WO2007023313A2

WO2007023313A2 - Secure data storage device

Info

Publication number: WO2007023313A2
Application number: PCT/GB2006/050248
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jonathan Craymer
Original assignee: Gridlockts Limited
Priority date: 2005-08-25
Filing date: 2006-08-21
Publication date: 2007-03-01
Also published as: GB2429576A; GB0517333D0; WO2007023313A3

Abstract

A device for the secure storage of information comprises a first member (1) having a first surface (6), a second member (2) having a second surface (7), the first and second members being movable (4) relative to one another to a selected position, the first surface having at least one window (11) therein so that parts of the second surface are visible through the window, and the first and second surfaces are provided with grid markings into which a user may write indicia (e.g. PINs and passwords), such that predetermined indicia on the second surface are only visible through the at least one window when the first and second members are in said selected position. The user writes numbers and/or letters on one or both grids when in the selected position and fills the remaining grid areas with random numbers and/or letters to conceal those to be protected. The device may be in the form of a double-sided card slidable to different positions in a sleeve or as a pair of telescopic cylinders slidable and/or rotatable relative to one another.

Description

SECURE DATA STORAGE DEVICE Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for the secure storage of data, such as personal data, personal identification numbers (PINs), passwords and the like.

Background to the Invention

[0002] It has become increasingly more and more vital for people to take care of their own personal data. Identity theft is a relatively new phenomenon and people have to safeguard against loss by theft of their personal money and their personal information.

[0003] Credit card companies are striving to increase the security of their cards. The latest developments include chip-and-pin cards where the card owner can simply enter a PIN into a point-of-sale machine instead of having to sign a docket. Chip-and-pin cards are proving popular and more secure than their predecessors but they impose a greater obligation on the card holder to ensure that the PIN is kept secure. The natural tendency of a person is to write down such information in case they forget it but that, of course, partially negates the higher security offered by chip-and-pin cards. [0004] Similarly, passwords and pass codes are used more and more as an aid to identifying a person's right to access buildings, information, internet services and so on as a first level of security. Writing down passwords or codes in a readily accessible place (so that a password owner can quickly be reminded if he or she forgets it) defeats that security. [0005] The present invention aims to provide a secure means of storing information such as PINs, passwords or codes, personal information, NI numbers, bank account details, telephone numbers and so on. Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to the invention, a device for the secure storage of information comprises a first member having a first surface, a second member having a second surface, the first and second members being movable relative to one another to a selected position, the first surface having at least one window therein so that parts of the second surface are visible through the at least one window, and the first and second surfaces are provided with grid markings into which a user may write indicia, such that predetermined indicia on the second surface are only visible through the at least one window when the first and second members are in said selected position. [0007] The first surface may be a surface of a sleeve and the second surface a surface of a card slidable in the sleeve. The card may have a finger grip tab at one end.

[0008] The card may have a third surface marked with a grid on the opposite face from the second surface. The side edges of the card are preferably provided with a margin without grid markings. The card and sleeve are suitably of plastics material, although card or plastics-coated paper may also be employed.

[0009] The device may be configured as a rectangular card within a rectangular sleeve, but other shapes are possible, for example a circular sleeve in which a circular card is rotatable, the grid then being configured by combinations of radial and concentric circular lines, for example. [0010] The first surface of the device may alternatively be formed on the outer curved surface of an outer cylinder and the second surface formed on the outer surface of an inner cylinder disposed within the outer cylinder. [0011] The inner cylinder may be rotatable and/or axially movable within the outer cylinder.

[0012] Preferably, there are a plurality of said windows arranged in a regular pattern. [0013] Alternatively, a plurality of windows may be arranged in an irregu- lar pattern.

[0014] Each window may occupy a single area or a plurality of areas defined by said grid markings.

[0015] There may be a plurality of equal-sized windows or a plurality of windows of different sizes. [0016] The relatively movable elements of the device may be provided with indicia, patterning, colours or combinations of these to assistant the user in remembering the correct relative position of the elements for reading of the codes etc.

[0017] In a second aspect, the invention comprises a kit of parts comprising a first member and at least one second member, the members being as de- fined in any of the preceding paragraphs.

[0018] In a third aspect, the invention provides a method for the secure storage of information using a device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of: placing the first and second members in said selected position; entering said predetermined indicia in locations on at least one of the grids; separating the first and second members; entering random indicia in the remaining locations on both grids; and re-assembling the first and second members.

