Protection of privacy-sensitive information through redundancy, encryption and distribution of information

• US 20070143459A1
• Filed: 12/19/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Batteram, Harold, Plas, Dirk-Jaap
• Application Number:
  US11/311,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20070143459A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes

Abstract

A method and system for protecting privacy-sensitive information through redundancy, encryption and distribution of information is provided. Information to be stored is received from one of a number of devices. The information is divided into a number of segments that are stored distributed across a set of storage facilities that are nodes on a network and associated with the devices. A virtual disk device driver represents the set of storage facilities and communicates with a master node on the network. The master node maintains an index table that stores the location the segments of a virtual disk. Each segment has an identifier and a version. The virtual disk is controlled by the virtual disk driver. The device runs the virtual disk device driver to store information that is divided into the segments.

Claims

1. A method for storing information, comprising:

receiving information for storage from one of a plurality of user devices;

dividing the information into a plurality of data units that are stored on a plurality of segments, the segments being fixed size data units used to store data;

storing the segments distributed across a set of storage facilities, the storage facilities in the set being nodes on a network and associated with the devices.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

encrypting the segments before the segments are stored.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the segments are stored redundantly.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

reading the information on one of the user devices through a virtual storage system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein

updating the information on one of the user devices through a virtual storage system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a virtual disk device driver provides access to the information.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a redundant copy of the index table that is encrypted and stored across the virtual disk.

7. A system for storing information, comprising:

a virtual disk device driver on a master node for representing a set of storage facilities and for maintaining an index table, the virtual disk device driver being located on a user device that acts as the master node in a network, the index table storing a location of a plurality of segments of a virtual disk, each segment having an identifier and a version, the virtual disk being controlled by the virtual disk driver;

a user device capable of running an operating system and the virtual disk device driver to store information that is divided into a plurality of data units that are stored on the segments, the user device being one of a plurality of devices, the devices being associated with the storage facilities.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the version of the segment is updated when data is written to the segment.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the master node assembles the index table from a plurality of index tables stored on each of the user devices.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the master node assembles the index table using the latest version of each segment from the index tables stored on the user devices.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the segments are encrypted and the encrypted segments are stored redundantly across the virtual disk.

13. A computer readable medium storing instructions for performing a method for storing information, the method comprising:

receiving information for storage from one of a plurality of user devices;

dividing the information into a plurality of data units that are stored on a plurality of segments, the segments being fixed size data units used to store data;

storing the segments distributed across a set of storage facilities, the storage facilities in the set being nodes on a network and associated with the devices.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising:

encrypting the segments before the segments are stored.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the segments are stored redundantly.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13, further comprising:

reading the information on one of the user devices through a virtual storage system.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein

updating the information on one of the user devices through a virtual storage system.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein a virtual disk device driver provides access to the information.