Dynamic URL Construction for Secure Media Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Dynamic URLs used to restrict access to media content expire quickly, making it difficult for legitimate third parties to access the content at a later time while maintaining security, as they cannot use these URLs for purposes like policy compliance or indexing.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that generates dynamic URLs based on a template URL and access key, allowing third parties to access content at any time by using a content accessor server with a dynamic URL construction module and a content retrieval module, which receives a template URL from a publisher server, obtains an access key, and constructs the dynamic URL for content access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If dynamic URLs are used to restrict access to media content, then security is improved, but accessibility for legitimate third parties deteriorates because URLs expire quickly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating template URLs in advance that contain embedded instructions for creating dynamic URLs. These template URLs are stored and can be used later by authorized third parties to generate valid dynamic URLs when needed, eliminating the need for real-time publisher server access while maintaining security controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism where template URLs serve as intermediaries between the publisher server and third-party content accessors. The template URL contains encoded instructions that enable third parties to generate valid dynamic URLs without requiring direct real-time connection to the publisher server, thus facilitating legitimate access while preserving security.
2Reliability
If dynamic URLs with short validity periods are used, then content protection is improved, but flexibility for third-party access deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating template URLs in advance that contain embedded instructions for creating dynamic URLs. These template URLs are stored and can be used later by authorized third parties to generate valid dynamic URLs when needed, eliminating the need for real-time publisher server access while maintaining security controls.
Solution Approach 2:
The template URL mechanism enables third parties to serve themselves by generating valid dynamic URLs using the embedded instructions within the template URL. This self-service capability allows authorized third parties to access content according to their own schedules and purposes without requiring real-time interaction with the publisher server, thus improving operational flexibility.
3Reliability
If real-time URL generation is required for security, then access control is improved, but system complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the URL generation logic from the publisher server and embeds it within the template URL itself. By taking out the instructional framework and placing it directly in the template URL, the system eliminates the need for complex real-time server interactions while maintaining secure access control. The template URL contains all necessary instructions for generating valid dynamic URLs locally.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of the URL generation capability within the template URL structure. Rather than requiring full replication of the publisher server's URL generation system, the template URL contains a condensed version of the generation logic that can be executed locally by third parties, reducing system complexity while maintaining security.
Data Source
AI summary
A dynamic URLs construction system includes a publisher server and one content accessor server. The publisher server has a content URL access module, a content access module and a content database for storing media content and providing content URL accessing instructions and media content to a content accessor server. Media content provided by a publisher is accessed using dynamic URLs. A content accessor server includes at least one dynamic URL generation module and one content retrieval module. The content accessor server receives a content ID and a template URL containing instruction for constructing the corresponding dynamic URL from the publisher server. The dynamic URL generation module parses the template URL instructions, obtains an access key associated with the dynamic URL and constructs the dynamic URL using the access key and the content ID. The content retrieval module retrieves the content referenced by the dynamic URL.