Tokenization of multiple-field records

• US 8,620,882 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2010
• Issued: 12/31/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Emc IP Holding Company LLC (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: EMC Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Griffin, Robert W., Bailey, Daniel, Rosenthol, Joshua
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain
• Assistant Examiner(s): WITZENBURG, BRUCE A
• Application Number:
  US12/980,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20120173563A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,098 Days
• Field of Search: 707/687, 707/694, 707/783, 707/784, 709/203, 709/218, 709/229
• US Class Current: 707/694
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security

Abstract

An improved technique for granting access to a complex datum maps a single user token representing a user onto a set of data group tokens, each data group token providing access to a data group stored on a storage medium. The improved technique combines the centralization of the complex datum while providing the security of tokenization and will lower the risk of a rogue third party gaining unauthorized access to the user'"'"'s records stored across the data groups.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of controlling access to a complex datum which includes a set of data groups having data stored on a set of external storage media, the method comprising:

receiving, by a server from a client computer over a network, a user token representing a user at the client computer;

mapping, by the server, the user token to a set of data group tokens, each data group token in the set of data group tokens corresponding to a data group in the set of data groups and defining a level of access the user has to that respective data group, each data group in the set of data groups containing data which is stored on an external storage medium from the set of external storage media; and

sending, by the server, the set of data group tokens to the client computer over the network;

wherein the server includes a non-volatile memory in which a database is stored;

wherein the database includes a lookup table containing a set of user tokens and a set of index values, each index value from the set of index values corresponding to a user token in the set of user tokens;

wherein mapping the user token to a set of data group tokens includes;

locating the user token in the lookup table,

finding the corresponding index value from the lookup table, and

obtaining the set of data group tokens from the corresponding index value;

wherein the index value corresponding to the user token represents a data partitioning scheme;

wherein obtaining the set of data group tokens includes partitioning the user token according to the data partitioning scheme represented by the corresponding index value;

wherein each data group token includes a set of data group token bits;

wherein the method further comprises;

sending, before the receiving of the user token, a hash function to the client computer,

for each data group token, generating a set of message authentication code (MAC) bits from an operation of the hash function on the data group token bits of that data group token, and

for each data group token, combining the set of MAC bits with the data group token bits of that data group token; and

wherein an application, at the client computer, of the hash function to a data group token of the set of data group tokens producing the set of MAC bits generated for the data group token implies that the data group token is valid.

2. A method as in claim 1, wherein each data group token includes an expiration time after which the level of access of the user changes;

and

wherein sending the set of data group tokens to the client computer includes;

checking a current time against the expiration time; and

if the current time is later than the expiration time, sending a message to an access control manager connected to the server over the network, the message including a request to change the level of access of the user.

3. A method as in claim 1, wherein the hash function is a keyed hash function which requires a cryptographic key for obtaining the set of MAC bits from the set of index bits in each data group token;

and

wherein the sending, before the receiving of the user token, the hash function to the client computer includes transmitting the cryptographic key to the client computer.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein the user at the client computer is an entity attempting to access a patient'"'"'s medical history within a medical institution having a set of medical departments, the medical history including a set of medical records, each medical record in the set of medical records belonging to a medical department;

wherein each data group token corresponds to a medical departments in the set of medical departments, each medical department having an external storage medium from the set of external storage media storing data associated with the data group represented by the data group token;

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving, by the server, from each medical department and before the receiving of the user token from the client computer, a data group token associated with the patient;

receiving, by the server and from each medical department, a pointer from a set of pointers associated with a location of the external server of the medical department;

combining the resulting set of data group tokens into the user token according to an index value derived from the received set of pointers, the index value being associated with the resulting user token; and

sending the resulting user token to the client computer.

5. A method as in claim 4, wherein the combining the resulting set of data group tokens into the user token includes adding a flag denoting whether the entity has authorization to see the patient'"'"'s name as part of the medical history.

