Secure Document Management Using Segmented Security Labels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional document management systems lack stringent access control mechanisms, making it difficult for organizations to balance data sharing and collaboration with secure access management, especially when dealing with sensitive information.
Innovation Solution
A method that generates a security label for each document, including clearance and secondary security components based on user profiles, which is stored as an attribute and used to determine authorized access, ensuring that only permitted users can access or interact with sensitive data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional document management systems are used to allow personnel to share data and collaborate, then ease of operation and collaboration capability are improved, but access control security and data protection capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The security label is segmented into multiple components including clearance level, secondary security components, and handling requirements. Each component can be independently evaluated against the user's security access profile, allowing fine-grained access control while maintaining ease of document sharing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The security label acts as an intermediary mechanism between the document and the user's security access profile. The system automatically compares the security label components with the user's profile to determine authorized access, eliminating the need for manual security checks while maintaining strict access control
2Reliability
If stringent access control mechanisms are implemented to protect sensitive data, then access control security is improved, but ease of operation and data sharing capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Security labels are assigned to documents in advance during creation or import, with all necessary security components (clearance level, secondary security components, handling requirements) pre-configured. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex real-time security negotiations during document sharing operations
Solution Approach 2:
The document management system automatically performs security label comparisons with user profiles without requiring manual intervention. The system self-services the access control determination by evaluating security label components against security access profiles, maintaining both security and ease of operation
Data Source
AI summary
A method for providing secure document management includes receiving a document from a user having an associated security access profile and generating a security label to be stored as an attribute of the document. The security label includes a clearance component selected from an authorized subset of clearance components that are determined based on the security access profile associated with the user, and also includes one or more secondary security components selected from an authorized subset of secondary security components that are determined based on the clearance component of the security label and the security access profile associated with the user. The method includes storing the document in a document repository storing a plurality of documents each having an associated security label, and determining whether a third-party user is authorized to access the document based on a comparison of a security access profile of the third-party user and the security label associated with the document.