Computer implemented method for analyzing data of a user with the data being stored pseudonymously in a database

• US 9,418,242 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2014
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adrian Spalka, CompuGroup Medical SE
• Original Assignee: Compugroup Medical AG (CompuGroup Medical SE & Co. KGaA)
• Inventors: Spalka, Adrian, Lehnhardt, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): HOLDER, BRADLEY W
• Application Number:
  US14/200,154
• Publication Number:
  US 20140189372A1
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/42 Anonymization, e.g. involving pseudonyms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0825 using asymmetric-key encryption or public key infrastructure [PKI], e.g. key signature or public key certificates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0863 involving passwords or one-time passwords network architectures or network communication protocols for using one-time keys in a packet data network H04L63/067
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0869 involving random numbers or seeds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/30 Public key, i.e. encryption algorithm being computationally infeasible to invert or user's encryption keys not requiring secrecy

Abstract

The invention relates to a computer implemented method for analyzing data of a first user, wherein an asymmetric cryptographic key pair is associated with the first user, said asymmetric cryptographic key pair comprising a public key and a private key, the data being stored pseudonymously in a database with the data being assigned to an identifier, wherein the identifier comprises the public key, the method comprising:

• • receiving a set of rules, the set of rules describing data processing steps,
  • receiving the identifier,
  • retrieving the data assigned to the identifier from the database,
  • analyzing the retrieved data by applying the set of rules,
  • providing a result of the analysis.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for storing data of a first user in a database, the first user having a private key, the method comprising:

directly receiving the first user'"'"'s private key or generating the first user'"'"'s private key, wherein generating the first user'"'"'s private key comprises receiving an input value and applying a cryptographic one-way function to the input value for generation of the first user'"'"'s private key, wherein the cryptographic one-way function is an injective function;

calculating, in a computer, a set of public keys, wherein the first user'"'"'s private key and each public key of the set of public keys form an asymmetric cryptographic key pair,

generating a digital signature for the data using the first user'"'"'s private key;

storing, in the computer, the data pseudonymously in the database with the data being assigned to an identifier, wherein the identifier comprises one of the public keys or wherein the identifier is a pseudonym of the first user or wherein the identifier is an access key to the data in the database, wherein the digital signature is stored into the database with the data.

2. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving a set of rules, the set of rules describing data processing steps,

receiving the identifier,

retrieving the data assigned to the identifier from the database,

analyzing the retrieved data by applying the set of rules,

providing a result of the analysis.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the identifier corresponds to a public key of the first user.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein analyzing the retrieved data is performed by an inference engine.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising

retrieving a digital signature of the data stored in the database with the data,

verifying the digital signature using a public key of the first user.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein providing the result of the analysis comprises sending the result to said first user with a recipient address to which the result is sent comprising a public key.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said result is sent encrypted with the public key to the first user.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said result is sent from a second user, wherein a second user asymmetric cryptographic key pair is associated with the second user, said second user'"'"'s key pair comprising a public sender key and a private sender key, the method further comprising generating a signature of the result using the private sender key and sending the signature of the result to said first user as well as the second user'"'"'s public key for signature verification.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the result is sent as a synchronous or asynchronous conferencing message.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer executable instructions executable by a computer:

to directly receive the first user'"'"'s private key or generate the first users'"'"'s private key, wherein the first user'"'"'s private key is generated by receiving an input value and applying a cryptographic one-way function to the input value for generation of the first user'"'"'s private key, wherein the cryptographic one-way function is an injective function, to calculate, in a computer, a set of public keys, wherein the first user'"'"'s private key and each public key of the set of public keys form an asymmetric cryptographic key pair, to generate a digital signature for the data using the first user'"'"'s private key, and to store, in the computer, the data pseudonymously in the database with the data being assigned to an identifier, wherein the identifier comprises one of the public keys or wherein the identifier is a pseudonym of the first user or wherein the identifier is an access key to the data in the database, wherein the digital signature is stored into the database with the data.

11. A computer system for analyzing data of a first user, wherein an asymmetric cryptographic key pair is associated with the first user, said asymmetric cryptographic key pair comprising a public key and a private key, the data being stored pseudonymously in a database with the data being assigned to an identifier, wherein the identifier comprises the public key, the system comprising:

a computer processor to directly receive the first user'"'"'s private key or generate the first users'"'"'s private key, wherein the first user'"'"'s private key is generated by receiving an input value and applying a cryptographic one-way function to the input value for generation of the first user'"'"'s private key, wherein the cryptographic one-way function is an injective function, the processor further to calculate a set of public keys, wherein the first user'"'"'s private key and each public key of the set of public keys form an asymmetric cryptographic key pair, the processor further to generate a digital signature for the data using the first user'"'"'s private key, the processor further to store the data pseudonymously in the database with the data being assigned to an identifier, wherein the identifier comprises one of the public keys or wherein the identifier is a pseudonym of the first user or wherein the identifier is an access key to the data in the database, wherein the digital signature is stored into the database with the data;

a first interface to receive a set of rules, the set of rules describing data processing steps;

a second interface to receive the identifier;

a third interface to retrieve the data assigned to the identifier from the database;

a computer analyzer to analyze the retrieved data by applying the set of rules; and

an output computer component to provide a result of the analysis.

12. A computer system for storing data of a first user in a database, the first user having a private key, the system comprising:

a computer processor to directly receive the first user'"'"'s private key or generate the first users'"'"'s private key, wherein the first user'"'"'s private key is generated by receiving an input value and applying a cryptographic one-way function to the input value for generation of the first user'"'"'s private key, wherein the cryptographic one-way function is an injective function, the processor further to calculate a set of public keys, wherein the first user'"'"'s private key and each public key of the set of public keys form an asymmetric cryptographic key pair, the processor further to generate a digital signature for the data using the first user'"'"'s private key, and wherein each public key of the set of public keys is generated based upon the private key; and

a database in which the data are pseudonymously stored with the data being assigned to an identifier, wherein the identifier comprises one of the public keys or wherein the identifier is a pseudonym of the first user or wherein the identifier is an access key to the data in the database, wherein the digital signature is stored into the database with the data;

a first interface to receive a set of rules, the set of rules describing data processing steps;

a second interface to receive the identifier;

a third interface to retrieve the data assigned to the identifier from the database;

a computer analyzer to analyze the retrieved data by applying the set of rules; and

an output computer component to provide a result of the analysis.