Method and system for fragmenting and reconstituting data

• US 6,757,699 B2
• Filed: 05/04/2001
• Issued: 06/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Franciscan University of Steubenville
• Original Assignee: Franciscan University of Steubenville
• Inventors: Lowry, Douglas B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Homere, Jean R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wong, Leslie
• Application Number:
  US09/849,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20020042859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 707/201-204, 707/200, 707/205, 707/9, 707/206, 709/223, 709/246, 713/182, 713/200, 380/291, 380/267-269, 711/161
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2113 Multi-level security, e.g. mandatory access control
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99956 File allocation

Abstract

A system and method for privatizing computer data involves the steps of opening a plurality of original data files, fragmenting said original data files into fragments, and interspersing said fragments among each other forming composite files (privacy protected files). The method then includes the steps of creating a reconstitution file, which identifies hidden dispersion locations and placement of individual fragments to reconstruct the original data files. Finally, the composite files are dispersed to hidden locations. To enhance security, each fragment may be disguised through a multiplicity of high speed mathematical operations, which are directed by a fragment handling guide drawn from a random table, before interspersing fragments in the composite files.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for privatizing computer data, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one original data file;

fragmenting said original data file into fragments;

creating at least one composite file by interspersing said fragments;

creating a reconstitution file, said reconstitution file comprising a reconstitution plan;

dispersing said at least one composite file as a unit to at least one location, wherein said at least one location for said at feast one composite file is different than a second location for the reconstitution file; and

preventing access to any data of said at least one original data file.

2. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 1, wherein creating at least one composite file, further comprises the step of:

disguising said fragments.

3. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 2, wherein disguising said fragments further comprises the step of:

disguising said fragment through at least two mathematical techniques.

4. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 2, wherein said step of disguising said fragments further comprises the steps of:

accessing a random table, said random table being a randomized plurality of data bytes; and

,

accessing a fragment handling guide, said fragment handling guide comprising a predetermined number of successive bytes from said random table.

5. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 4, wherein said step of accessing said fragment handling guide comprises the step of:

determining a starting point in said random table.

6. A computer-implemented method for privatizing computer data comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of original data files, each of said original data files being a binary stream;

fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments;

creating at least two composite files by interspersing said fragments;

creating a reconstitution file having a reconstitution plan;

dispersing said at least two composite files to at least two different locations, such that the location of each composite file is different from another composite file, wherein each composite file is dispersed as a unit to one single location wherein said two different locations for said at least two composite files is different than a third location for the reconstitution file; and

preventing access to any data of said plurality of original data files.

7. A method for privatizing computer data comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of original data files, each of said original data files being a binary stream;

fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments;

creating at least two composite files by interspersing said fragments;

creating a reconstitution file having a reconstitution plan; and

dispersing said at least two composite files to at least two different locations,

wherein fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments, further comprises the steps of;

processing original data file matters;

processing random table matters;

obtaining a fragment handling guide;

interpreting said fragment handling guide;

obtaining one of said fragments;

providing space in a fragment storage structure for said one of said fragments;

disguising said one of said fragments;

writing said disguised one of said fragments to said fragment storage structure so as to intersperse said disguised one of said fragments with other fragments stored therein;

writing said interspersed fragments to said composite file when said fragment storage structure is filled with said interspersed fragments;

recording an action taken on said fragment to said reconstitution file; and

repeating said steps for fragmenting said data files into fragments until no input data remains in said original data files.

8. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 7, further comprising the step of:

reinitiating said fragment storage structure after said interspersed fragments are written to said composite file.

9. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 7, wherein the step of processing original data file matters further comprises the step of:

finalizing input matters when said input data being stored in one of a plurality of original data storage structures exceeds or equals a threshold value.

10. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 7, wherein processing data input file matters further comprises the step of:

replenishing an original data storage structure when input data being stored in said original data storage structure is less than a threshold value.

11. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 10, further comprising the step of:

closing one of said plurality of original data files if no input data is being stored in said corresponding original data storage structure.

12. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 11, further comprising the step of:

marking said closed original data file inactive if no input data exists therein.

13. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 7, wherein of processing random table matters comprises the step of:

accessing a random table having a predetermined number of randomized bytes, wherein the first two bytes are binary integers identifying said random table.

14. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 7, wherein obtaining one of said fragments further comprises the step of:

reading and writing data from each of said plurality of original data files to a plurality of original data storage structures, said plurality of original data storage structures corresponding to each of said plurality of original data files, wherein said fragments are drawn from each of said original data storage structures.

15. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 14, wherein writing data from each of said plurality of original data files to said plurality of original data storage structures is performed in sequential order.

16. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 14, wherein writing said disguised one of said fragments to said fragment storage structure so as to intersperse said disguised one of said fragments with other fragments stored therein comprises the steps of:

reading and writing each of said fragments from each original file data structure to one of a plurality of fragment data storage structures, resulting in interspersed fragments; and

reading and writing said interspersed fragments to said composite files.

17. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 16, wherein said original data storage structures have an end, wherein writing said disguised one of said fragments to said fragment storage structure further comprises the steps of:

selecting one of said original data storage structures randomly;

drawing the next fragment in sequence from said end of said original data storage structure resulting in a new current end;

repositioning said new current end forward to the beginning of the just drawn fragment such that said fragments are drawn from said original data storage structures in a combined random and reverse order, said fragments being read into said corresponding fragment data storage structures in a round robin order.

18. The method for privatizing computer data of claim 7, wherein said step of disguising said one of said fragments is performed through at least two mathematical techniques, said one of said fragments having a fragment length and a starting point in a random table, said fragment length and said starting point designated by said fragment handling guide.

19. A method for privatizing computer data comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of original data files, each of said original data files being a binary stream;

fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments;

creating at least two composite files by interspersing said fragments;

creating a reconstitution file having a reconstitution plan; and

dispersing said at least two composite files to at least two different locations,

wherein creating a reconstitution file, further comprises the steps of;

creating a header with counts and offsets;

appending all location strings;

appending names of all random tables;

appending all original data file names;

appending all composite files names;

compressing trailers; and

writing actions with compressed trailers in reverse order.

20. A system for privatizing computer data, said system comprising:

a plurality of original data files;

a plurality of fragment storage structures, said original data files being fragmented into fragments, each of said fragments being read from one of said plurality of original data files and written into one of said plurality of fragment storage structures forming interspersed fragments, wherein said plurality of fragments are not replicated when written into one of said plurality of fragment storage structures;

a plurality of composite files, wherein the interspersed fragments of one of said fragment storage structures is written to one of said composite files after each occurrence that one of said fragment storage structures is filled; and

at least two different storage locations for said plurality of composite flies; and

a reconstitution file having a storage location different from said storage locations for said plurality of composite files.

21. The system for privatizing computer data of claim 20, said system further comprising a plurality of original data storage structures corresponding with each of said plurality of original data files, data from each of said original data files being read into one of said corresponding original file storage structures, said fragment being read from said original storage structure and written into said fragment storage structure.

22. The system for privatizing computer data of claim 21, wherein said fragments are read into said original storage structures in sequential order.

24. The system for privatizing computer data of claim 20, wherein said fragment storage structure is reinitiated after said interspersed fragments are written to said composite files.

25. The system for privatizing computer data of claim 20, said system further comprising a reconstitution plan adapted to restore said fragments into said plurality of original data files.

26. The system for privatizing computer data of claim 20, wherein said fragments are disguised.

27. The system for privatizing computer data of claim 26, wherein the system further comprises a random table for disguising said fragments, said random table being a randomized plurality of data bytes.

28. The system for privatizing computer data of claim 27, wherein said disguising is performed by an operation having a starting point in said random table, said operation and starting point being determined by a fragment handling guide.

23. A system for privatizing computer data, said system comprising:

a plurality of original data files;

a plurality of fragment storage structures, said original data files being fragmented into fragments, each of said fragments being read from one of said plurality of original data files and written into one of said plurality of fragment storage structures forming interspersed fragments;

a plurality of composite files, wherein the interspersed fragments of one of said fragment storage structure is written to one of said composite files after each occurrence that one of said fragment storage structures is filled; and

at least two different storage locations, wherein said fragments are written into said plurality of fragment storage structures in reverse order.

29. A computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to perform a method, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of original data files;

providing a plurality of fragment storage structures;

providing a plurality of composite files;

providing at least two locations for storing said plurality of composite files;

fragmenting said original data files into fragments

reading each of said fragments from said plurality of original data files;

writing each of said fragments into one of said plurality of fragment storage structures, wherein said plurality of fragments are not replicated when written into one of said plurality of fragment storage structures;

forming interspersed fragments;

filling said fragment storage structures with fragments; and

,

writing said interspersed fragments to said composite files and

providing a reconstitution plan, said reconstitution plan being stored in a different location from said composite files.

30. The computer readable medium of claim 29, the method further comprising the step of:

providing a plurality of original data storage structures one of which corresponds with each of said plurality of original data files;

reading and writing data from each of said original data files into said corresponding original file storage structures; and

reading and writing said fragment from said original storage structure into said fragment storage structure.

32. The computer readable medium of claim 29, wherein reading and wilting said fragment from said original storage structure into said original file storage structure further comprises the steps of:

randomly selecting fragments of random length from the ends of the original file storage structures; and

reading and writing said fragments into said plurality of fragment storage structures in round robin order.

33. The computer readable medium of claim 29, the method further comprising the step of:

reinitiating said fragment storage structure after said interspersed fragments are written to said composite files.

34. The computer readable medium of claim 29, the method further comprising the step of:

retrieving said plurality of dispersed composite files; and

reordering said fragments to reconstruct said plurality of original data files.

35. The computer readable medium of claim 29, the method further comprising the step of:

disguising said fragments.

