On Sat, 17 Feb 2001 22:20:27 Horst Herb wrote:
>=8*0 Andrew, I am shocked. You have a *software patent* (US Patent 6,148,342)
>(now I have to clean my keyboard after writing this no-no word ;-) Why?
Hi Horst,
I thought you will never ask! A big part of the answer is that I've always wanted to
have a patent. When I came up with 2 novel ideas in 1998, I decided to patent one and
develop OIO with the other. If you take a look at 6,148,342, you will see that it is
far more ambitious than the OIO. My logic is that if the patent turns out to be an
obstacle, then that can be easily remedied (e.g. abandon, no fee, no enforcement). On
the other hand, if the patent is going to be helpful for dissemination and adoption,
then we will have it in place. In addition, we may be able to get some revenue to
support OIO development???
For those who are interested, here is the abstract (full text with figures can be
found at www.uspto.gov):
Secure database management system for confidential records using separately encrypted
identifier and access request
Abstract
A system for managing sensitive data is described. The system prevents a system
administrator from accessing sensitive data by storing data and identifier information
on different computer systems. Each query is encrypted using two codes, the first code
readable only by an identifier database and a second code readable only by a data
access database. By routing the data path from a source terminal to the identifier
database which substitutes an internal ID, then to the data access database and back
to the source terminal, data security is significantly improved.
A shorter name for it is "Sequentailly Distributed Secret Splitting" (SDSS). A more
detailed description with an example of how it works is here:
http://www.txoutcome.org/scripts/zope/readings/ssm.
I think it can be useful for HIPAA compliance since it mainly provides protection
against insider attacks.
Your thoughts?
Andrew
---
Andrew P. Ho, M.D.
OIO: Open Infrastructure for Outcomes
www.TxOutcome.Org
Assistant Clinical Professor
Department of Psychiatry, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
University of California, Los Angeles
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