Multiple level security system and method for encrypting data within documents

• US 8,031,865 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2007
• Issued: 10/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Active Cypher, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Encryption Solutions, Inc. (Worldwide Diversified Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Stedron, Robert Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Moazzami; Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lewis; Lisa
• Application Number:
  US11/696,129
• Publication Number:
  US 20080040603A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,645 Days
• Field of Search: 380/28, 380/29
• US Class Current: 380/28
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/08 Randomization, e.g. dummy operations or using noise
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/12 Details relating to cryptographic hardware or logic circuitry
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/30 Compression, e.g. Merkle-Damgard construction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/065 Encryption by serially and continuously modifying data stream elements, e.g. stream cipher systems, RC4, SEAL or A5/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/088 Usage controlling of secret information, e.g. techniques for restricting cryptographic keys to pre-authorized uses, different access levels, validity of crypto-period, different key- or password length, or different strong and weak cryptographic algorithms network architectures or network communication protocols for using time-dependent keys in a packet data network H04L63/068

Abstract

A multiple level security system and method for encrypting data within documents is disclosed. The method includes one or more different encryption algorithms, and can employ the one or more different encryption algorithms to achieve the multiple levels of encryption. More particularly, a first encryption algorithm is based upon multiple rearrangements of bits representing data to obtain encoded data. A second encryption algorithm is based upon performing multiple XOR operations on bits representing data so that each data word is at least encoded with previous data words. Either encryption method or a combination of both encryption methods can be repeatedly applied to portions of data within a document to selectively encrypt each data portion within the document in accordance with the authorization level associated with the data portion.

Claims

1. A method of selectively encrypting multiple portions of data within a document, comprising the steps of:

for each portion of data within the document;

assigning the portion of data an authorization level;

a.) representing the portion of data within the document in binary format having words of X bits in length;

b.) using a computer to perform a first reversible rearrangement of the order of the bits of each word of the data portion utilizing a line from a randomly-generated reference table;

c.) using the computer to perform a second reversible rearrangement of the order of the bits of each word of the data portion from step (b) utilizing another line from the randomly-generated the reference table; and

d.) repeating steps (a)-(c) for the data portion in accordance with the assigned authorization level associated with the data portion such that the portion of the data document is wrapped with different layers of encryption corresponding to authorization levels equal to and less than the assigned authorization level.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the portion of data within the document comprises a paragraph within the document.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a user is authorized to decrypt data portions within the document that are at or less than the authorization level associated with the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second rearrangement is performed differently from the first rearrangement.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising the step of:

e.) generating the reference table prior to the step (a),

wherein the reference table includes a first row of m entries and r rows of n entries each.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein m, n, and r comprise prime numbers.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein step (b) comprises the step of:

f.) rearranging the bits of each word utilizing the first row of the reference table.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein step (c) comprises the step of:

f.) rearranging the bits of each word utilizing one of the r rows of the reference table.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein step (e) comprises the step of:

g.) rearranging the bits of adjacent words utilizing successive rows of the r rows of the reference table, respectively, and wherein the first of the r rows of the reference table succeeds the last of the r rows of the reference table, during the repetition of steps (a)-(c).

10. The method of claim 5, wherein step (e) comprises the step of:

f.) assigning numbers to the entries of the reference table, one number per entry, wherein the number assigned to each entry in the first row is unique within the first row, and wherein the number assigned to each entry in each of the r rows is unique within each respective row.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein step (b) comprises the steps of:

g.) grouping each word of the data into m groups of bits;

h.) arranging the numbers from the first row of the table into numerical order;

i.) correlating each of the groups of bits with one of the numbers from the first row of the table as arranged in numerical order; and

j.) rearranging the groups of bits based upon the numbers from the first row of the table as ordered in the first row of the table.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (g) comprises the step of:

k.) grouping each word of the data into m−

1 groups of p bits in length and one group of q bits in length, q being less than p.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein step (c) comprises the steps of:

g.) grouping each word of the data into n groups of bits;

h.) arranging the numbers from one of the r rows of the table into numerical order;

i.) correlating each of the groups of bits with one of the numbers from the one of the r rows of the table as arranged in numerical order; and

j.) rearranging the groups of bits based upon the numbers from the one of the r rows of the table as ordered in the one of the r rows of the table.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein step (g) comprises the step of:

k.) grouping each word of the data into n−

1 groups of p bits in length and one group of q bits in length, q being less than p.

