IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,245,137
Granted Patent B2
US 9,245,137 · App. 13/784,025 · Granted Jan 26, 2016

Management of digital information

Inventor: Paul A Flores (Rio Rancho, NM)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
G06F21/62G06F21/602G06F21/6209G06F2221/2107
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,245,137
App. No.
13/784,025
Filed
Mar 4, 2013
Granted
Jan 26, 2016
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2433
USPC
726/26
Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a system provides secure access to a digital item and includes at least one processor. The system partitions the digital item into a plurality of segments each containing a portion of the digital item and associated with a corresponding sensitivity level. The portion of the digital item within each segment is encrypted in accordance with the corresponding sensitivity level, and the plurality of segments are randomly stored among a plurality of storage units. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for providing secure access to a digital item in substantially the same manner described above.

Claims (38)

1. A system for providing secure access to a digital item comprising:

at least one processor configured to:

partition the digital item into a plurality of segments each containing a portion of the digital item and a pointer to another segment of the digital item, and being associated with a corresponding sensitivity level;

encrypt the portion of the digital item within each segment in accordance with the corresponding sensitivity level;

randomly store the plurality of segments among a plurality of storage units, and

retrieve the plurality of segments from the plurality of storage units by utilizing the pointer within each segment to locate a next segment in sequence.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein an access point indicates an initial segment to retrieve, and retrieving the plurality of segments further includes:

retrieving the initial segment based on the access point.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

track access to the digital item based on the access points utilized to retrieve the plurality of segments.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein each segment includes a position identifier indicating an order for the plurality of segments to form the digital item, and the at least one processor is further configured to:

arrange the retrieved segments in accordance with the position identifier of each segment to form the digital item.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein a plurality of groups each include one or more members and are associated with corresponding operations for the digital item, and the at least one processor is further configured to:

enable performance of operations on the digital item based on the group associated with a member.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

provide different versions of the digital item based on the corresponding sensitivity levels of the plurality of segments.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the digital item is represented according to an information model specifying a structure for the digital item, the plurality of segments, and the sensitivity levels.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

store one or more filler segments with extraneous information among the plurality of segments to obfuscate storage of the plurality of segments within the plurality of storage units.

9. A computer program product for providing secure access to a digital item comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising computer readable program code configured to:

partition the digital item into a plurality of segments each containing a portion of the digital item and a pointer to another segment of the digital item, and being associated with a corresponding sensitivity level;

encrypt the portion of the digital item within each segment in accordance with the corresponding sensitivity level;

randomly store the plurality of segments among a plurality of storage units; and

retrieve the plurality of segments from the plurality of storage units by utilizing the pointer within each segment to locate a next segment in sequence.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein an access point indicates an initial segment to retrieve, and retrieving the plurality of segments further includes:

retrieving the initial segment based on the access point.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the computer readable program code further comprises computer readable program code configured to:

track access to the digital item based on the access points utilized to retrieve the plurality of segments.

12. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein each segment includes a position identifier indicating an order for the plurality of segments to form the digital item, and the computer readable program code further comprises computer readable program code configured to:

arrange the retrieved segments in accordance with the position identifier of each segment to form the digital item.

13. The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein a plurality of groups each include one or more members and are associated with corresponding operations for the digital item, and the computer readable program code further comprises computer readable program code configured to:

enable performance of operations on the digital item based on the group associated with a member.

14. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the computer readable program code further comprises computer readable program code configured to:

provide different versions of the digital item based on the corresponding sensitivity levels of the plurality of segments.

15. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the digital item is represented according to an information model specifying a structure for the digital item, the plurality of segments, and the sensitivity levels.

16. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the computer readable program code further comprises computer readable program code configured to:

store one or more filler segments with extraneous information among the plurality of segments to obfuscate storage of the plurality of segments within the plurality of storage units.

Assignments (2)
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE DOCKET NUMBER FROM CA920080119US2/0960.0011C TO READ SVL920130012US1/0920.0269C PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 029950 FRAME 0901. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Mar 14, 2013
From: FLORES, PAUL A.
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 029996/0476 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 8, 2013
From: FLORES, PAUL A.
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 029950/0901 →
Continuity (1)
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