Approver Identifier Validation in Cloud Provisioning Templates
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Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud computing environments, there is a lack of effective validation mechanisms to ensure that approver identifiers have the necessary permissions to approve actions performed under privileged user IDs, leading to potential security vulnerabilities and the need for manual intervention to verify approvals.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that validate approver identifiers by checking if they match or have equivalent capabilities to the privileged user IDs, with automatic generation of approval records for security administrators when necessary, ensuring that only authorized users can perform actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual intervention is used to verify approvals, then security can be maintained through human oversight, but operational efficiency deteriorates due to time-consuming manual processes
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-validation of approver identifiers against the provisioning template without requiring manual intervention. The processor automatically checks whether specified approver IDs have the necessary permissions to approve actions under privileged user IDs, enabling the system to verify security credentials independently while maintaining operational efficiency.
2Reliability
If validation mechanisms are implemented to ensure approver permissions, then security is improved, but system complexity increases due to additional validation steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs validation of approver identifiers in advance, during the template processing stage, before actions are executed. By checking whether approver IDs have necessary permissions upfront, the system prevents unauthorized actions without adding complexity to the execution phase, as the validation is integrated into the initial template processing workflow.
3Productivity
If automatic validation of approver identifiers is implemented, then operational efficiency is improved through automation, but the risk of validation errors increases if the system lacks proper verification mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the processor validates approver identifiers against the provisioning template and generates appropriate responses based on validation results. When validation succeeds, the system proceeds with action execution; when validation fails, the system generates an error message indicating that the approver ID lacks necessary permissions, providing clear feedback for corrective action.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples of techniques for validation of approver identifiers in a cloud computing environment are described herein. An aspect includes receiving, by a processor, a template that defines a plurality of actions to be performed by the processor. Another aspect includes determining for a first action of the plurality of actions whether the template specifies a first user identifier under which to run the first action. Another aspect includes, based on determining that the template specifies the first user identifier, determining whether the template specifies a second user identifier to approve running of the first action under the first user identifier. Another aspect includes, based on determining that the template specifies the second user identifier to approve running of the first action under the first user identifier, validating whether the second user identifier has permission to approve the running of the first action under the first user identifier.