Per-Process Access Control via Dynamic Token Modification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing access control methods in computer systems often grant excessive privileges when users need to access specific resources, leading to vulnerabilities and unintended consequences, such as increased risk from malware due to elevated permissions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method that allows for granular control of access and privileges by applying rules to process tokens, which specify groups and privileges to be added or removed based on criteria, enabling precise access management without elevating users to the Administrators Group, and managing these changes through a rule-based system that prioritizes rules and controls inheritance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users are made members of the Administrators Group to access specific resources, then access to needed resources is improved, but system security deteriorates due to excessive privileges and increased vulnerability to malware
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the access token into multiple components, allowing different processes to receive different subsets of privileges. Instead of granting all administrator privileges at once, the system divides access rights and assigns them selectively to individual processes based on their specific needs, thereby maintaining security while enabling necessary resource access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by customizing the access token for each specific process rather than using a uniform token for all processes. Each process receives a tailored token with precisely the privileges needed for that particular task, ensuring that no process has more access than necessary, thus balancing resource accessibility with system security.
2Productivity
If users are granted elevated privileges to perform system operations, then task completion capability is improved, but the risk of unauthorized actions and malware infections increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic privilege management where the access token is modified in real-time based on the specific requirements of each process. Privileges are dynamically allocated and revoked as processes start and terminate, ensuring that elevated privileges exist only when and where needed, thereby enabling task completion while minimizing the window of vulnerability to unauthorized actions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by granting only the specific portion of privileges necessary for each process to complete its task, rather than granting full administrator access. This selective allocation ensures sufficient capability for task completion while avoiding the excessive privileges that would increase vulnerability to malware and unauthorized actions.
3Ease of operation
If the operating system assigns the same access token to all processes, then ease of operation is improved, but granular control over access and privileges is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-configuring access control rules that automatically modify process tokens based on predefined criteria. This automation eliminates the need for manual token management while still achieving granular control, thereby maintaining ease of operation without sacrificing access control precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism in the form of access control rules that act as a mediator between the simple token assignment model and the need for granular control. These rules automatically adjust tokens based on process characteristics, providing fine-grained access control without requiring complex manual intervention, thus bridging the gap between operational simplicity and control granularity.
Data Source
AI summary
To control privileges and access to resources on a per-process basis, an administrator creates a rule that may be applied to modify a token of a process. The rule may include an application-criterion set and changes to be made to the groups and/or privileges of the token. The rule may be set as a policy within a group policy object (GPO), where a GPO is associated with one or more groups of computers or users. When a GPO containing a rule is applied to a computer, a driver installed on the computer may access the rule(s) anytime a logged-on user executes a process. If the executed process satisfies the criterion set of a rule, the changes contained within the rule are made to the process token, and the user has expanded and/or contracted access and/or privileges for only that process.