Industrial Cloud Authorization via Metadata Extraction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud-based industrial ecosystems, customers may not want to upload their proprietary apps to the cloud due to security concerns, while providers face risks from unknown apps affecting automation device quality and configuration consistency, leading to potential fraud and warranty issues.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising local and cloud-based components that interact to define an allowed installation context for apps on industrial devices, ensuring secure and authorized deployment without sending sensitive data to the cloud, using a cloud connectivity component and management component for metadata generation, signing, and verification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If customers upload their proprietary apps to the cloud platform, then the provider can perform quality control and ensure configuration consistency, but customers risk exposing sensitive data and losing control over their intellectual property
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sensitive computer program code from the cloud upload process. Instead of uploading the actual app code to the cloud platform, only metadata and authorization information are transmitted. The program remains locally stored at the industrial facility, eliminating the security risk of exposing proprietary code while still enabling cloud-based quality verification through metadata validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces metadata as an intermediary between the customer's local system and the cloud platform. The metadata contains authorization information and installation context that enables the cloud provider to perform quality control without accessing the actual sensitive code. This intermediary layer allows communication and verification while maintaining data security boundaries.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If customers keep apps locally without uploading to cloud, then data security is maintained, but the provider cannot perform quality control or ensure configuration consistency
Solution Approach 1:
The metadata serves as an intermediary that carries essential verification information from the local system to the cloud platform. It includes authorization tokens and installation context that enable the provider to perform quality control checks without accessing the actual sensitive program code, thus maintaining both security and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of copying the actual sensitive code to the cloud, the system creates and transmits a simplified copy in the form of metadata containing authorization information. This metadata copy is sufficient for quality verification purposes while the original sensitive code remains securely stored locally.
3Reliability
If the management component receives the computer program for authorization, then quality control can be performed, but sensitive customer data is transmitted to the cloud
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential authorization metadata from the complete computer program package. Instead of transmitting the entire program including sensitive code and data, only the necessary metadata for verification is sent to the cloud platform, minimizing data transmission while maintaining quality control capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes an Industrial facility having a first memory storing first machine-executable components and a first processor coupled to the first memory and designed to execute the first machine-executable components. The first machine-executable components include a cloud connectivity component, a second memory residing at a cloud platform and coupled to a second processor storing second machine-executable components and is designed to execute the second machine-executable components which include a management component. The management component belongs to an entity that produces Industrial devices residing at the industrial facility. During an Interaction with the cloud connectivity component, the management component defines an allowed installation context and authorizes installation of a computer program on the Industrial devices only within the scope of the allowed installation context, wherein the interaction excludes sending the computer program to the management component.