Methods providing transmission and/or searching of encrypted data and related devices

A method of searching encrypted data on a remote storage system, wherein the encrypted data is associated with a remote communication device, the method comprising:

• providing information to be used for the search, wherein the information to be used for the search includes a time-value and an identifier associated with the remote communication device;
• encrypting a combination of the time-value and the identifier using a public key associated with the remote communication device to provide an encrypted search value;
• generating a search package including the time-value and the encrypted search value;
• transmitting the search package including the time-value without encryption and the encrypted search value to the remote storage system;
• receiving a result package including a hidden datum package, wherein the hidden datum package includes the time-value, the encrypted search value, and an encrypted result value;
• decrypting the encrypted result value using a secret key associated with the public key to provide a data value;
• and
• extracting the data value.

A communication device comprising:

• a communication interface configured to provide communication over a network with a remote storage system;
• and
• a processor coupled with the communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to,
• provide a data value and information related to the data value, wherein the information related to the data value includes an identifier associated with the communication device and a time-value associated with the data value,
• encrypt a combination of the time-value and the identifier associated with the communication device using a public key to provide a first encrypted value,
• encrypt the data value using the public key to provide a second encrypted value,
• generate a hidden datum package including the time-value, the first encrypted value, and the second encrypted value, and
• transmit the hidden datum package including the time-value, the first encrypted value, and the second encrypted value through the communication interface to the remote storage system.

A communication device comprising:

• a communication interface configured to provide communication over a network with a remote storage system;
• and
• a processor coupled with the communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to,
• provide information to be used for a search, wherein the information to be used for the search includes a time-value and an identifier associated with a remote communication device,
• encrypt a combination of the time-value and the identifier associated with the remote communication device using a public key associated with the remote communication device to provide an encrypted search value,
• generate a search package including the time-value and the encrypted search value;
• transmit the search package including the time-value without encryption and the encrypted search value through the communication interface to the remote storage system,
• receive a result package including a hidden datum package including the time-value, the encrypted search value, and an encrypted result value, wherein the result package is received from the remote storage system through the communication interface,
• decrypt the encrypted result value using a secret key associated with the public key to provide a data value, and
• extract the data value.