36. The computer readable medium of claim 35, wherein the step of disguising said fragments is determined by a random table, said random table being a randomized plurality of data bytes.

37. The computer readable medium of claim 36, wherein said step of disguising said fragments is performed by an operation having a starting point in said random table, said operation and starting point being determined by a fragment handling guide.

31. A computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling a computer system to perform a method, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of original data files;

providing a plurality of fragment storage structures;

providing a plurality of composite files;

providing at least two locations for storing said plurality of composite files;

fragmenting said original data files into fragments;

reading each of said fragments from said plurality of original data files;

writing each of said fragments into one of said plurality of fragment storage structures;

forming interspersed fragments;

filling said fragment storage structures with fragments; and

,

writing said interspersed fragments to said composite files,

wherein reading and wilting data from each of said original data files into said corresponding original file storage structures further comprises the step of;

reading and writing said portions of original data files into said original storage structures progressively in reverse sequential order.

38. An apparatus, comprising:

means for opening a plurality of original data files, each of said original data files being a binary stream;

means for fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments;

means for creating at least two composite files by interspersing said fragments;

means for creating a reconstitution file having a reconstitution plan;

means for dispersing said at least two composite files to at least two different locations, such that the location of each composite file is different from another composite file, wherein each composite file is dispersed as a unit to one single location wherein said single location for each composite file is different than a second location for said reconstitution file; and

;

preventing access to any data of said plurality of original data files.

39. An apparatus, comprising:

means for opening a plurality of original data files, each of said original data files being a binary stream;

means for fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments;

means for creating at least two composite files by interspersing said fragments;

means for creating a reconstitution file having a reconstitution plan; and

means for dispersing said at least two composite files to at least two different locations,

wherein means for fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments further comprises;

means for processing original data file matters;

means for processing random table matters;

means for obtaining a fragment handling guide;

means for interpreting said fragment handling guide;

means for obtaining one of said fragments;

means for providing space in a fragment storage structure for said one of said fragments;

means for disguising said one of said fragments;

means for writing said disguised one of said fragments to said fragment storage structure so as to intersperse said disguised one of said fragments with other fragments stored therein;

means for writing said interspersed fragments to said composite file when said fragment storage structure is filled with said interspersed fragments;

means for recording an action taken on said fragment to said reconstitution file; and

means for repeating said steps for fragmenting said data files into fragments until no input data remains in said original data files.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, further comprising:

means for reinitiating said fragment storage structure after said interspersed fragments are written to said composite file.

41. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein means for processing original data file matters further comprises:

means for finalizing input matters when said input data being stored in one of a plurality of original data storage structures exceeds or equals a threshold value.

42. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein means for processing original data file matters further comprises:

means for replenishing an original data storage structure when input data being stored in said original data storage structure is less than a threshold value.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, further comprising:

means for closing one of said plurality of original data files if no input data is being stored in said corresponding original data storage structure.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising:

means for marking said closed original data file inactive if no input data exists therein.

45. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein said means for processing random table matters comprises:

means for accessing a random table having a predetermined number of randomized bytes, wherein first two bytes are binary integers identifying said random table.

46. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein said means for obtaining one of said fragments further comprises:

means for reading and writing data from each of said plurality of original data files to a corresponding original data storage structure, wherein said fragments are drawn from each of said original data storage structures.

47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said means for writing data from one of said plurality of original data files to its corresponding original data storage structure is performed in sequential order from end to beginning of said original data file.

48. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein said means for writing said disguised one of said fragments to said fragment storage structure so as to intersperse said disguised one of said fragments with other fragments stored therein comprises:

means for reading and writing each of said fragments from one of said original file data structures to one of a plurality of fragment data storage structures, resulting in interspersed fragments, said original file data structure being randomly selected;

means for reading and writing said interspersed fragments to said composite files.

49. The apparatus of claim 48, wherein each of said original data storage structures comprises an end and each of said fragment data storage structures comprises an end, wherein each of said fragments is drawn from said end of said randomly selected original data storage structure, and each of said fragments is read successively into said end of one of said fragment data storage structures in round robin order.

50. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein said means for disguising said one of said fragments is performed through an exclusive OR operation, said one of said fragments having a fragment length and a starting point in a random table, said fragment length and said starting point designated by said fragment handling guide.

51. An apparatus, comprising:

means for opening a plurality of original data files, each of said original data files being a binary stream;

means for fragmenting said plurality of original data files into fragments;

means for creating at least two composite files by interspersing said fragments;

means for creating a reconstitution file having a reconstitution plan; and

means for dispersing said at least two composite files to at least two different locations,

wherein creating a reconstitution file, further comprises;

means for creating a header with counts and offsets;

means for appending all location strings;

means for appending all random table names;

means for appending original data file names;

means for appending composite files names;

means for compressing trailers; and

means for writing actions each with its compressed trailer in reverse order.