SECURE METHOD TO STORE SENSITIVE DATA

摘要

A transaction system avoids the storage of any single information item that can be used to provide access to sensitive information. To gain access to the sensitive information, information elements from at least two different databases must be provided, none of the information elements being sufficient to gain access to the sensitive information. In an example embodiment, a payment company encrypts the sensitive information, then partitions the encrypted information into at least two parts. These at least two parts are stored in at least two databases, each database being controlled by a different entity. To gain access to the sensitive information, each of the different entities must provide their part of the encrypted information. Absent any one of the parts of the encrypted information, it is virtually impossible to access the sensitive information.

主权项

1. A transaction system comprising:
a first party that, during a first time interval:
receives sensitive information from a second party,encrypts the sensitive information to form an encryption of the sensitive information,partitions the encryption into at least a first piece and a second piece,stores the first piece in a first database, andsends the second piece to the second party for storage in a second database; and during a second time interval:
receives the second piece from the second party,retrieves the first piece from the first database,combines the first piece and the second piece to re-create the encryption, anddecrypts the encryption to re-create the sensitive information.