6. A method as in claim 1, wherein the user at the client computer is a patient associated with a medical history including a set of medical records;

wherein each data group token corresponds to a medical department from a set of medical departments within a medical institution, each medical institution belonging to a set of medical institutions in which the patient has a medical record from the set of medical records, each medical department having an external storage medium from the set of external storage media storing data associated with the data group represented by the data group token;

wherein the method further comprises;

receiving, by the server, from each medical institution and before the receiving of the user token from the client computer, a data group token associated with the patient, the data group token being a result of a combination of a set of data group tokens, each data group token from the set of data group tokens corresponding to a medical department belonging to the medical institution;

receiving, by the server and from each medical institution, a pointer from a set of pointers associated with a location of the external server of a medical department in the medical institution;

combining the resulting set of data group tokens into the user token according to an index value derived from the received set of pointers, the index value being associated with the resulting user token; and

sending the resulting user token to the client computer.

7. A method as in claim 1,

wherein the client computer includes a local database on which the user token is mapped to personally identifiable information (PII) of the user;

wherein receiving the user token includes;

obtaining, as the user token, a set of bits from which the PII may only be deduced from locating the bits in the local database, the user token obscuring the PII from users of the server.

8. A method as in claim 7, further comprising:

prior to receiving the user token, obtaining, from an access control server, an authorization message indicating whether identity information sent to the access control server by the user provides verification of an identity of the user, and

sending the authorization message to each external storage medium of the set of external storage medium.

9. A method as in claim 1, further comprising:

sending, to the client computer, a set of constraints satisfied by each data group token of the set of data group tokens, the client computer performing a constraint verification operation on the data group token after the application of the hash function to the set of data group tokens, the constraint verification operation producing a constraint verification result that is indicative of whether the data group token satisfies the set of constraints, the client computer using the data group token when the constraint verification result indicates that the data group token satisfies the set of constraints, the client computer discarding the data group token when the constraint verification result indicates that the data group token does not satisfy the set of constraints.

10. A method as in claim 9,

wherein the constraint verification operation is a Luhn algorithm;

and

wherein sending the set of constraints to the client computer includes;

providing a check digit to the client computer, the check digit being configured to enable to client computer to perform, as the constraint verification operation, an application of the Luhn algorithm to the data group token.

11. A system configured to control access to a complex datum which includes a set of data groups having data stored on a set of external storage media, the system comprising:

a network interface coupled to a network;

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to;

receive, from a client computer over the network, a user token uniquely corresponding to and suppressing the identity of a user at the client computer;

map the user token to a set of data group tokens, each data group token in the set of data group tokens corresponding to a data group in the set of data groups and defining a level of access the user has to that respective data group, each data group in the set of data groups containing data which is stored on an external storage medium from the set of external storage media; and

send the set of data group tokens to the client computer over the network;

wherein a database is stored in the memory, the database including a lookup table containing a set of user tokens and a set of index values, each index value from the set of index values corresponding to a user token in the set of user tokens;

wherein mapping the user token to a set of data group tokens includes;

locating the user token in the lookup table,

finding the corresponding index value from the lookup table, and

obtaining the set of data group tokens from the corresponding index value;

wherein the index value corresponding to the user token represents a data partitioning scheme;

wherein obtaining the set of data group tokens includes partitioning the user token according to the data partitioning scheme represented by the corresponding index value;

wherein each data group token includes a set of data group token bits;

wherein the processor is further configured to;

send, before the receiving of the user token, a hash function to the client computer,

for each data group token, generate a set of message authentication code (MAC) bits from an operation of the hash function on the data group token bits of that data group token, and

for each data group token, combine the set of MAC bits with the data group token bits of that data group token; and

wherein an application, at the client computer, of the hash function to a data group token of the set of data group tokens producing the set of MAC bits generated for the data group token implies that the data group token is valid.

12. A system as in claim 11, wherein each data group token includes an expiration time after which the level of access of the user changes;

and

wherein sending the set of data group tokens to the client computer includes;

checking a current time against the expiration time; and

if the current time is later than the expiration time, sending a message to an access control manager connected to the server over the network, the message including a request to change the level of access of the user.

13. A system as in claim 11, wherein the user at the client computer is an entity attempting to access a patient'"'"'s medical history within a medical institution having a set of medical departments, the medical history including a set of medical records, each medical record in the set of medical records belonging to a medical department;

wherein each data group token corresponds to a medical departments in the set of medical departments, each medical department having an external storage medium from the set of external storage media storing data associated with the data group represented by the data group token;

wherein the processor is further configured to;

receive, from each medical department and before the receiving of the user token from the client computer, a data group token associated with the patient;

receive, from each medical department, a pointer from a set of pointers associated with a location of the external server of the medical department;

combine the resulting set of data group tokens into the user token according to an index value derived from the received set of pointers, the index value being associated with the resulting user token; and

send the resulting user token to the client computer.

