Protected Document Sharing via Server-Mediated Access Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Private users face challenges in securely sharing electronic documents with the public without granting full access, as existing methods require significant administrative effort or do not allow for restricted access without additional document versions.
Innovation Solution
A method where a private user authenticates and saves an electronic document on a private storage medium, using an analysis and comparison module to match it with public documents, providing a public document with a defined degree of similarity to the private document, ensuring security and ease of access management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a private user makes an electronic document accessible to the public through authentication and authorization, then the document can be shared with public users, but the private user must perform significant administrative work to grant selective access to each public user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the authentication and access control functionality from the private user's responsibilities and transfers it to a dedicated server system. The server handles user identification, authentication, and authorization automatically, eliminating the need for private users to manually manage access rights for each public user.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a server as an intermediary between private users and public users. This server mediates the access control process by receiving authentication requests from public users, verifying them against stored credentials, and granting or denying access to electronic documents without requiring direct intervention from private users.
2Ease of operation
If a private user makes a protected electronic document available to the public, then the document can be accessed by public users, but the private user cannot control or direct access to the document individually
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the server continuously monitors access requests, authenticates users, and provides real-time access control decisions. This automated feedback loop enables the private user to maintain passive document provision while the server actively controls individual access based on authentication status and authorization levels.
3Reliability
If a data processing system authenticates public users to access private electronic documents, then security is improved, but the private user can only make the document available in its entirety or not at all, without restricted access options
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic access control where the server can grant different levels of access to different authenticated public users based on their authorization credentials. The system dynamically adjusts access permissions, allowing some users to view complete documents while others may have restricted access to specific portions, all without requiring additional administrative configuration by private users.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for publicly providing protected electronic documents, wherein a first user, after a user authentication process, transmits a private electronic document from a data terminal via a communications network to a private storage medium of a data processing device and stores the document on said medium. Thereafter, an analysis and comparison module is activated, which analyzes and compares the private electronic document to the public electronic documents in a public storage medium, and when a second user accesses the private electronic document of the first user, a public electronic document from the public storage medium is provided by the authentication and access control module instead of the private electronic document.