Keeping data private and secret from unauthorized persons is desirable
to everyone. People do not want their personal information such as credit card numbers, medical records,
or financial documents disseminated without their permission. Businesses often require that only authorized
personnel view or have access to various documents and information. Even the government, including the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency, has high demand for keeping government
matters secret and private, especially matters of national security. In today's technologically advanced
society, it is becoming easier for a computer hacker to obtain access to secret files of the unwary data
owner.
Currently, to prevent unauthorized access to data being stored on a hard
drive of a computer or to send data over the Internet, encryption is used to scramble the message. There are
numerous ways to encrypt plaintext. Some encryption techniques use one private access key for encryption and
decryption. The private access key manipulates plaintext into ciphertext and vice versa. This is often
referred to as a "symmetric algorithm." Because the same key is used for encryption and decryption,
security and protection of the plaintext is directly related to the private key owner's ability to keep the
private key hidden or secret from unauthorized users.
Another method of encryption uses a public key to encrypt plaintext into
ciphertext and a private key to decrypt the ciphertext into a readable message. This technique is referred to
as an asymmetric algorithm. Because the encryption key can be released into the public domain, no harm is done
unless the private key is discovered to decrypt the ciphertext.
Regardless of what technique is used, in traditional encryption one basic
premise is retained: one file equals one message. Traditional encryption methods have many problems, including
lack of efficiency, reliability and simplicity of use. To completely privatize computer data, a system and method
are needed that break out of the conventional encryption wisdom that one file equals one message. Nothing in
the art suggests or teaches a method to easily privatize data in such a way that the user(s) is not even aware
of the high level of security being provided. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a system and method
for privatizing computer data wherein data files are fragmented, randomly interspersed with other fragments
from other files to form composite files and then randomly dispersed to hidden locations over the Internet,
a hard drive of a stand-alone personal computer and/or other media, such that only authorized users have
access to such data.
