TEAM: Virtual synchronized file-based transparent and privacy-enhanced storage system

Abstract

Under the revised personal information security law in Korea, users may face inconvenience with managing privacy files. This paper proposes a privacy protection system, called TEAM, enhanced with a 'Virtual Synchronized File' concept, which keep convenience by providing users with a transparent user experience, while complying with the personal information security law. The proposed system periodically detects and compresses files containing personal information and encrypts them. The encrypted files are transmitted to a remote storage server. Then the client PC replaces the original privacy file with a Virtual Synchronized File termed VSF. From the users' perspective, the VSF alleviates the inconveniences and maximizes efficiency of personal information management as it (1) allows the users to access to the privacy files in a transparent manner in comparison to an access scheme for a normal document file; (2) internally performs encryption/decryption for the file; and (3) separately stores the files with minimized users' interventions. Consequently, TEAM makes it possible to comply with the law while providing users with transparent user experience.