Method and system for securing digital assets using time-based security criteria
First Claim
1. A file security system for restricting access to electronic files, said file security system comprising:
- a key store that stores a plurality of cryptographic key pairs, each of the cryptographic key pairs includes a public key and a private key, at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to a predetermined time; and
an access manager operatively connected to said key store, said access manager determines whether the private key of the at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to the predetermined time is permitted to be provided to a requestor based on a current time, wherein the requester requires the private key of the at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to the predetermined time to access a secured electronic file, and wherein the secured electronic file was previously secured using the public key of the at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to the predetermined time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for utilizing time-based security criteria in a file security system are disclosed. At least a portion of the security criteria can have a time associated therewith (i.e., time-based security criteria) that serves as a time-based restriction on the ability to gain access to electronic files. If the time-based restriction is not satisfied, then the associated security criteria is not made available and thus access to a secured electronic file is prevented. In other words, access restrictions on electronic files can be dependent on the time at which access to the electronic files is attempted. The security criteria can pertain to keys (or ciphers) used by the file security system to secure (e.g., encrypt) electronic files to be secured, or to unsecure (e.g., decrypt) electronic files already secured.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A file security system for restricting access to electronic files, said file security system comprising:
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a key store that stores a plurality of cryptographic key pairs, each of the cryptographic key pairs includes a public key and a private key, at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to a predetermined time; and
an access manager operatively connected to said key store, said access manager determines whether the private key of the at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to the predetermined time is permitted to be provided to a requestor based on a current time, wherein the requester requires the private key of the at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to the predetermined time to access a secured electronic file, and wherein the secured electronic file was previously secured using the public key of the at least one of the cryptographic key pairs pertaining to the predetermined time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for restricting access to an electronic document, said method comprising:
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identifying an electronic document to be secured, the electronic document having at least a data portion that contains data;
obtaining a time-based access key;
securing the electronic document through use of the time-based access key to produce a secured electronic document; and
storing the secured electronic document. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for restricting access to an electronic document, said method comprising:
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identifying an electronic document to be secured, the electronic document having at least a data portion that contains data;
obtaining a document key;
encrypting the data portion of the electronic document using the document key to produce an encrypted data portion;
obtaining a time-based access key;
encrypting the document key using the time-based access key to produce an encrypted document key;
forming a secured electronic document from at least the encrypted data portion and the encrypted document key; and
storing the secured electronic document. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for accessing a secured electronic document by a requester, the secured electronic document having at least a header portion and a data portion, said method comprising:
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obtaining a time-based access key;
obtaining an encrypted document key from the header portion of the secured electronic document;
decrypting the encrypted document key using the time-based access key to produce a document key;
decrypting an encrypted data portion of the secured electronic document using the document key to produce a data portion; and
supplying the data portion to the requestor. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for distributing cryptographic keys used in a file security system, said method comprising:
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receiving a request for a time-based key;
identifying an access time associated with the time-based key;
comparing the current time with the access time; and
refusing to distribute the time-based key in response to the request when said comparing indicates that the current time is prior to the access time. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
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26. A computer readable medium including at least computer program code for restricting access to an electronic document, said computer readable medium comprising:
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computer program code for identifying an electronic document to be secured, the electronic document having at least a data portion that contains data;
computer program code for obtaining a time-based access key;
computer program code for securing the electronic document through use of the time-based access key to produce a secured electronic document; and
computer program code for storing the secured electronic document. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
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Specification