Calendar Invitee List to Access Control List Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conferencing software often lacks integration with email and scheduling functions, leading to issues such as unauthorized forwarding of conference invitations, cumbersome PIN usage, and complexity in adding new participants, especially with recurring events having changing invitee lists.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that converts a calendar application's invitee list into an access control list for a multi-user communication session, allowing seamless user addition and management without PINs, and automatically updates for recurring events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If email forwarding is allowed for conference invitations, then ease of sharing is improved, but security and access control deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the access control mechanism from the email invitation system by implementing a separate access control list (ACL) that is independently managed. The ACL contains explicit allow/deny entries for each participant, separating the sharing function from the security verification function. This allows email forwarding to occur without compromising security, as the ACL independently validates each participant's access rights.
Solution Approach 2:
The access control list serves as an intermediary between the email invitation system and the conference access system. Instead of relying on email forwarding for access control, the ACL acts as a mediator that independently verifies participant credentials and grants access, decoupling the sharing mechanism from the security mechanism.
2Reliability
If PIN verification is implemented for conference access, then security is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the PIN verification step from the access control process. Instead of requiring participants to manually enter PINs, the system automatically retrieves participant information from the calendar application and verifies access rights through the access control list, eliminating the cumbersome PIN entry step while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs automatic access verification by itself, retrieving participant information from the calendar application and checking against the access control list without requiring user intervention for PIN entry. The system serves itself by automatically managing the authentication process.
3Manufacturing precision
If manual participant addition is required for recurring events, then access control precision is improved, but device complexity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by automatically retrieving and updating the access control list from the calendar application before each recurring event. The system pre-configures the ACL with the latest participant information from the calendar, eliminating the need for manual updates while maintaining precise access control for each recurrence of the event.
Solution Approach 2:
The access control list serves multiple functions: it controls access for individual events, automatically updates for recurring events, and integrates with the calendar application. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate manual configuration systems, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining precise access control.
4Reliability
If access control lists are permanently stored, then reliability is improved, but security deteriorates due to unauthorized access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements discarding and recovering by temporarily storing the access control list in memory during the conference and then discarding it after the event concludes. The system recovers the ACL from the calendar application when needed for recurring events, but does not permanently store sensitive access information, thereby maintaining reliability while minimizing security risks from unauthorized access to stored data.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and associated methods for adding one or more invitees from a calendar event to an access control list of a multi-user communication session is disclosed. The conference application includes a social network engine, a conference server module, a session management module and a user interface engine. The social network engine hosts a multi-user communication session associated with a calendar event at the social network server. The conference server module retrieves an invitee list from a calendar application, converts the invitee list into an access control list for the multi-user communication session and stores the access control list in a cache. The session management module receives a request from one or more users to join the multi-user communication session, retrieves the access control list for the multi-user communication session from the cache and compares the one or more users against the access control list.