Patent · US Active

Chain-of-custody for archived data

US9122729B2 · kind B2 · utility

8Cited by
4References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 30, 2010
Grant dateSep 1, 2015
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 30, 2030

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F16/972
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method that builds a chain-of-custody for archived data is disclosed to ensure the integrity and reliability of the archived data. In one implementation, by using a certified Time Stamp Authority (TSA), an indelible record of each time the archived data is touched (e.g. created, stored, retrieved, accessed, tested, moved, or transformed) is generated to build verifiable links between events to ensure the custody of the data can be audited and verified that it has remained intact throughout its lifetime. The chain-of-custody, in combination with the storage architecture that ensures archive data has not changed through various software and hardware means (e.g., multiple hash signatures to ensure integrity, timestamp authorities to pinpoint each time the archived data was touched, location information to pinpoint physical location, and coordinated chain of custody on multiple replicas of the digital artifact) validates that the archived data has not changed since it was archived.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.