Section: Software
PlugDB engine
Participants : Nicolas Anciaux [ correspondent ] , Mehdi Benzine, Luc Bouganim, Maggy El Kholy, Philippe Pucheral, Shaoyi Yin, Yanli Guo, Lionel Le Folgoc.
More than a stand-alone prototype, PlugDB is a complete architecture dedicated to a secure and ubiquitous management of personal data. PlugDB aims at providing an alternative to a systematic centralization of personal data. To meet this objective, the PlugDB architecture lies on a new hardware device called Secure Portable Token (SPT). Roughly speaking, a SPT combines a secure microcontroller (similar to a smart card chip) with a large external Flash memory (Gigabyte sized) on a USB key form factor. The SPT can host data on Flash (e.g., a personal folder) and safely run code embedded in the secure microcontroller. PlugDB engine is the master piece of this embedded code. PlugDB engine manages the database on Flash (tackling the peculiarities of NAND Flash storage), enforces the access control policy defined on this database, protect the data at rest against piracy and tampering (thanks to cryptographic protocols), executes queries (tackling low RAM constraint) and ensure transaction atomicity. Part of the on-board data can be replicated on a server (then synchronized) and be shared among a restricted circle of trusted parties through crypto-protected interactions. PlugDB engine has been registered at APP (Agence de Protection des Programmes) in 2008 [28] and its Flash-based indexing system has been patented by INRIA and Gemalto [46] . It is being experimented in the field to implement a secure and portable medical-social folder helping the coordination of medical care and social services provided at home for dependent people (See Section 7.1.2 ).
