Automated Cleared User Assignment for Secure Cloud Operations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Support engineers often face difficulties in accessing and performing operations on cloud services due to inadequate security clearance, leading to challenges in locating suitable cleared users, understanding the risk levels of requested operations, and manually executing commands, which is error-prone and time-consuming.
Innovation Solution
A system that automatically identifies and assigns a cleared user with adequate clearance for a specific compliance boundary, surfaces the risk level associated with a requested command or operation, and facilitates secure communication to automatically execute the operation upon authorization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual processes are used to locate and assign cleared users, then flexibility and human judgment are maintained, but time consumption and error rates increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automatic self-service functionality where the support engineer's request is automatically processed by the system to identify required clearance levels, query the data store for cleared users, and assign appropriate users without manual intervention. This eliminates the time-consuming manual processes while maintaining system control and security requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical process of locating and assigning cleared users is replaced with an automated computer-based system that queries data stores, evaluates clearance levels, and performs assignments electronically. This substitution dramatically reduces time consumption and eliminates human errors in the assignment process.
2Ease of operation
If support engineers are given direct access to perform operations, then ease of operation is improved, but security clearance requirements are violated
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary automated assignment mechanism that bridges the support engineer and the actual cleared user. The support engineer initiates the operation request, but the system automatically identifies and assigns a cleared user who then performs or authorizes the operation. This intermediary process maintains ease of operation initiation while ensuring security clearance compliance through automated user assignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The operation execution process is segmented into distinct phases: request initiation by support engineer, automated clearance level identification, cleared user assignment, and operation execution by authorized user. This segmentation separates the convenience of request initiation from the security requirement of authorized execution, allowing both ease of operation and security compliance to be satisfied.
3Reliability
If comprehensive risk assessment is performed for each operation, then reliability and security are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-establishing a data store containing clearance level information for multiple users and pre-defining clearance level requirements for different operations. When an operation is requested, the system simply queries these pre-established data structures rather than performing complex real-time analysis, thereby maintaining high reliability through comprehensive assessment while minimizing system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A request to perform a command or operation on a computing system is received from a support user. A clearance level needed to perform that requested command or operation is identified, and a data store that has a pool of cleared users is accessed to identify a cleared user that has an adequate clearance level. The secured user is assigned to the request. A risk level, corresponding to the requested command or operation is identified and surfaced for the secured user. The requested command or operation can be automatically executed, after it is authorized by the secured user.