STORING ACCESS INFORMATION IN A DISPERSED STORAGE NETWORK

1 . A method comprises:

encoding, in accordance with a share encoding function, a data segment of data to produce a first encoded share and a second encoded share;

obtaining a set of personalized authenticating values regarding user access of a user device to the data;

generating a first hidden password from the set of personalized authenticating values based on a first function;

generating a second hidden password from the set of personalized authenticating values based on a second function;

generating a first encryption key from the first hidden password and a first random number;

generating a second encryption key from the second hidden password and a second random number;

encrypting the first encoded share with the first encryption key to produce a first encrypted encoded share;

encrypting the second encoded share using the second encryption key to produce a second encrypted encoded share;

generating a first encoded data slice based on the first encrypted encoded share and the first random number; and

generating a second encoded data slice based on the second encrypted encoded share and the second random number.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the share encoding function comprises at least one of:

a dispersed storage error encoding function; and

a secret sharing function.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating a random number of the first and second random numbers comprises:

obtaining a base random number; and

expanding the base random number based on security parameters to produce the random numbers.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the set of personalized authenticating values includes at least one of:

a user device identifier (ID);

a user ID;

a personal information number (PIN);

a badge ID;

a district ID;

a work-shift ID;

an assignment ID;

a mission ID;

a passcode;

a password;

a picture file;

a video file;

an audio file;

a retinal scan;

a facial scan;

a fingerprint scan;

a personal secret; and

a password index number.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating a hidden password of the first and second hidden passwords comprises:

transforming the set of personalized authenticating values in accordance with a set of transformation functions to produce a set of transformed personalized authenticating values; and

for each hidden password of the first and second hidden passwords:

combining, in accordance with a combining function of a plurality of combining functions, one of the set of transformed personalized authenticating values with at least one of a constant and another one of the set of transformed personalized authenticating values to produce the hidden password.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the set of transformation functions includes at least one of:

a null function;

a concatenation function;

an inverting function;

a hashing function;

an encryption function;

a compressing function; and

a mask generating function.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of combining functions includes at least two of:

an addition function;

a subtraction function;

a multiplication function;

a division function;

a logical exclusive OR function;

a logical OR function; and

a logical AND function.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the generating an encryption key of the first and second encryption keys comprises:

transforming a corresponding one of the first and second hidden passwords utilizing a mask generating function, security parameters, and a corresponding one of the first and second random numbers to produce the encryption key.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the data includes access information and an access information hash digest, wherein the access information hash digest is generated from the access information in accordance with a hashing function.

10 . A computing device comprises:

an interface;

a memory; and

a processing module operably coupled to the interface and the memory, wherein the processing module is operable to:

encode, in accordance with a share encoding function, a data segment of data to produce a first encoded share and a second encoded share;

obtain a set of personalized authenticating values regarding user access of a user device to the data;

generate a first hidden password from the set of personalized authenticating values based on a first function;

generate a second hidden password from the set of personalized authenticating values based on a second function;

generate a first encryption key from the first hidden password and a first random number;

generate a second encryption key from the second hidden password and a second random number;

encrypt the first encoded share with the first encryption key to produce a first encrypted encoded share;

encrypt the second encoded share using the second encryption key to produce a second encrypted encoded share;

generate a first encoded data slice based on the first encrypted encoded share and the first random number; and

generate a second encoded data slice based on the second encrypted encoded share and the second random number.

11 . The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the processing module functions to perform the share encoding function by at least one of:

performing a dispersed storage error encoding function; and

performing a secret sharing function.

12 . The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the processing module is operable to generate a random number of the first and second random numbers by:

obtaining a base random number; and

expanding the base random number based on security parameters to produce the random numbers.

13 . The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the set of personalized authenticating values includes at least one of:

a user device identifier (ID);

a user ID;

a personal information number (PIN);

a badge ID;

a district ID;

a work-shift ID;

an assignment ID;

a mission ID;

a passcode;

a password;

a picture file;

a video file;

an audio file;

a retinal scan;

a facial scan;

a fingerprint scan;

a personal secret; and

a password index number.

14 . The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the processing module is operable to generate a hidden password of the first and second hidden passwords by:

transforming the set of personalized authenticating values in accordance with a set of transformation functions to produce a set of transformed personalized authenticating values; and

for each hidden password of the first and second hidden passwords:

combining, in accordance with a combining function of a plurality of combining functions, one of the set of transformed personalized authenticating values with at least one of a constant and another one of the set of transformed personalized authenticating values to produce the hidden password.

15 . The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the set of transformation functions includes at least one of:

a null function;

a concatenation function;

an inverting function;

a hashing function;

an encryption function;

a compressing function; and

a mask generating function.

16 . The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of combining functions includes at least two of:

an addition function;

a subtraction function;

a multiplication function;

a division function;

a logical exclusive OR function;

a logical OR function; and

a logical AND function.

17 . The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the processing module is operable to generate an encryption key of the first and second encryption keys by:

transforming a corresponding one of the first and second hidden passwords utilizing a mask generating function, security parameters, and a corresponding one of the first and second random numbers to produce the encryption key.

18 . The computing device of claim 10 , wherein the data includes access information and an access information hash digest, wherein the access information hash digest is generated from the access information in accordance with a hashing function.