Access Policy Testing via Parallel Evaluation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Complex access control policies in computing systems make it difficult to predict the effects of policy changes, leading to high costs due to potential errors in granting or denying access, as minor changes can have far-reaching and unpredictable effects.
Innovation Solution
Testing new policies in real-world scenarios by evaluating access requests against both the current and test policies, logging results to determine if the test policy behaves as expected, and replacing the current policy with the test policy if the data indicates it will perform as intended.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If new policies are deployed directly without testing, then policy updates can be implemented quickly, but the risk of errors in granting or denying access increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a preliminary testing phase where new policies are evaluated against historical access requests before being deployed to production. This allows the system to predict and verify policy behavior in advance, catching potential errors before they affect real access decisions. The testing framework simulates real-world scenarios without risking actual access control failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a safety buffer by maintaining both the current production policy and the new test policy simultaneously. During the testing period, the original policy continues to govern actual access decisions, providing a cushion against potential errors in the new policy. This allows the new policy to be validated without exposing the system to its risks.
2Reliability
If policies are tested extensively before deployment, then the reliability of access control decisions improves, but the time required to implement policy changes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a balanced testing approach that evaluates policies against a representative subset of historical access requests rather than exhaustive testing. This partial action provides sufficient confidence in policy behavior while avoiding the time costs of complete testing. The system tests enough scenarios to catch significant errors without requiring excessive validation time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses copies of historical access request data to test new policies, rather than testing in the live production environment. This allows comprehensive testing using real-world scenarios without the time costs and risks associated with live testing. The test environment replicates production conditions sufficiently to validate policy behavior.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex policies are created to handle diverse access scenarios, then the system's adaptability improves, but the difficulty of predicting policy effects increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the testing system evaluates new complex policies against historical access requests and provides detailed results showing what would have been granted or denied. This feedback loop allows administrators to understand the actual effects of complex policies before deployment, making the unpredictable behavior of complex policies transparent and controllable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system breaks down the evaluation of complex policies into individual test cases based on historical access requests. Each request is evaluated independently against the new policy, and results are aggregated to show overall policy effects. This segmentation makes the behavior of complex policies more manageable and predictable by analyzing them case-by-case rather than as a monolithic system.
Data Source
AI summary
A policy that governs access to a resource may be tested against real-world access requests before being used to control access to the resource. In one example, access to a resource is governed by a policy, referred to as an effective policy. When the policy is to be modified or replaced, the modification or replacement may become a test policy. When a request is made to access the resource, the request may be evaluated under both the effective policy and the test policy. Whether access is granted is determined under the effective policy, but the decision that would be made under the test policy is noted, and may be logged. If the test policy is determined to behave acceptably when confronted with real-world access requests, then the current effective policy may be replaced with the test policy.