Access Control Management with Certificate-Verified Software Compliance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer-implemented services are prone to undesired behavior due to inconsistent and incomplete access control checks, leading to potential data leaks and unauthorized access.
Innovation Solution
Implementing access control standards during software development and deployment, using cryptographically verifiable certificates to ensure compliance with RBAC checks and consistent sources of truth, and rejecting non-compliant software.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If access control checks are implemented in software, then data security is improved, but software complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements access control standards during the software development phase rather than adding them later. Software is required to meet access control standards before deployment, with certificates verifying compliance. This preliminary action ensures security is built-in from the start, reducing the need for complex runtime security mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces certificates as an intermediary mechanism between software and the deployment system. These certificates serve as verifiable proof that software meets access control standards, allowing automated verification without requiring complex manual security audits or intricate runtime checking mechanisms.
2Reliability
If access control standards are enforced during deployment, then unauthorized access is reduced, but deployment time increases
Solution Approach 1:
Access control compliance is verified during the software development and certification phase before deployment occurs. The certificates are obtained in advance, allowing the deployment process to simply verify existing certificates rather than performing complex access control analysis during deployment, thus minimizing deployment time overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual or complex automated access control verification during deployment with cryptographic certificate verification. This substitution uses well-established cryptographic mechanisms that can be efficiently verified algorithmically, replacing what would otherwise require time-consuming manual security audits or complex runtime analysis.
3Reliability
If certificates are required for software deployment, then access control compliance is improved, but deployment process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Certificates serve as an intermediary that simplifies the deployment process by providing a single, verifiable artifact that proves access control compliance. Instead of requiring the deployment system to implement complex access control checking logic, it only needs to verify the cryptographic signatures on certificates, which is a well-understood and efficient operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses cryptographic copies (certificates) of access control policy compliance information. Rather than requiring the actual access control logic to be present or verified in the deployment system, verified cryptographic copies of the compliance information are used, which can be efficiently validated without reproducing the complex access control logic.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for managing the operation of data processing systems are disclosed. To manage the operation of the data processing systems, access control standards for software may be enforced during development and/or deployment of software. The access control standards may indicate the extent of access controls for data that are to be in place for various pieces of software. The access control standards may also indicate a level of consistency in the sources of truth for permissions enforced by the access controls.