Secure storage system and method

#The present invention generally relates to a secure storage system and method for securely storing files in encrypted form and for allowing a user access to the files via the Internet.

#With the prevalent use of computers in the business world, heavy reliance is placed on the security of data and the easy availability of such data.

#With the growth of the Internet it has been realized that it is possible to provide storage on a server which is available to a user over the Internet. Users are thus able to pay for storage space which they can access from anywhere via the Internet. One major issue with such a system is, however, inherent security of such a system.

#FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the secure storage system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the user's laptop computer in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

#FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the vault server in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

#FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating in outline an embodiment of the present invention which will be described in more detail hereinafter in which a user usually uses a laptop 1 as their normal computer. The laptop 1 has a means by which it can access the Internet, e.g. a network card, or modem. A vault server 3 is available over the Internet and hosts the secure storage service. In this embodiment a user also has access temporarily to another computer 4, e.g. when their laptop is lost, stolen, or breaks down, or when they are temporarily away from their computer 1. The user's temporary computer 4 also has means by which it can connect to the Internet 2, e.g. network card, or modem for dial-up access.

#FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the user's laptop computer following installation of the secure storage application for normal use by the user to access the service hosted by the vault server 3.

#The computer 1 comprises a network interface 10 such as a network card for local area network access, a digital subscriber line adapter, or a modem for dial-up access. A hard disk 18 stores files and data used by the user and by the application. It stores the secure storage application code, files used by the user, and application data files used by the secure storage application. The user's files can comprise any files such as Microsoft Word documents, presentation files, spreadsheets, or image files. The application data files store the data securely and secretly to avoid unauthorized access. The data includes data required to access the network. Where the network interface 10 is a modem, dialler data is needed including telephone number and user name and password for accessing an Internet service provider. In order to access the storage area, server access data is stored. This includes the host name of the server hosting the secure storage area and the user name and password for accessing the secure storage area. In this embodiment of the present invention, these comprise parameters used by the file transfer protocol (FTP) module for FTP transfer of data to and from the storage area.