Field-Level Access Control via Scope Tokens in Search Indexes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current computer information retrieval systems face inefficiencies in access control, as they typically implement access restrictions at a document level rather than a field level, leading to computational burdens when access restrictions change, requiring re-indexing of search engine indexes.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of field-level access control through the generation of a search index with specialized indexed elements, known as scope tokens, which encode field information, allowing the search engine to determine user access and apply restrictions efficiently without re-indexing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If document-level access control is implemented, then access control functionality is provided, but computational overhead increases and re-indexing is required when restrictions change
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments access control from document-level to field-level by introducing scope tokens that represent individual fields within documents. Each scope token contains field identification information that allows the search engine to apply access restrictions to specific fields independently, rather than treating entire documents as atomic units. This segmentation enables finer-grained access control without requiring re-indexing of entire documents when restrictions change.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension to access control by incorporating scope tokens that encode field-level metadata into the search index structure. This dimensional enhancement allows the system to track and enforce access restrictions at the field level while maintaining the existing document-level index structure, thereby avoiding the computational overhead of re-indexing documents.
2Adaptability or versatility
If field-level access control is implemented, then finer-grained security is achieved, but index structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The scope token structure is designed to be universal and multi-functional, serving both as an index entry for field-level searching and as a carrier for access control metadata. Each scope token contains field identification information that enables the same index structure to support both information retrieval and security enforcement functions, thereby avoiding the need for separate complex structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of field-level information within scope tokens that references the original document fields. Instead of duplicating entire document contents, the scope tokens contain lightweight field identification data that points to the actual field locations, enabling field-level access control without proportionally increasing index complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A search index is generated from one or more data records, wherein the one or more data records have contents in a plurality of different fields. Field information of the one or more data records is stored in the search index as specialized indexed elements, wherein the specialized indexed elements overlap with other indexed elements of the one or more data records. A search query is received from a user allowed to access only a portion of the plurality of different fields. The search query is processed within the portion of the plurality of different fields using the search index including the specialized indexed elements.