Project number
27012
Organization
StickEcodes, Inc
Offering
ENGR498-F2026-S2027
Background: In today's world, hackers prefer medical histories over personal finances because financial data is perishable, whereas medical records are permanent, unchangeable, and command a massive premium on the dark web. While banks use real-time fraud detection to freeze compromised credit cards within hours, a patient's medical file contains unalterable data - like Social Security numbers, genetic history, and diagnoses - that criminals can exploit for years. This durable identity profile opens the door to multi-layered crimes, including fraudulent insurance billing, prescription theft, tax fraud, and even personal blackmail. Furthermore, because hospitals prioritize immediate patient care over IT infrastructure, their sprawling networks are historically underfunded and a much softer target for data extortion than heavily fortified financial institutions.
Project Scope: Secure, Location-Bounded Medical Data Retrieval
Project Objective: The student team will design and engineer a secure, location-bounded prototype for accessing sensitive medical records within a controlled hospital environment. The system will leverage temporary, single-use encryption keys and spatial restrictions to ensure that medical data can only be decrypted and viewed under strict, pre-determined conditions, rendering traditional interception and data-logging attempts useless.
Technical Workflow & Architecture: The engineering team will implement an end-to-end data pipeline adhering to the following protocol:
1. Initiation & Key Generation: Scanning a digital access code will instantly trigger the generation of a unique, one-time end-to-end encryption key.
2. Secure Containerized Processing: This key is securely transmitted to an isolated Docker container housed within the primary medical server architecture.
3. Secure Retrieval & Volatility: The container uses the temporary key to securely fetch the requested medical records from the server database, after which the initial key is permanently destroyed ("thrown away").
4. Secure Data Return: To safely deliver the information back to the authorized viewing device, the system generates a separate, one-time return key to encrypt and transmit the data.
5. Spatial Access Control: The entire decryption and viewing process is bounded by a strict spatial geofence (such as a specific hospital room). The moment the viewing device leaves this predetermined physical boundary, the spatial lock triggers, the session is terminated, and the temporary data is permanently cleared from the device.
Key Technical Challenges for Students
• Developing a lightweight, high-speed protocol for generating and destroying single-use cryptographic keys.
• Configuring an isolated Docker container environment to manage server database communication securely.
• Implementing precise, low-latency spatial geographic tracking to enforce the boundary-based data wipe.
Skills Requested: To build this proof of concept, the student team will need a multidisciplinary skill set spanning cybersecurity, cloud architecture, mobile development, and hardware tracking.
Here is the condensed breakdown of the core skills required:
• Cryptography & Security Engineering: Expertise in generating and destroying single-use encryption keys (e.g., AES/RSA) and building secure, authenticated APIs.
• DevOps & Containerization: Proficiency in configuring, networking, and hardening isolated Docker containers to sandbox the server-side database communication.
• Full-Stack / Mobile Development: Skills in building application interfaces that scan digital codes, securely handle medical data in temporary memory (RAM), and force instantaneous data wipes.
• Indoor Geofencing: Experience working with indoor location technologies like BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Beacons or UWB (Ultra-Wideband) to enforce strict, low-latency room boundaries.
Project Scope: Secure, Location-Bounded Medical Data Retrieval
Project Objective: The student team will design and engineer a secure, location-bounded prototype for accessing sensitive medical records within a controlled hospital environment. The system will leverage temporary, single-use encryption keys and spatial restrictions to ensure that medical data can only be decrypted and viewed under strict, pre-determined conditions, rendering traditional interception and data-logging attempts useless.
Technical Workflow & Architecture: The engineering team will implement an end-to-end data pipeline adhering to the following protocol:
1. Initiation & Key Generation: Scanning a digital access code will instantly trigger the generation of a unique, one-time end-to-end encryption key.
2. Secure Containerized Processing: This key is securely transmitted to an isolated Docker container housed within the primary medical server architecture.
3. Secure Retrieval & Volatility: The container uses the temporary key to securely fetch the requested medical records from the server database, after which the initial key is permanently destroyed ("thrown away").
4. Secure Data Return: To safely deliver the information back to the authorized viewing device, the system generates a separate, one-time return key to encrypt and transmit the data.
5. Spatial Access Control: The entire decryption and viewing process is bounded by a strict spatial geofence (such as a specific hospital room). The moment the viewing device leaves this predetermined physical boundary, the spatial lock triggers, the session is terminated, and the temporary data is permanently cleared from the device.
Key Technical Challenges for Students
• Developing a lightweight, high-speed protocol for generating and destroying single-use cryptographic keys.
• Configuring an isolated Docker container environment to manage server database communication securely.
• Implementing precise, low-latency spatial geographic tracking to enforce the boundary-based data wipe.
Skills Requested: To build this proof of concept, the student team will need a multidisciplinary skill set spanning cybersecurity, cloud architecture, mobile development, and hardware tracking.
Here is the condensed breakdown of the core skills required:
• Cryptography & Security Engineering: Expertise in generating and destroying single-use encryption keys (e.g., AES/RSA) and building secure, authenticated APIs.
• DevOps & Containerization: Proficiency in configuring, networking, and hardening isolated Docker containers to sandbox the server-side database communication.
• Full-Stack / Mobile Development: Skills in building application interfaces that scan digital codes, securely handle medical data in temporary memory (RAM), and force instantaneous data wipes.
• Indoor Geofencing: Experience working with indoor location technologies like BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) Beacons or UWB (Ultra-Wideband) to enforce strict, low-latency room boundaries.