Systems and methods for quorum-based data processing

1. A computer-implemented method of quorum-based data processing, comprising:

generating, by a server, a plurality of quorum portions from original data, wherein the original data includes secret information for data processing within a secured computing environment, and wherein at least a predetermined minimum number of the quorum portions are required to reconstruct the original data;

determining sets of quorum portions from said plurality of quorum portions, wherein each set includes a respective proportion of the plurality of quorum 11 portions, and wherein at least one set includes a larger proportion of the quorum portions and is allocated to one or more respective participants with a higher level of privileges associated with job function, security level, position, management level, responsibilities, physical location, or a combination thereof, wherein the plurality of quorum portions are divided into proportions that define combinations of one or more of said sets of quorum portions, each combination including at least a predetermined minimum number of said quorum portions to reconstruct the original data; and

distributing each set of quorum portions to a respective one of a plurality of computing devices associated with respective participants over a data network within a secured computing environment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the original data is a secret key for encrypting or decrypting data within the secured computing environment.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein a total number of quorum portions is determined based on the total number of participants and the predetermined number of quorum portions required to reconstruct the original data.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sets are determined by dividing the plurality of quorum portions into non-overlapping sets of said plurality of quorum portions.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein each participant is assigned to one of a plurality of groups, and each group is associated with a respective different proportion of quorum portions.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein, to reconstruct the original data, quorum portions are required from at least one participant from the group associated with the largest proportion of the quorum portions.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the generated quorum portions are allocated based on an associated job function of the associated respective participant.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the set including a larger proportion of the quorum portions is allocated to a relatively higher level job function.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein each quorum portion includes data identifying a validity status.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the status data includes an expiry date and/or time for the associated quorum portion.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the status data includes a unique serial number associated with an associated participant.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising revoking access rights of a set of quorum portions allocated to a participant.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, from a plurality of computing devices associated with respective available participants in the secured computing environment, a plurality of sets of quorum portions that together include at least the predetermined minimum number of quorum portions generated from original data; and

reconstructing the original data from the received quorum portions.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein each quorum portion includes a corrupted data value at a respective defined position in the original data.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein each computing device comprises an authentication token and/or a security dongle.

16. A system comprising at least one hardware processor configured to perform a method according to claim 1 .

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions, that when executed perform a method according to claim 1 .