Data security system and method with parsing and dispersion techniques

• US 20030070077A1
• Filed: 05/23/2002
• Published: 04/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DigitalDoors, Inc.
• Original Assignee: DigitalDoors, Inc.
• Inventors: Nemzow, Martin A., Redlich, Ron M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,349,987 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/182
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/085 Secret sharing or secret splitting, e.g. threshold schemes

Abstract

A data security having parsing and dispersion aspects enables the user to parse, disperse and reconstruct the original, plain text data or data object, thereby enabling secure storage of the data. The original data may be maintained in its original state, encrypted or it may be destroyed. For example, financial data maintained by an institute, stored as is customary, be parsed with an algorithm, the parsed segments dispersed off-site (that is, separated and stored in extract and remainder stores or computer memories) and away from the financial institute, and, upon appropriate security clearance, the dispersed data can be reconstructed to duplicate the data. Large distribution of parsed data is contemplated by the system. The original data remains stable, operable and immediately useful in its customary storage location (or alternatively destroyed). The secured dispersed data is a back-up of the original data.

Claims

1. A method of securing data having one or more security sensitive words, characters or icons in a computer system with memories designated as a remainder store and an extract store comprising:

extracting said security sensitive words, characters or icons from said data to obtain extracted data and remainder data therefrom;

storing said extracted data and said remainder data in said extract store and said remainder store, respectively; and

,

permitting reconstruction of said data via said extracted data and remainder data only in the presence of a predetermined security clearance.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 including filtering said data while extracting.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 including defining the filter with a group of security sensitive words, characters or icons and the method includes one of storing said filter or destroying said filter after storing said extracted data.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 including encrypting one or both of said extracted data and said remainder data.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the step of permitting reconstruction includes decrypting one or both of said extracted data and remainder data.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 including establishing a plurality of security levels each with a respective security clearance, said security sensitive words, characters or icons being correlated with said plurality of security levels with subsets of said security sensitive words, characters or icons and the step of permitting reconstruction including the step of permitting a plurality of partial reconstructions of said data in the presence of respective ones of said plurality of security clearance levels.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1 including displaying an advertisement prior to one or the other or both of said steps of extracting and permitting reconstruction.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13 including providing a hyperlink to a vendor'"'"'s web site with said advertisement.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1 including assessing a charge for extracting, storing or permitting reconstruction.

7. A method of securing data with a parsing algorithm via a computer system having memories designated as a remainder store and an extract store comprising:

parsing said data to obtain extracted data and remainder data therefrom;

storing said extracted data and said remainder data in said extract store and said remainder store, respectively; and

,

permitting reconstruction of said data via said extracted data and remainder data only in the presence of a predetermined security clearance.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the step of parsing parses the data granularly.

9. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the step of parsing uses said parsing algorithm which is based on one or more of a bit count, a word, a word count, a page count, a line count, a paragraph count, an identifiable document characteristic, an identifiable word characteristic, an identifiable icon characteristic, an identifiable data object characteristic, capital letters, italics, and underline.

10. A method as claimed in claim 7 wherein said data is financial data and the step of parsing uses said parsing algorithm based upon one of characters in said data and character count in said data.

11. A method as claimed in claim 7 including establishing a plurality of security levels each with a respective security clearance, increasingly greater reconstruction if said data being correlated with increasingly higher levels of said plurality of security levels, and the step of permitting reconstruction including the step of permitting a plurality of partial reconstructions of said data in the presence of respective ones of said plurality of security clearance levels.

12. A method as claimed in claim 7 including a further data security step of one from the group of storing said data without encryption, storing said data with encryption and destroying said data;

said further data security step being independent of said parsing, storing and permitting reconstruction.

16. A computer readable medium containing programming instructions for securing data having one or more security sensitive words, characters or icons in a computer system with memories designated as a remainder store and an extract store comprising:

extracting said security sensitive words, characters or icons from said data to obtain extracted data and remainder data therefrom;

storing said extracted data and said remainder data in said extract store and said remainder store, respectively; and

,

permitting reconstruction of said data via said extracted data and remainder data only in the presence of a predetermined security clearance.

17. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 16 including filtering said data while extracting.

18. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 16 including defining the filter with a group of security sensitive words, characters or icons and the method includes one of storing said filter or destroying said filter after storing said extracted data.

19. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 18 including encrypting one or both of said extracted data and said remainder data.

20. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 19 wherein the step of permitting reconstruction includes decrypting one or both of said extracted data and remainder data.

21. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 16 including establishing a plurality of security levels each with a respective security clearance, said security sensitive words, characters or icons being correlated with said plurality of security levels with subsets of said security sensitive words, characters or icons and the step of permitting reconstruction including the step of permitting a plurality of partial reconstructions of said data in the presence of respective ones of said plurality of security clearance levels.

22. A computer readable medium containing programming instructions for securing data with a parsing algorithm via a computer system having memories designated as a remainder store and an extract store comprising:

parsing said data to obtain extracted data and remainder data therefrom;

storing said extracted data and said remainder data in said extract store and said remainder store, respectively; and

,

permitting reconstruction of said data via said extracted data and remainder data only in the presence of a predetermined security clearance.

23. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 22 wherein the step of parsing parses the data granularly.

24. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 22 wherein the step of parsing uses said parsing algorithm which is based on one or more of a bit count, a word, a word count, a page count, a line count, a paragraph count, an identifiable document characteristic, an identifiable word characteristic, an identifiable icon characteristic, an identifiable data object characteristic, capital letters, italics, and underline.

25. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 22 wherein said data is financial data and the step of parsing uses said parsing algorithm based upon one of characters in said data and character count in said data.

26. A medium with programming instructions as claimed in claim 22 including establishing a plurality of security levels each with a respective security clearance, increasingly greater reconstruction if said data being correlated with increasingly higher levels of said plurality of security levels, and the step of permitting reconstruction including the step of permitting a plurality of partial reconstructions of said data in the presence of respective ones of said plurality of security clearance levels.

27. A medium as claimed in claim 22 including a further data security step of one from the group of storing said data without encryption, storing said data with encryption and destroying said data;

said further data security step being independent of said parsing, storing and permitting reconstruction.