ACHIEVING STORAGE EFFICIENCY IN PRESENCE OF END-TO-END ENCRYPTION USING DOWNSTREAM DECRYPTERS

摘要

Embodiments of the invention relate to efficiently storing encrypted data in persistent storage or passing to another data processing component. A downstream decrypter is utilized to act within the data path between a data generator and a storage server. The decrypter fetches an encryption key and any other necessary auxiliary information necessary to decrypt received data. Following decryption of the data, the decrypter has the ability to operate directly on plaintext and perform storage efficiency functions on the decrypted data. The decrypter re-encrypts the data prior to the data leaving the decrypter for persistent storage to maintain the security of the encrypted data.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
a decrypter receiving at least one data block comprising ciphertext; instantiating a decryption algorithm to decrypt the ciphertext, wherein the instantiation comprises:
determining an encryption algorithm used to encrypt the received ciphertext; andobtaining a key associated with the encryption algorithm; decrypting the received ciphertext to non-encrypted data, including employing the obtained key; transforming the non-encrypted data, including performing one or more functions to the non-encrypted data; and re-encrypting the transformed data with the key.