Automated Privacy Compliance Scanning for Code Repositories

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current systems lack effective methods for assessing and ensuring compliance with privacy standards in organizations, particularly in managing personal data, due to language barriers between auditors and developers, leading to vulnerabilities in software applications and breaches.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented data processing system that calculates a risk level for privacy campaigns based on input campaign data, using graphical user interfaces to collect and store information about personal data collection, storage, and access, and facilitates collaboration and real-time communication among users to ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If manual privacy assessment methods are used between auditors and developers, then communication barriers and language differences create vulnerabilities, but implementing automated code analysis systems increases system complexity and requires integration with development workflows

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy compliance reliabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system enables code to be automatically analyzed for privacy compliance without requiring manual auditor intervention. The privacy assessment system independently scans code repositories, identifies personal data handling operations, and generates compliance reports automatically, allowing the system to serve itself rather than relying on external human assessors who face communication barriers

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the mechanical manual review process with automated computational analysis. Instead of auditors manually examining code and communicating findings to developers, the system uses automated scanning tools and algorithms to detect privacy risks, substituting human mechanical review with machine-based automated assessment

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Reliability

If comprehensive privacy impact assessments are conducted on all code changes, then privacy compliance is improved, but the time required for code deployment and iteration increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprivacy complianceVSAvoidcode deployment time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs privacy assessments continuously as code is committed to the repository, rather than conducting discrete manual reviews. The automated scanner operates continuously in the background, monitoring code changes in real-time and providing immediate feedback, ensuring privacy compliance is maintained without interrupting the development workflow

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Solution Approach 2:

The system conducts privacy impact assessments before code is deployed to production environments. By scanning code repositories and identifying privacy risks in advance during the development phase, the system prevents compliance issues from reaching production, eliminating the need for time-consuming post-deployment fixes and rework

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Productivity

If automated code scanning is implemented to detect personal data operations, then assessment speed increases, but false positives and missed detections reduce measurement precision

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveassessment speedVSAvoiddetection accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where detection results are continuously refined based on false positive and false negative analysis. The automated scanner learns from incorrect detections by adjusting its detection rules and patterns, improving accuracy over time while maintaining high assessment speed through automated feedback loops that reduce manual verification requirements

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11025675B2Data processing systems and methods for performing privacy assessments and monitoring of new versions of computer code for privacy compliance

Publication Date: 2021.06.01 ONETRUST LLC

AI summary

In various embodiments, a data map generation system is configured to receive a request to generate a privacy-related data map for particular computer code, and, at least partially in response to the request, determine a location of the particular computer code, automatically obtain the particular computer code based on the determined location, and analyze the particular computer code to determine privacy-related attributes of the particular computer code, where the privacy-related attributes indicate types of personal information that the particular computer code collects or accesses. The system may be further configured to generate and display a data map of the privacy-related attributes to a user.