Methods for Secure Data Distribution

• US 20100186067A1
• Filed: 01/22/2009
• Published: 07/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Li, Jun, Stephenson, Bryan
• Granted Patent: US 9,465,922 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets

Abstract

A method for secure distribution of data in an interchange network, comprises having a network in which data records stored on at least one computer; and including an authorization service, where the authorization service grants a contractor access to at least a portion of the data records; and a watermarking module that adds one or more artificial records to said portion. The artificial records cannot be distinguished from the data records by the contractor and are valid for processing in the same way as the data records.

Claims

1. A method for secure distribution of data in an interchange network, said interchange network comprising data records stored on at least one computer, an authorization service, and a watermarking module, said method comprising:

a) granting a contractor access to at least a portion of the data records via the authorization service; and

b) adding one or more artificial records to the portion of the data records via the watermarking module,

wherein the artificial records cannot be distinguished from the data records by the contractor and are valid for processing in the same way as the data records.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the artificial records added are substantially unique to the contractor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the artificial records does not alter the data records.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the data records also include artificial records that are substantially unique to a prior contractor from which the contractor receives the data records.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data records are part of a relational database.

6. A method of detecting data leaks in a distribution network, said network comprising a database comprising data records stored on a server, one or more hierarchically arranged contracting level, each including one or more contractors, an authorization service, and a watermarking module, said method comprising:

a) creating a view of the database for a contractor, said view comprising a plurality of the data records;

b) adding to the view, via the watermarking module, a watermark comprising one or more artificial records to generate a watermarked view;

c) granting the contractor access to the watermarked view via the authorization service; and

d) identifying the contractor as a source of leaked data by recognizing artificial records in the leaked data as being part of the watermark,

where the artificial records are not apparently distinguishable from the data records by the contractor and are valid for processing in the same way as the data records.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the watermark is unique to the contractor.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a portion of the artificial records are also included in a watermarked view granted to another contractor in the same contracting level.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising identifying the contractors as a source of leaked data by recognizing the artificial records included in both of the watermarked views granted to them.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising granting a subcontractor access to at least a portion of the watermarked view of the contractor via the authorization service, wherein the watermarking module adds to the portion of the watermarked view a second watermark that is unique to the subcontractor.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein access to the watermarked view is obtained from one or more higher-level contractor in a higher contracting level, and the watermarked view includes a unique watermark for each higher-level contractor.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the database is a relational database.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein adding the watermark does not alter the data records.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein the watermarking module is included in the authorization service.

15. A network for secure data distribution, comprising:

a) a database comprising data records stored on a server;

b) a hierarchy of contracting levels, wherein each contracting level includes one or more contractor;

c) an authorization service configured to grant a contractor access to a view of the database, said view comprising a plurality of the data records; and

d) a watermarking module configured to create a watermarked view by adding a watermark to the view,

wherein the watermark comprises one or more artificial records that cannot be distinguished from the data records by the contractor and are valid for processing in the same way as the data records.

16. The network of claim 15, wherein the watermark is substantially unique to the contractor.

17. The network of claim 15, wherein a portion of the artificial records are also included in a watermarked view granted to another contractor in the same contracting level.

18. The network of claim 15, wherein the authorization service is configured to grant a subcontractor access to at least a portion of the watermarked view of a contractor and the watermarking module is configured to add to the portion a second watermark that is unique to the subcontractor.

19. The network of claim 15, wherein the database is a relational database.

20. The network of claim 15, wherein the authorization service is provided to each contractor.