Distributed confidential contextual querying

• US 7,698,324 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2005
• Issued: 04/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Vries, Jean Pierre
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Miranda
• Application Number:
  US11/069,082
• Publication Number:
  US 20050149520A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,870 Days
• Field of Search: 707/1, 707/3, 707/10, 707/100, 707/101, 707/698, 707/747, 707/999.003, 713/161, 713/168
• US Class Current: 707/698
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface

Abstract

For distributed querying of confidential information, a querying data structure is constructed from the confidential information on the computer at which the confidential information resides. The querying data structure opaquely encapsulates queries on the confidential information as a set of query hashes and answer pairs. The querying data structure is distributed to other computers where the distributed query processing is to be performed. The query is performed on such other computers by hashing the query terms, using the resulting query hash as a look up index to the associated answer in the querying data structure, and acting on the answer. A strictly one-way hash is used to prevent recovery of the original inputs to the query hashes in the query data structure by reverse hash.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable program and data stored thereon for distributed queries involving a set of query terms on information resident on one computer at another computer without the information being accessible at the other computer, the computer-executable program data comprising:

a distributed querying data structure storing a set of associations of query hash and query answer pairs representing answers produced according to a logical rule as a function of a set of plural terms of a relational data set resident on said one computer, wherein the set of plural terms consist of a plurality of query input terms and at least one other term;

the query hash of a pair being a result of a one-way hashing function of a combination of values for the set of query terms;

the query answer of the pair being a value of a respective answer produced for the combination of values of the query input terms;

program code instructions for execution by said other computer for evaluating distributed queries at said other computer by calculating the one-way hashing function of the respective query'"'"'s query term values and looking up the query answer paired with the calculated query hash of the respective query in the distributed querying data structure; and

program code instructions for execution by said other computer for generating a notification to a user-operated computer relating to the query answer produced from evaluating the respective query.

2. The computer-readable data-carrying medium of claim 1 having further encoded thereon a type definition of the query terms for transfer from the one computer to said other computer.

3. An information service system comprising:

a group of at least one server computer on a data communications network providing data communications with a user-operated computer the group comprising a user information storage server computer having;

data storage for storing an information resource available to provide to users of the information service, the information resource represented by a relational data set containing values for a set of fields;

a distributed query building unit operating to construct a distributed querying data structure storing a set of associations of query hash and answer pairs representing answers produced according to a logical rule as a function of a set of plural terms corresponding to certain of the fields of the relational data set stored on the relational database server, wherein the set of plural terms consist of a plurality of query input terms and at least one other term, the query hash being a value resulting as a one-way hashing function of a combination of values for the query input terms, and the answer of the pair being a value of a respective answer produced for the combination of values of the query input terms; and

a transfer unit for transferring the distributed querying data structure to another computer to permit evaluation of queries on the set of fields for the information resource and produce notifications to a user based on said evaluation.

4. The information service system of claim 3 wherein the group of at least one server computer further comprises a query processing server computer having:

a memory for receiving the distributed querying data structure from the user information storage server computer; and

a query engine for evaluating distributed queries by calculating the one-way hashing function of the respective query'"'"'s query term values and looking up the query answer paired with the calculated query hash of the respective query in the distributed querying data structure.

5. The information service system of claim 4 wherein the query processing server computer further comprises a notification unit operating to generate a notification to the user-operated computer relating to a query answer produced by the query engine.

6. An information service system comprising:

a group of at least one server computer on a data communications network providing data communications with a user-operated computer, the group comprising a query processing server computer having;

means for receiving a distributed querying data structure from a user information storage server computer;

a memory for storing the distributed querying data structure containing a set of associations of query hash and query answer pairs representing answers produced according to a logical rule as a function of a set of plural terms of a relational data set resident on the user information storing server computer, wherein the set of plural terms consist of a plurality of query input terms and at least one other term, the query hash of a pair being a result of a one-way hashing function of a combination of values for the set of query terms, and the query answer of the pair being a value of a respective answer produced for the combination of values of the query input terms;

a query engine for evaluating distributed queries by calculating the one-way hashing function of the respective query'"'"'s query term values and looking up the query answer paired with the calculated query hash of the respective query in the distributed querying data structure; and

a notification unit operating to generate a notification to the user-operated computer relating to a query answer produced by the query engine.