14. A system as in claim 11, wherein the user at the client computer is the patient associated with the medical history;

wherein each data group token corresponds to a medical institution in which the patient has a medical record, the medical institution belonging to a set of medical institutions, the medical record of the patient in the institution belonging to the set of medical records of the medical history, each medical department having an external storage medium from the set of external storage media storing data associated with the data group represented by the data group token;

wherein the processor is further configured to;

receive, from each medical institution and before the receiving of the user token from the client computer, a data group token associated with the patient, the data group token being a result of a combination of a set of data group tokens, each data group token from the set of data group tokens corresponding to a medical department belonging to the medical institution;

receive, from each medical institution, a pointer from a set of pointers associated with a location of the external server of a medical department in the medical institution;

combine the resulting set of data group tokens into the user token according to an index value derived from the received set of pointers, the index value being associated with the resulting user token; and

send the resulting user token to the client computer.

15. A computer program product having a non-transitory computer readable storage medium which stores code to control access to a complex datum which includes a set of data groups having data stored on a set of external storage media, the code including a set of instructions to:

receive, from a client computer over the network, a user token uniquely corresponding to and suppressing the identity of a user at the client computer;

map the user token to a set of data group tokens, each data group token in the set of data group tokens corresponding to a data group in the set of data groups and defining a level of access the user has to that respective data group, each data group in the set of data groups containing data which is stored on an external storage medium from the set of external storage media; and

send the set of data group tokens to the client computer over the network;

wherein a database is stored in the memory, the database including a lookup table containing a set of user tokens and a set of index values, each index value from the set of index values corresponding to a user token in the set of user tokens; and

wherein mapping the user token to a set of data group tokens includes;

locating the user token in the lookup table,

finding the corresponding index value from the lookup table, and

obtaining the set of data group tokens from the corresponding index value;

wherein the index value corresponding to the user token represents a data partitioning scheme;

wherein obtaining the set of data group tokens includes partitioning the user token according to the data partitioning scheme represented by the corresponding index value;

wherein each data group token includes a set of data group token bits;

wherein the code includes further instructions to;

send, before the receiving of the user token, a hash function to the client computer,

for each data group token, generate a set of message authentication code (MAC) bits from an operation of the hash function on the data group token bits of that data group token, and

for each data group token, combine the set of MAC bits with the data group token bits of that data group token; and

wherein an application, at the client computer, of the hash function to a data group token of the set of data group tokens producing the set of MAC bits generated for the data group token implies that the data group token is valid.

16. A computer program product as in claim 15, wherein the user at the client computer is an entity attempting to access a patient'"'"'s medical history within a medical institution having a set of medical departments, the medical history including a set of medical records, each medical record in the set of medical records belonging to a medical department;

wherein each data group token corresponds to a medical departments in the set of medical departments, each medical department having an external storage medium from the set of external storage media storing data associated with the data group represented by the data group token;

wherein the code further includes instructions to;

receive, from each medical department and before the receiving of the user token from the client computer, a data group token associated with the patient;

receive, from each medical department, a pointer from a set of pointers associated with a location of the external server of the medical department;

combine the resulting set of data group tokens into the user token according to an index value derived from the received set of pointers, the index value being associated with the resulting user token; and

send the resulting user token to the client computer.

17. A computer program product as in claim 15, wherein the user at the client computer is the patient associated with the medical history;

wherein each data group token corresponds to a medical institution in which the patient has a medical record, the medical institution belonging to a set of medical institutions, the medical record of the patient in the institution belonging to the set of medical records of the medical history, each medical department having an external storage medium from the set of external storage media storing data associated with the data group represented by the data group token;

wherein the code further includes instructions to;

receive, from each medical institution and before the receiving of the user token from the client computer, a data group token associated with the patient, the data group token being a result of a combination of a set of data group tokens, each data group token from the set of data group tokens corresponding to a medical department belonging to the medical institution;

receive, from each medical institution, a pointer from a set of pointers associated with a location of the external server of a medical department in the medical institution;

combine the resulting set of data group tokens into the user token according to an index value derived from the received set of pointers, the index value being associated with the resulting user token; and

send the resulting user token to the client computer.