Authorization Rule Translation Across Heterogeneous Data Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern enterprises face challenges in managing and enforcing user access permissions across diverse data environments managed by different systems and platforms, which are often hosted locally or in the cloud, due to the high cardinality of data and the difficulty in tracking and updating permissions uniformly across these environments.
Innovation Solution
A rule service that interprets high-level user-defined rules into computer-readable formats and translates them into environment-specific instructions for enforcement across multiple data environments, using natural language processing and policy languages like JSON or Rego, ensuring consistent access permissions despite changes in the environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a human administrator manually manages permissions across multiple data environments, then authorization control can be implemented, but the complexity and time required increases significantly as the number of data environments grows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (permission management system) that acts as a mediator between users and multiple data environments. This system automatically translates high-level permission rules into environment-specific authorization statements, eliminating the need for manual intervention in each data environment while ensuring consistent permission enforcement across all systems.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different data environments use their own authorization mechanisms, then each environment can be optimized for its specific needs, but enforcing consistent rules across all environments becomes extremely difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal permission management system that can enforce consistent authorization rules across multiple diverse data environments. The system translates high-level rules into environment-specific formats, allowing one universal interface to manage permissions across SQL databases, NoSQL databases, cloud storage, and other data environments with different authorization mechanisms.
3Reliability
If an administrator manually updates permissions across all data environments when changes are needed, then authorization rules can be maintained, but the administrative burden becomes unmanageable with numerous data environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service permission management system where the system automatically updates permissions across all data environments when high-level rules change. The permission management system monitors for changes in data environments and automatically generates and applies updated authorization statements, eliminating the need for administrators to manually update each environment while maintaining consistent permissions.
4Reliability
If high-level rules are enforced across multiple data environments, then consistent authorization can be achieved, but translating and adapting rules to each environment's specific format increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a translation layer in the permission management system that acts as an intermediary between high-level rules and environment-specific authorization formats. This translation mechanism automatically adapts generic permission rules into the specific syntax and format required by each data environment (e.g., SQL GRANT statements, cloud provider-specific policies) without requiring manual intervention or complex configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
The technology disclosed herein enables enforcement of high-level rules defined by a user across multiple data environments. In a particular embodiment, a method includes receiving a high-level rule from a user for enforcement across a plurality of data environments and interpreting the high-level rule into a computer-readable rule. The method further includes translating the computer-readable rule into an instruction compatible with a data environment of the plurality of data environments. The method also includes providing the instruction to the data environment, wherein the data environment implements the high-level rule within the data environment based on the instruction.