Patent ID: 7185205
Filing Date: 2007-02-27
Classification: G06F,Y10S

Abstract:
1. In a hierarchical digital data structure comprising a plurality of memory cells, a method of preventing recovery of deleted data comprising the steps of: obtaining a first address of a first memory cell in the data structure; providing a first cryptographic key; associating the first address and the first cryptographic key with one another so as to form a first logical entity defining a first crypto-pointer to the first memory cell; obtaining a second address of a second memory cell in the data structure; providing a second cryptographic key different from the first cryptographic key; associating the second address and the second cryptographic key with one another so as to form a second logical entity defining a second crvpto-pointer to the second memory cell; encrypting first data and the second crypto-pointer using the first cryptographic key to form first cipher-data; storing the first cipher-data in the first memory cell; and when the first data is no longer needed, deleting the first crypto-pointer, thereby rendering the first data unrecoverable at the moment it becomes inaccessible.