in a network comprising instructions for:

generating a plurality of keys;

dividing the data into portions;

encrypting each of the portions with one of the plurality of keys in a one-to-one relationship; and

transmitting the encrypted portions through the network.

27. The computer program product of claim 26, comprising additional instructions for:

transmitting at least one of the plurality of keys through the network.

28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the at least one of the plurality of keys is transmitted over an encrypted communications channel.

29. The computer program product of claim 28, wherein the encrypted communications channel is a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) channel.

30. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the data includes at least one of audio data, video data, and digital data.

31. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the encrypted portions are transmitted to a computer.

32. The computer program product of claim 26, wherein the encrypted portions are transmitted to a network-attached storage device.

33. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the storage device stores the data in a removable medium.

34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the removable medium is one of a compact disc (CD) and a digital versatile disc (DVD).

35. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the removable medium is one of a tape cartridge and a tape cassette.

36. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the removable medium is one of a holographic disc and a holographic cube.

37. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the storage device is one of a tape drive and a disk drive.

38. The computer program product of claim 32, wherein the storage device is a solid-state storage device.

39. A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for downloading data from a server, comprising instructions for:

receiving encrypted data from the server, wherein different portions of the encrypted data are encrypted using different keys;

receiving at least one key corresponding to the encrypted data;

receiving a quality level corresponding to the at least one key;

using the at least one key to decrypt such portions of the encrypted data as can be decrypted using the at least one key; and

assembling the decrypted portions to form decrypted data that conforms to the quality level.

40. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the quality level is one of a sampling rate, resolution, and compression quality.

41. The computer program product of claim 39, comprising additional instructions for playing back the decrypted data.

42. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the decrypted data includes at least one of audio data, video data and digital data.

43. The computer program product of claim 39, comprising additional instructions for storing the decrypted data in a storage device.

44. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the storage device stores the data in a removable medium.

45. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the removable medium is one of a compact disc (CD) and a digital versatile disc (DVD).

46. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the removable medium is one of a tape cartridge and a tape cassette.

47. The computer program product of claim 44, wherein the removable medium is one of a holographic disc and a holographic cube.

48. The computer program product of claim 43, wherein the storage device is one of a tape drive and a disk drive.

49. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the at least one key is received from the server.

50. The computer program product of claim 39, wherein the at least one key is received through an encrypted transmission.

51. A data processing system for transmitting data through a network, comprising:

a bus system;

a processing unit, including at least one processor and connected to the bus system;

memory connected to the bus system; and

a set of instructions in the memory, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to perform the acts of;

generating a plurality of keys;

dividing the data into portions;

encrypting each of the portions with one of the plurality of keys in a one-to-one relationship; and

transmitting the encrypted portions through the network.

52. The data processing system of claim 51, wherein the encrypted portions are transmitted to a computer.

53. The data processing system of claim 51, wherein the encrypted portions are transmitted to a network-attached storage device.

54. A data processing system for downloading data from a server, comprising:

a bus system;

a processing unit, including at least one processor and connected to the bus system;

memory connected to the bus system; and

a set of instructions in the memory, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to perform the acts of;

receiving encrypted data from the server, wherein different portions of the encrypted data are encrypted using different keys;

receiving at least one key corresponding to the encrypted data;

receiving a quality level corresponding to the at least one key;

using the at least one key to decrypt such portions of the encrypted data as can be decrypted using the at least one key; and

assembling the decrypted portions to form decrypted data that conforms to the quality level.

55. The data processing system of claim 54, wherein the quality level is one of a sampling rate, resolution, and compression quality.

56. The data processing system of claim 54, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to perform the additional act of playing back the decrypted data.

57. The data processing system of claim 54, wherein the decrypted data includes at least one of audio data, video data and digital data.

58. The data processing system of claim 54, wherein the processing unit executes the set of instructions to perform the additional act of storing the decrypted data in a storage device.