System and method for providing an authorised third party with overt ledger secured key escrow access to a secret
US12047501B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 1, 2018 |
| Grant date | Jul 23, 2024 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 20, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L9/50
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention relates to a cryptographic protocol, and a system for implementing said protocol, for providing overt ledger secured key escrow access to encrypted data. The invention uses a plurality of trustee systems, each holding a secret share of a secret, to validate requests for the secret from authorised third parties. When a valid request is made, each trustee system publishes its secret share to a ledger. The secret shares can be combined to reveal the encryption key only by the authorised third party. Requests for the encryption key, and the responses by the trustee systems, can be accessed by the owner of the encryption key to identify the requesting third party and to have proof that the key has been revealed to the third party.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.