[0019] The method preferably comprises entering said predetermined indicia in locations entirely in the grid on said second member. Preferably, the method comprises entering said predetermined indicia partly in locations in the grid on said second member and partly in locations in the grid on said first member.

[0020] The locations in the grid on said second member preferably lie adjacent said locations in the grid on said second member when said first and second members are in said selected position. [0021] The method may comprise entering key indicia, when said first and second members are in said selected position, to indicate said selected position to the user.

[0022] It is known to provide a greetings card, for example, in which an apertured front page reveals one or more messages printed on a second page or on a wheel rotatably mounted behind the first. Also, currency or measure- ment system converters are known in which a first surface has apertures intended to align with numbers printed on a movable second surface so as to convert one value to another. The present invention makes no claim to such devices.

[0023] The invention also includes a virtual device configured by a computer program to be operable on a computer, whether a desktop computer or a PDA (personal digital assistant). The virtual device may, in its simplest form, comprise a simple grid into which the user distributes elements of the code, as with the card version, but not necessarily with the sleeve and window overlay, the computer then being programmed to complete the grid with randomly- generated numbers or letters to disguise the codes. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0024] The invention will now be described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

[0025] Figure 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention; and [0026] Figure 2 is a perspective view of the device of Figure 1 but not showing the grid for the sake of clarity. Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiments

[0027] The figures show a device having a first member 1 in the form of a sleeve open at both ends and adapted to receive a second member in the form of a card 2 extending within the sleeve as indicated by the broken lines 3. The card 2 is of a suitable size to slide back and forth within the sleeve in the direction of the arrow 4. A tab 5 may be provided on the card 2 to act as a finger grip. [0028] The front surface of the sleeve 1 is provided with a grid pattern 6 pre-printed or otherwise formed on the surface. Similarly, the facing surface of the card is also provided with a grid pattern 7. The two grid patterns have the same horizontal and vertical line spacing as one another. The grid pattern may stop short of the long edges of the card and sleeve, leaving margins 8, 9 so that damage to the edges of the card does not adversely affect operation of the de- vice. There may also be an area 10 of the sleeve without grid markings to permit other information to be written or printed on the sleeve. [0029] The grid pattern on the sleeve is punctuated at intervals by a number of apertures or windows shown in heavier lines 1 1 in Figure 1. As shown, there are nine such windows but there may be any suitable number. Also, as shown, each window is approximately the size of a block of four squares of both the grid pattern on the sleeve 1 and of the underlying grid pattern on the card 2. When the card is slid within the sleeve, different combinations of squares on the surface of the card are presented through the windows. [0030] The device is used as follows. The device user decides how far out to pull the card. It is immaterial how far, so long as the user can remember the position later. When the surfaces are in the desired position, the user writes on the grid the information desired to be protected. In the case of a four-digit PIN, for instance, the user could simply write down the number wholly on an area of the grid 7 of the card 2 visible through one of the windows in the sleeve. Alternatively, the PIN could be written in more than one window, for example in the top left corner of four windows or in the bottom row of two windows. Yet again, the PIN could be written down entirely on the grid 6 on the front surface of the sleeve or could be written down partly on the upper grid 6 and partly on the lower grid through the window. Code words etc could be written in any direction on the grids, vertically horizontally, diagonally or a combination of all three, and in forward or reverse order. In writing the code words etc on to the device, the combination of the card and sleeve are used as if they present a continuous surface on which to write, whereby some numbers/letters may be written on the sleeve and some on the card through the apertures or windows in the sleeve, depending on the chosen pattern. The elements of an individual multi-digit number or word do not need to be written contiguously, provided that the user can remember the positions of the elements.

[0031] The user will, of course, need to take care to ensure that, in writing in the numbers or letters, the edges of the windows are not accidentally marked, thereby giving an unauthorised person a clue as to the correct align- ment of the card and sleeve.

[0032] Once the user has entered all the desired information, the card is removed from the sleeve. All of the remaining squares on the sleeve grid 6 and the card grid 7 should then be filled with numbers, letters or symbols so that the personal numbers, words or sequences entered by the user are no longer distinguishable from the entries covering the grids. The user will need to be able to remember some characteristic of the codes/numbers or their positions to be able to distinguish them from the background. This may be, for example, by the use of predetermined locations, patterns or other clues to assist in retrieval of the codes or numbers.

[0033] When the user wants to be reminded of a PIN, password etc, he or she merely slides the card within the sleeve until the grids line up again at the position chosen at the outset and the numbers and/or words become "visible" once more.

