Secure file transfer

• US 9,602,477 B1
• Filed: 06/22/2016
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wickr Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wickr Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Grzybowski, Ernest W., Howell, Christopher A., Leavy, Thomas Michael, Sugar, David A., Kasabwala, Dipakkumar R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Schwartz, Darren B
• Application Number:
  US15/190,142
• Time in Patent Office: 272 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/602 Providing cryptographic facilities or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• 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 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0435 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply symmetric encryption, i.e. same key used for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for symmetric key encryption H04L9/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/061 for key exchange, e.g. in peer-to-peer networks cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key agreement H04L9/0838
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]

Abstract

The present disclosure describes techniques for storing encrypted files in a secure file repository and transferring those encrypted files to one or more recipients. A user selects a file to upload to a secure file repository. A secure collaboration app on the user'"'"'s device generates a first encryption key that is used to encrypt the file. The encrypted file is then uploaded to the secure file repository, which provides the secure collaboration app with a random file name and a location of the encrypted file. The secure collaboration app updates locally stored metadata of the first encrypted file. To securely transfer the file, the user generates a second encryption key, encrypts the metadata with the second encryption key, and transmits the encrypted metadata to one or more receivers. The one or more receivers decrypt the encrypted metadata and use the decrypted metadata to retrieve the file and decrypt it.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processor configured to;

receive a first encrypted communication from a sender'"'"'s device, wherein the first encrypted communication includes notification of an encrypted shared file and encrypted file metadata;

decrypt the encrypted file metadata using a second encryption key to obtain file metadata and a first encryption key, wherein the first encryption key was previously generated at least in part by obtaining ephemeral environmental noise from a kernel operation executing on the sender'"'"'s device;

retrieve the encrypted shared file from a secure file repository using the file metadata obtained from the first encrypted communication;

decrypt the encrypted shared file using the first encryption key; and

provide the decrypted shared file to the receiver;

a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the encrypted file metadata includes a first encryption key used to encrypt the encrypted shared file.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the second encryption key is a twice-encrypted second encryption key in the first encrypted communication.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to:

decrypt the twice-encrypted second encryption key using a device key unique to a receiver'"'"'s device to produce an encrypted second encryption key; and

decrypt the encrypted second encryption key with a key-encrypting key unique to the receiver'"'"'s device to obtain the second encryption key.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the encrypted shared filed is decrypted using a symmetric encryption algorithm.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the secure file repository is a third-party file repository.

7. A method comprising:

receiving a first encrypted communication from a sender'"'"'s device, wherein the first encrypted communication includes notification of an encrypted shared file and encrypted file metadata;

decrypting the encrypted file metadata using a second encryption key to obtain file metadata and a first encryption key, wherein the first encryption key was previously generated at least in part by obtaining ephemeral environmental noise from a kernel operation executing on the sender'"'"'s device;

retrieving the encrypted shared file from a secure file repository using the file metadata obtained from the first encrypted communication;

decrypting the encrypted shared file using the first encryption key; and

providing the decrypted shared file to the receiver.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the encrypted file metadata includes a first encryption key used to encrypt the encrypted shared file.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the second encryption key is a twice-encrypted second encryption key in the first encrypted communication.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

decrypting the twice-encrypted second encryption key using a device key unique to a receiver'"'"'s device to produce an encrypted second encryption key; and

decrypting the encrypted second encryption key with a key-encrypting key unique to the receiver'"'"'s device to obtain the second encryption key.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the encrypted shared filed is decrypted using a symmetric encryption algorithm.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the secure file repository is a third-party file repository.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform the steps of:

receiving a first encrypted communication from a sender'"'"'s device, wherein the first encrypted communication includes notification of an encrypted shared file and encrypted file metadata;

decrypting the encrypted file metadata using a second encryption key to obtain file metadata and a first encryption key, wherein the first encryption key was previously generated at least in part by obtaining ephemeral environmental noise from a kernel operation executing on the sender'"'"'s device;

retrieving the encrypted shared file from a secure file repository using the file metadata obtained from the first encrypted communication;

decrypting the encrypted shared file using the first encryption key; and

providing the decrypted shared file to the receiver.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the encrypted file metadata includes a first encryption key used to encrypt the encrypted shared file.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the second encryption key is a twice-encrypted second encryption key in the first encrypted communication.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, further comprising instructions for:

decrypting the twice-encrypted second encryption key using a device key unique to a receiver'"'"'s device to produce an encrypted second encryption key; and

decrypting the encrypted second encryption key with a key-encrypting key unique to the receiver'"'"'s device to obtain the second encryption key.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the encrypted shared filed is decrypted using a symmetric encryption algorithm.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the secure file repository is a third-party file repository.