Intent-Based IAM Tokens for Granular API Authorization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing identity and access management (IAM) systems face challenges in providing dynamic and granular authorization, leading to increased security risks and inflexibility due to reliance on group-based permissions and lack of individualized access rights management, especially with the rise of distributed workforces and zero trust frameworks.
Innovation Solution
An IAM system that dynamically generates authorization tokens based on user attributes, application functions, and business roles, using a centralized data store for user information and integrating AI and human oversight to tailor permissions and access levels, enabling quick and secure access control across multiple applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If group-based permissions are used to simplify access management, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates because individualized access rights cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments authorization into multiple layers: group-level permissions for broad access control and individual-level attributes for granular customization. This allows the system to maintain ease of group-based management while providing precise individualized access rights through attribute-based overlays on top of the group foundation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality by allowing different levels of authorization precision for different users within the same group. While group permissions provide the baseline access control, individual user attributes enable localized customization of access rights, ensuring each user receives precisely the permissions they need without compromising overall management simplicity.
2Reliability
If least privilege access is implemented to enhance security, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to complex authorization management
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic authorization that automatically adjusts permissions based on user attributes, context, and risk factors. This dynamic approach enables least privilege access control without manual complexity, as the system automatically determines and adjusts appropriate permission levels, reducing the burden of managing complex authorization rules while maintaining high security standards.
Solution Approach 2:
The authorization system operates autonomously by automatically evaluating user attributes and determining appropriate access rights without requiring manual intervention for each authorization decision. This self-service capability reduces the complexity of authorization management while maintaining security, as the system independently manages least privilege enforcement based on predefined policies and user characteristics.
3Reliability
If dynamic authorization is implemented to reduce security risks, then reliability is improved, but loss of time increases due to individualized access rights management
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-evaluating user attributes and establishing authorization baselines before access requests occur. Group permissions are configured in advance, and individual attribute overlays are preprocessed, enabling rapid authorization decisions at runtime without time-consuming manual evaluation, thus maintaining security while reducing authorization management time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms that learn from authorization patterns and user behavior to optimize permission assignments over time. By continuously analyzing access requests and outcomes, the system refines its authorization decisions, reducing the time required for individualized access rights management while maintaining or improving security through data-driven optimization.
4Device complexity
If integration of disparate systems is minimized to reduce complexity, then device complexity is reduced, but loss of information increases due to lack of centralized user data
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary layer that standardizes user data exchange between disparate systems. This intermediary maintains a unified view of user attributes and permissions, enabling centralized data management without requiring deep integration of underlying systems. The intermediary translates and harmonizes data from different sources, preventing information loss while avoiding the complexity of direct system integration.
Data Source
AI summary
An identity and access management system including: a processor; and memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: receive an API token request for an authorization token to authorize an application function associated with a target API of an application; determine identity information from the API token request; retrieve attributes associated with the identity information; identify the target API and an API function profile associated with the target API for the application function; filter the attributes associated with the identity information based on the API function profile; generate the authorization token according to the filtered attributes; and transmit the authorization token in response to the API token request.