[0034] The user can repeat the data entry stage by moving the card to a new position relative to the sleeve and then entering another set of data before filling the blank squares with random numbers, letters or symbols. [0035] There are many variations of this basic embodiment. For example, there can be a wide variety of numbers and/or patterns of windows (regular or irregular) in the sleeve, both sides of the sleeve can be provided with windows, which may occupy the same or different patterns, and/or there can be more than one card per sleeve. Some or all of the cards can be provided with grids on both sides. The user will of course have to remember the chosen position^) of card and sleeve but this is a less arduous task than remembering numerous different codes and words.

[0036] Whilst the invention has been described in the context of substantially planar surfaces, the same principles can be applied to curved surfaces, for example. The first member could be a pair of cylinders, one mounted tele- scopically within the other. In this embodiment, there could be even more "code" positions by virtue of the inner cylinder being rotatable about its longitudinal axis instead of, or as well as, being movable in the direction of the axis. [0037] The card and sleeve may be made of card but are preferably of "write-on" plastics material to withstand repeated handling. The flat device of Figures 1 and 2 may be of roughly the same size as a cigarette packet so as to fit comfortably in the user's pocket or may be even smaller, for example credit- card sized, so as to be concealed in the hand when in use. [0038] The margins 8, 9 of the card 2 may also be colour coded to indicate to the user whether a card carries real information or random information to mislead a third party. Alternatively, colour coding could distinguish different categories of information on different cards.

[0039] Although the windows have been shown as being square-shaped, they could be of any suitable regular shape, such as rectangular, or could be irregular, in the shape of letters for example, such as E, F, T, L, H, and so on. In addition, it is not necessary for the windows in the embodiment shown in the drawings to occupy four grid squares. It could be any number, from one upwards. The level of security and/or the numbers of words or (PIN) numbers to be stored would influence the size of the windows. They need not all be of the same shape in any given device. The user may opt for using one or more of the windows as a key to remembering the original position chosen for data entry by storing an easily recalled word or number in one or more windows.

Claims

1 . A device for the secure storage of information, comprising a first member having a first surface, a second member having a second surface, the first and second members being movable relative to one another to a selected position, the first surface having at least one window therein so that parts of the second surface are visible through the at least one window, and the first and second surfaces are provided with grid markings into which a user may write indicia, such that predetermined indicia on the second surface are only visible through the at least one window when the first and second members are in said selected position.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein the first surface is a surface of a sleeve and the second surface is a surface of a card slidable in the sleeve.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the card has a finger grip tab at one end.

4. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the card has a third surface marked with a grid on the opposite face from the second surface.

5. A device as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the side edges of the card are provided with a margin without grid markings.

6. A device as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein the first surface is formed on the outer curved surface of an outer cylinder and the second surface is formed on the outer surface of an inner cylinder disposed within the outer cylinder.

7. A device as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the inner cylinder is ro- tatable within the outer cylinder.

8. A device as claimed in Claim 6 or Claim 7, wherein the inner cylinder is movable axially within the outer cylinder.

9. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there are a plurality of said windows arranged in a regular pattern.

10. A device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 8, wherein there are a plurality of said windows arranged in an irregular pattern.

1 1 . A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein each window occupies a single area defined by said grid markings.

12. A device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 10, wherein each window occupies an area defined by a plurality of said grid markings.

13. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there are a plurality of equal-sized windows.

14. A device as claimed in any of Claims 1 to 12, wherein there are a plurality of windows of different sizes.

15. A device as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the card and sleeve are made of plastics material.

16. A kit of parts comprising a first member and at least one second member, the members being as defined in any of the preceding claims.

17. A method for the secure storage of information using a device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, comprising the steps of: placing the first and second members in said selected position; entering said predetermined indicia in locations on at least one of the grids; separating the first and second members; entering random indicia in the remaining locations on both grids; and re-assembling the first and second members.

18. A method as claimed in Claim 17, comprising entering said predetermined indicia in locations entirely in the grid on said second member.

19. A method as claimed in Claim 17, comprising entering said predetermined indicia partly in locations in the grid on said second member and partly in locations in the grid on said first member.

20. A method as claimed in Claim 19, wherein said locations in the grid on said second member lie adjacent said locations in the grid on said second member when said first and second members are in said selected position.

21 . A method as claimed in any of Claims 17 to 20, further comprising entering key indicia, when said first and second members are in said selected position, to indicate said selected position to the user.