Identity Management Platform Role-Based Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing identity management systems fail to effectively control user access rights across multiple applications without requiring updates to each individual application, leading to complex and resource-intensive management as user roles and entitlements vary within and across applications.
Innovation Solution
An identity management platform that manages user access across various applications by hiding or deactivating unauthorized functions, replacing them with authorized ones, and automatically logging users into relevant applications based on predefined roles and credentials, thereby simplifying access control and entitlement management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If centralized identity management is implemented, then access control efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an identity management server as an intermediary component that sits between users and multiple applications. This server handles authentication and authorization decisions centrally, allowing applications to remain simple while gaining sophisticated access control. The intermediary absorbs the complexity of managing multiple application-specific access policies, resolving the contradiction by centralizing management functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The identity management server provides universal access control services across multiple different applications through a single unified system. Instead of requiring separate access control mechanisms for each application, the server uses a common authentication framework and role-based access control model that works across all applications, improving efficiency while managing complexity through standardization.
2Measurement precision
If role-based access control is implemented, then authorization precision is improved, but management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments access control into discrete roles with specific permission sets. Instead of managing individual user-access-application triplets, the system divides permissions into reusable role templates (e.g., administrator, analyst, viewer) that can be assigned to users. This segmentation improves authorization precision by clearly defining what each role can access while simplifying management through role inheritance and composition.
Solution Approach 2:
Access control policies and role definitions are pre-configured in the identity management server before users need access to applications. Role-based permission sets are established in advance, allowing users to be quickly assigned roles rather than having access rights configured individually. This preliminary action reduces management complexity by preparing access control structures beforehand.
3Reliability
If application-specific access control is implemented, then access security is improved, but operational efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges access control functionality from multiple application-specific systems into a single centralized identity management server. Instead of each application maintaining its own access control logic, the server consolidates authentication and authorization functions. This merging maintains security through unified policy enforcement while dramatically improving operational efficiency by eliminating redundant access control operations across applications.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method are provided for identity management of applications on computing devices. A set of applications is registered at an identity management system. Each application allows a different level of access permission to the application based on a user role associated with a user accessing the application. A set of user profiles associated with users are received. Each user profile includes a login credential for allowing access to the applications and a user role for defining a user level of access permission to the applications. An access request to access an application is received at the identity management system and responsive to the access request, a user associated with the access request is authenticated. Upon successful authentication, the user role associated with the authenticated user is determined and the user is allowed to access functions of the application corresponding to the determined user role.