Dynamic User Authentication via Contextual Rule Engine
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current authentication and authorization techniques are insecure and static, allowing unauthorized access to services and data, as they rely on static credentials and hardcoded security components, which are inconvenient to update and manage.
Innovation Solution
A dynamic authentication system that uses contextual data to determine rules for user authentication, allowing for real-time updates and granular access control, enabling secure and flexible user access management through a rules database and rule engine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If static authentication credentials (username/password) are used, then the authentication process is simple and easy to implement, but the security is weak and allows unauthorized access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms static authentication credentials into dynamic authentication by introducing contextual parameters (location, time, device information) that change based on the authentication situation. The authentication decision is no longer based on fixed credentials alone but on dynamically generated authentication expressions that adapt to contextual conditions, thereby improving security without requiring fundamentally complex infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters used for authentication from static credentials (username/password only) to multiple dynamic parameters including location coordinates, time stamps, device identifiers, and network information. By changing and combining these parameters dynamically, the system creates more secure authentication expressions while keeping the underlying mechanism relatively simple.
2Adaptability or versatility
If hardcoded security components are used in the application, then the application structure is simple, but the application requires updates and reinstallation whenever security components need to be changed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the security rules and authentication logic from the compiled application code and places them in an external rules database. This allows security components to be updated independently of the application itself - the application can remain unchanged while security rules are modified in the database and pushed to users, eliminating the need for application reinstallation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a rules database as an intermediary layer between the application and security enforcement. This mediator stores authentication rules and contextual parameters, allowing the application to remain simple while the intermediary handles dynamic security updates and rule management, improving both adaptability and ease of operation.
3Reliability
If static authorization rules are used, then the authorization process is fast and efficient, but the authorization is insecure and allows unauthorized users to access services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary evaluation of authentication expressions by pre-compiling and storing authentication rules in the rules database. When authentication is needed, the system quickly retrieves and evaluates these pre-prepared expressions against contextual data, maintaining fast authentication performance while enabling secure dynamic authorization decisions.
Data Source
AI summary
System and a method to dynamically authenticate and optionally dynamically authorize a user at a user device or at a server, the method including: receiving a request from the user to access a service; determining contextual data associated with the user; determining, based on at least the contextual data, at least one rule from a rules database to authenticate the user; and authenticating the user based on the determined at least one rule, wherein the user is authorized to access the service based on the authentication.