Context-Aware Access Control for Sensitive Document Viewing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional information handling systems fail to dynamically optimize security policies with end-user experience, leading to tedious manual adjustments and false positives when users access sensitive information across different environments.
Innovation Solution
Implement a content-based information protection scheme using sensor-based inferences of a user's environment and behavior to control access to sensitive information, adjusting device configurations and behaviors to balance security and user experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If static security policies are implemented in information handling systems, then security control is maintained, but user experience deteriorates due to tedious manual adjustments required when moving between different environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transitioning from static security policies to dynamic, context-aware access control. The system continuously monitors environmental context through sensors and adjusts security policies in real-time based on detected conditions (location, device state, user behavior), allowing automatic adaptation when users move between environments without manual intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where environmental context information is continuously collected from sensors, processed to determine appropriate security policies, and applied dynamically. This closed-loop system uses real-time feedback about user environment and behavior to automatically adjust access control decisions, eliminating the need for manual policy adjustments.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual adjustment of device settings is required for different environments, then security policies can be adapted, but productivity decreases due to time-consuming manual configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by enabling the system to automatically detect environmental context and adjust security policies without user intervention. The system monitors its own environment through sensors, processes this information, and makes adaptive security decisions autonomously, freeing users from manual configuration tasks while maintaining versatility across different environments.
3Reliability
If security controls are applied in all environments, then information protection is maintained, but false positives occur that disrupt legitimate user access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by implementing context-specific security policies that are tailored to individual environmental conditions. Rather than applying uniform security controls everywhere, the system analyzes local environmental context (location, device state, user behavior patterns) and adjusts security policies accordingly, allowing legitimate access in safe environments while maintaining protection in risky contexts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes by dynamically adjusting security policy parameters based on detected environmental conditions. The system changes security control parameters (access levels, authentication requirements, data encryption) in response to varying contextual parameters such as location, device posture, network environment, and user behavior patterns, enabling more accurate risk-based access decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
According to aspects of this disclosure, information handling systems may be used to manage and control access to confidential or sensitive information, such as employer-owned information that may be accessed by a user via one or more devices of the user. Embodiments of this disclosure may be used to implement a content-based information protection scheme that provides secure access control to information managed by an information handling system using sensor-based inferences of a user's environment and behavior within the environment. For example, the user may request remote access to a document including sensitive information via a user interface of a first device operated by the user within an environment (e.g., an airport, coffee shop, or other public place).