Modular User Interface for Network Permission Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for managing access permissions in computing resources require administrators to learn policy languages like CEL, posing challenges for novice administrators and potentially leading to security vulnerabilities due to incorrect or insufficiently specific condition definitions.
Innovation Solution
A modular user interface with two modes: a builder mode for visually and interactively building access permission code and an editor mode for direct code editing, allowing administrators to generate and refine code without needing to learn coding syntax, integrated with cloud services through APIs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If administrators use policy languages like CEL to define access conditions, then the system can express a large set of policies, but novice administrators face difficulty learning the grammar and syntax
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a visual interface as an intermediary between the administrator and the policy language. The interface includes interactive elements such as dropdown menus, text boxes, and buttons that translate user-friendly selections into CEL syntax automatically. This mediator allows administrators to define complex policies without directly writing or understanding the policy language syntax.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manually writing and editing text-based policy language with an automated system. The visual interface automatically generates and updates the corresponding CEL code based on user interactions with the interface elements, eliminating the need for administrators to manually type or edit the policy syntax.
2Manufacturing precision
If administrators directly write conditions in policy language, then code can be precisely defined, but security vulnerabilities may arise from incorrect or insufficiently specific conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the system automatically validates and updates the policy code based on user interactions with the visual interface. As administrators select options or input values through the interface elements, the system provides real-time feedback by generating and validating the corresponding CEL syntax, ensuring the conditions are correctly formed and specific enough to prevent security vulnerabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically generating, validating, and updating the policy code without requiring manual intervention for syntax correction. The visual interface handles the translation and validation processes automatically, reducing human error and ensuring that the defined conditions are both precise and secure.
3Ease of operation
If a visual interface with interactive elements is provided, then novice administrators can intuitively build code, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the policy definition process into segmented interactive elements, each handling a specific aspect of policy creation. The interface includes separate elements for different policy components (e.g., subjects, resources, actions, conditions), allowing administrators to build policies step-by-step through modular interactions rather than confronting a single complex interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The visual interface is designed as a universal tool that handles multiple policy definition tasks through a consistent set of interactive elements. The same interface patterns and element types are reused across different policy scenarios, reducing the perceived complexity by providing a familiar and predictable interaction model regardless of the specific policy being defined.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
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AI summary
The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for providing improved tools (e.g., user interfaces) that can be used for managing access permissions to cloud or other network resources. In general, the systems and methods include providing a user interface that can function in at least two modes which together can provide an improved user experience for intuitively and effectively developing code. As an example, the two interface modes can include a builder mode in which the user interface includes one or more interactive elements that enable a user to modularly build a set of computer-readable code that controls access permissions to one or more computing resources and an editor mode in which the user interface allows the user to directly edit the set of computer-readable code.