Task-Bound Token Validity for Distributed Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current computing systems face challenges in enhancing security by associating users with tasks executed on computing nodes and ensuring data access control, particularly in distributed systems where tokens' validity is not adequately tied to the lifespan of tasks, leading to potential security vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves generating task-specific tokens that are digitally signed and tied to both the user and task identifiers, with their validity tied to the task's lifespan, ensuring that tokens become invalid once the task is completed, and enforcing data access control by verifying user permissions and task validity before granting access to data storage systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If tokens are issued with fixed validity duration, then data access control is simplified, but security is weakened because tokens may remain valid after task completion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic token validity by binding token expiration to task completion events rather than fixed time durations. The resource manager dynamically updates token status based on real-time task execution state, allowing tokens to automatically become invalid when their associated tasks complete, thus resolving the contradiction between simplified control and enhanced security.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where the resource manager continuously monitors task execution status and communicates this information to the data storage system. This feedback mechanism ensures that token validity is automatically adjusted based on task completion, providing both simplified automated control and improved security without requiring manual intervention.
2Reliability
If tokens are tied to task lifespan, then security is enhanced by invalidating tokens after task completion, but system complexity increases due to additional validation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The resource manager performs multiple functions including task scheduling, task status tracking, and token validity management within a single centralized component. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity by consolidating validation logic in one place rather than distributing complex validation requirements across multiple components.
Solution Approach 2:
The resource manager acts as an intermediary between the data storage system and task execution components. It centralizes the logic for determining token validity based on task status, simplifying the validation mechanism by providing a single point of authority rather than requiring each data access point to independently evaluate task completion states.
3Loss of information
If user-task associations are tracked for auditing, then accountability is improved, but information storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and stores only the essential audit information (user ID, task ID, and access timestamps) in a dedicated audit log, separating this critical information from the main data storage system. This extraction approach maintains complete audit trails while minimizing the storage burden on the primary data storage infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements localized audit logging at the resource manager level, storing user-task association information in a compact format specific to access control requirements. This local quality approach ensures that only necessary audit data is retained in a structured manner, reducing overall information storage requirements while maintaining accountability.
Data Source
AI summary
It is desired to try to increase the security of a computing system running computer applications that may access data in a data storage system. In some embodiments, a token associates a user with a task that is being executed by a computing node. It may therefore be possible to determine which user executed which tasks. In some embodiments, the validity of a token is tied to the lifespan of a task associated with the token, rather than to a fixed amount of time. Therefore, if the task associated with the token is complete, the token may become invalid, rather than remaining valid for a duration of time that possibly exceeds the lifespan of the associated task. In some embodiments, a token is used to enforce data access control, e.g. to deny certain users access to certain data in the data storage system.