Session ID Mediator for Secure Cross-Firewall Data Exchange
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Securing data transfer across firewalls in distributed networks is challenging due to the complexity of managing multiple private domains and ensuring authentication and authorization across different network environments.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that provide multiple levels of authentication and authorization by using user IDs and session IDs to securely exchange information between private domains through a public domain, allowing intermittent connections for long-running analysis jobs while maintaining security and remote service activity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple levels of authentication and authorization are implemented across private domains, then security is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces session IDs as intermediary tokens that mediate authentication and authorization between private domains. Instead of implementing complex multi-level authentication protocols directly between domains, the system uses session IDs as intermediaries that carry authentication state, simplifying the interaction while maintaining security. The session ID acts as a mediator that encapsulates authentication information, reducing the complexity of direct domain-to-domain verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of authentication state by generating session IDs that represent user authentication status. Rather than repeatedly verifying user credentials across multiple domains, the system creates a session ID copy of the authentication state that can be validated efficiently. This copying mechanism allows authentication information to be reused across multiple service calls without re-verifying original credentials, reducing system complexity while maintaining security.
2Productivity
If intermittent connections are allowed for long-running analysis jobs, then productivity is improved, but maintaining security across disconnected periods becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary authentication and session establishment before the actual analysis job begins. Session IDs are generated and validated in advance, and authentication state is established before the intermittent connection periods occur. This preliminary action ensures that security is already in place before disconnections happen, making it easier to maintain security across intermittent periods while allowing long-running jobs to proceed with intermittent connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains continuous authentication state through session IDs even during intermittent connection periods. The session ID persists across disconnections and reconnections, allowing the analysis job to resume without requiring re-authentication. This continuity mechanism ensures that security is maintained throughout the entire job execution, including during periods when connections are interrupted, while still allowing productivity improvements from intermittent operation.
3Reliability
If session validation is performed at multiple points in the communication flow, then security is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial validation by checking session ID validity at strategic points in the communication flow rather than at every single interaction point. The session ID is validated when first received and then trusted for subsequent operations within the same session, performing validation only when necessary rather than excessively at every step. This partial action approach maintains security through key validation points while reducing overall processing time by avoiding redundant validations.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure is directed to securely exchanging information between private domains. Methods and systems of the disclosure perform operations including providing a user identifier (“ID”) and a first session ID to a user of a first private domain. The operations further include receiving from the user a service call for a first analytic service. Additionally, the operations include providing a service message for a second analytic service residing in a second private domain. Moreover, the operations include receiving a first verification message from the second private domain. The operations also include validating the first verification message. The operations further include providing a second verification message. Additionally, the operations include receiving a response message from the second private domain, the response message including information determined by the second analytic service based on job information in the service message.