Process-Bound Security Tokens for Cloud Data Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In distributed computing environments, sensitive information is at risk of exposure to users, compromising confidentiality and security, as existing systems lack effective mechanisms to control access based on the trust level of server processes and user identities.
Innovation Solution
The use of security tokens owned by server processes to represent user identities and credentials, which are digitally signed to endorse requests and control access to sensitive data, ensuring that only authorized server processes can access sensitive information, thereby protecting it from exposure to users.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If sensitive data is shared between distributed computing processes, then productivity and resource utilization are improved, but security and confidentiality are worsened due to exposure risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces security tokens as intermediary objects that mediate between sensitive data and accessing processes. These tokens contain encoded authorization information and are transferred between processes to grant controlled access to sensitive data without exposing the data itself to unauthorized processes, thus enabling productive data sharing while maintaining security through the token intermediary layer
2Ease of operation
If user identities are exposed to server processes, then access control is simplified, but security is worsened by compromising user privacy and credential protection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential authorization information from complete user credentials and identities, placing only the necessary access control attributes into security tokens. This extraction allows server processes to verify access rights without receiving or processing sensitive user identity information, thereby simplifying access control while protecting user privacy by removing unnecessary identity exposure
Solution Approach 2:
Security tokens serve as intermediaries that carry authorization information between user authentication systems and server processes. The tokens enable server processes to perform access control decisions without direct exposure to user identities, as the token acts as a secure intermediary containing only the necessary authorization data needed for access control operations
3Device complexity
If traditional authentication mechanisms are used in distributed systems, then implementation is simpler, but security is worsened due to lack of process trust verification
Solution Approach 1:
The security token structure implements a nested information hierarchy where tokens contain embedded authorization data that is itself verified against trusted credentials. The token structure nests multiple layers of verification information, allowing server processes to verify trust relationships without complex external authentication infrastructure, thus improving reliability while keeping implementation manageable through the nested self-contained token structure
Data Source
AI summary
Exposure of sensitive information to users is controlled using a first security token containing user identity and user credentials to represent the user who requests services, and a second security token containing two other identities, one identifying the token issuer and the other identifying the owning process. When requesting services, the token-owning process sends a security token to indicate who is making the request, and uses its key to digitally sign the request. The token-owning process signs the request to indicate that it endorses the request. A receiving server accepts a request if (1) the token-owning process endorses the request by signing the request; (2) the token is valid (token is signed by its issuer and the digital signature is verified and unexpired); (3) user entity, which can be a real user or a deployment or a server process, that is represented by the token has the authorization to access the specified resources; and (4) the token-owning process is authorized to endorse the user entity represented by the token to access the specified resources.