Patent attributes
Cryptographic keys are generated for components of a distributed system in a decentralized manner. A root key is generated for a universe of components, including capturing data and components for processing the data. A cryptographic key for a processing component is derived from the root key and one or more attributes or identifiers of the processing component, which may be provided in a specific region or domain. Cryptographic keys for capturing components (e.g., cameras) within the region or domain are derived from the cryptographic keys of the processing component and one or more attributes or identifiers of the respective capturing components. The capturing components encrypt data using their respective cryptographic keys and transfer the encrypted data to the processing component, which re-derives the cryptographic keys for such capturing components and decrypts the encrypted data using the re-derived cryptographic keys.