Patent ID: 8473756

Claim:
A method for securing a data set, the method comprising: generating, by a computer system, a session key; encrypting, by the computer system, the data set using the session key to produce an encrypted data set; encrypting, by the computer system, the session key with a shared workgroup key; distributing, by the computer system, unique portions of the encrypted session key into three or more session key shares; distributing, by the computer system, unique portions of the encrypted data set into three or more encrypted data set shares; forming, by the computer system, three or more user shares by combining each of at least three session key shares and a respective one of at least three encrypted data set shares by interleaving each of the at least three session key shares into the respective one of the at least three encrypted data set shares, thereby causing each of the at least three session key shares to be distributed into a different one of the at least three encrypted data set shares; and causing, by the computer system, the storage of the three or more user shares separately on at least one data depository, whereby the shared workgroup key and at least two of the three or more user shares are needed to restore the data.