15. A method of selectively encrypting multiple portions of data within a document, comprising the steps of:

for each portion of data within the document;

assigning the portion of data an authorization level;

a.) representing the portion of data within the document in binary format having words of X bits in length;

b.) using a computer to perform an XOR operation on a first data word utilizing a key and a word from a randomly-generated first noise table, wherein the noise table is represented in binary format having words of X bits in length, and wherein the key is represented in binary format having a word of X bits in length;

c.) using the computer to perform the XOR operation on successive data words utilizing an immediately preceding XOR operation result and a subsequent word from the randomly-generated noise table; and

d.) repeating steps (a)-(c) for the data portion in accordance with the assigned authorization level associated with the data portion such that the portion of the data document is wrapped with different layers of encryption corresponding to authorization levels equal to and less than the assigned authorization level.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the portion of data within the document comprises a paragraph within the document.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein a user is authorized to decrypt data portions within the document that are at or less than the authorization level associated with the user.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein prior to performing step (b), the method comprises the step of:

e.) setting the first noise table word as one of the words within the noise table.

19. The method of claim 15, comprising the step of:

e.) generating the noise table prior to performing step (a), the noise table having a greater size than the data.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein step (e) comprises the steps of f.) obtaining a data sample that is at least an order of magnitude greater in size than the random character table;

g.) identifying a data sub-sample within the data sample, the data sub-sample being equal in size to a random character table that is at least a predetermined number of bytes in size;

h.) representing the data sub-sample in words of X bits in length;

i.) performing a first rearrangement of the order of the bits in each word of the data sub-sample utilizing a reference table;

j.) performing a second rearrangement of the order of the bits in each word of the data sub-sample utilizing the reference table; and

k.) performing successive XOR operations on each rearranged word of the data sub-sample, respectively, utilizing the random character table.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the data sample comprises non-repetitive data strings.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the second rearrangement is performed differently from the first rearrangement.

23. The method of claim 20, comprising the step of:

l.) generating the reference table, wherein the reference table includes a first row of m entries and r rows of n entries each.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein m, n, and r comprise prime numbers.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein step (i) comprises the step of:

m.) rearranging the bits of each word utilizing the first row of the reference table.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein step (j) comprises the step of:

m.) rearranging the bits of each word utilizing one of the r rows of the reference table.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein step (m) comprises the step of:

n.) rearranging the bits of adjacent words utilizing successive rows of the r rows of the reference table, respectively, and wherein the first of the r rows of the reference table succeeds the last of the r rows of the reference table, during the repetition of steps (a)-(c).

28. The method of claim 23, wherein step (l) comprises the step of:

m.) assigning numbers to the entries of the reference table, one number per entry, wherein the number assigned to each entry in the first row is unique within the first row, and wherein the number assigned to each entry in each of the r rows is unique within each respective row.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein step (i) comprises the steps of:

n.) grouping each word of the data sub-sample into m groups of bits;

o.) arranging the numbers from the first row of the table into numerical order;

p.) correlating each of the groups of bits with one of the numbers from the first row of the table as arranged in numerical order; and

q.) rearranging the groups of bits based upon the numbers from the first row of the table as ordered in the first row of the table.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein step (n) comprises the step of:

r.) grouping each word of the data into m−

1 groups of p bits in length and one group of q bits in length, q being less than p.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein step (j) comprises the steps of:

n.) grouping each word of the data sub-sample into n groups of bits;

o.) arranging the numbers from one of the r rows of the table into numerical order;

p.) correlating each of the groups of bits with one of the numbers from the one of the r rows of the table as arranged in numerical order; and

q.) rearranging the groups of bits based upon the numbers from the one of the r rows of the table as ordered in the one of the r rows of the table.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein step (n) comprises the step of r.) grouping each word of the data into n−

1 groups of p bits in length and one group of q bits in length, q being less than p.

33. A method of selectively encrypting multiple portions of data within a document, comprising the steps of:

for each portion of data within the document;

assigning the portion of data an authorization level;

a.) representing the portion of data within the document in binary format having words of X bits in length;

b.) using a computer to perform a first rearrangement of the order of the bits of each word of the data portion utilizing a line from a randomly-generated reference table;

c.) using the computer to perform a second rearrangement of the order of the bits of each word of the data from step (b) utilizing another line from the randomly-generated the reference table, wherein the first and second rearrangements generate a first rearranged word and a second rearranged word;

d.) using the computer to perform an XOR operation on the first rearranged word utilizing a key and a word from a randomly-generated first noise table, wherein the noise table and key are represented in binary format having words of X bits in length and the key is represented in binary format having a word of X bits in length;

c.) using the computer to perform the XOR operation on the second rearranged word utilizing the key, a subsequent word from the randomly-generated noise table, and a result from performing the XOR operation on the first rearrange word; and

d.) repeating steps (a)-(e) for the data portion in accordance with the assigned authorization level associated with the data portion such that the portion of the data document is wrapped with different layers of encryption corresponding to authorization levels equal to and less than the assigned authorization level.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the portion of data within the document comprises a paragraph within the document.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein a user is authorized to decrypt data portions within the document that are at or less than the authorization level associated with the user.