Communication Network API Access with Consent-Bearing Tokens
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Solution Overview
Problem
Challenges exist in efficiently invoking application programming interfaces (APIs) in a communication network, particularly when resources are protected and require resource owner consent, complicating access control.
Innovation Solution
The use of an access token, such as an OAuth 2.0 token, to indicate whether a resource owner consents to communication equipment accessing a protected resource, allowing efficient authorization by including consent information in the token.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If resource owner consent is required for accessing protected resources, then security and privacy protection are improved, but API invocation complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by obtaining resource owner consent and generating access tokens before actual API invocation. The consent management function retrieves consent parameters from the unified data management function in advance, and the access token is generated and stored prior to being needed for resource access, thereby streamlining the actual API call process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an access token as an intermediary element that mediates between the resource owner's consent and the API access request. The access token encapsulates consent information and serves as a portable credential that simplifies the interaction between communication equipment and protected resources, reducing the complexity of direct consent verification
2Reliability
If resource owner consent is required for accessing protected resources, then privacy protection is improved, but signaling overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by obtaining and storing resource owner consent parameters in advance through the consent management function. This pre-processing eliminates the need for real-time consent verification during API invocation, significantly reducing processing time while maintaining privacy protection
Solution Approach 2:
The access token enables self-service by encapsulating all necessary consent information within itself. The communication equipment can independently present the access token for verification without requiring real-time interaction with the resource owner or complex verification procedures, thereby reducing processing time
3Productivity
If access token includes consent information, then authorization efficiency is improved, but token complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies merging by combining authorization information and consent information into a single access token. This unified token structure allows the system to verify both authentication and consent status in one step, significantly improving authorization efficiency while the standardized token format keeps complexity manageable
Data Source
AI summary
Communication equipment (16) is configured to invoke an application programming interface (API) (14) to access a service. The communication equipment (16) transmits, from the communication equipment (16) to API exposing equipment (12) configured to expose the API (14), a request (18) to invoke the API (14). The communication equipment (16) also transmits, from the communication equipment (16) to the API exposing equipment (12), an access token (20) that indicates whether a resource owner (24) consents (26) to the communication equipment (16) accessing a protected resource (22) of the API (14). The API exposing equipment (12) may verify the request (18) based on the access token (20), e.g., by verifying the request (18) against one or more claims in the access token (20). The API exposing equipment (12) may then accept or reject the request (18) depending on that verification.