Trusted Security Labels for Electronic Documents
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing document management systems fail to effectively prevent classified electronic documents from leaking into security classification domains with lower authorization levels, leading to unauthorized access and potential information disclosure.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for generating trusted security labels, which involves determining document parts to protect, selecting appropriate security labels, specifying policies, and digitally signing the document and label to ensure secure access based on predetermined security classification levels, using a computerized process and multicore processor system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing document management systems are used to control document access, then basic security classification is provided, but classified documents can still leak into unauthorized security domains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by embedding trusted security labels into documents during creation or processing, before the documents can leak. The system proactively identifies sensitive documents, applies appropriate security labels with classification levels, and establishes protection mechanisms in advance, preventing rather than reacting to potential leaks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces trusted security labels as an intermediary between documents and security classification domains. These labels act as mediators that carry authoritative security information, enabling gateways to make accurate access decisions without directly analyzing document content, thus preventing unauthorized access while maintaining document usability.
2Reliability
If security labels are applied to documents, then access control is improved, but document processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the security management system into distinct functional components: document analysis modules that identify sensitive content, label generation modules that create security labels, and gateway modules that enforce access control. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific tasks, improving overall system efficiency despite the added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service by enabling documents to carry their own security labels and classification information intrinsically. Documents essentially serve themselves by presenting their security labels to gateways for access control decisions, eliminating the need for complex external verification systems and simplifying the overall architecture.
3Reliability
If digital signing is applied to bind document to security label, then security trust is enhanced, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing digital signing operations during document creation or initial processing, rather than at each access point. The trusted security label is digitally signed once and bound to the document, creating a persistent trust relationship that can be verified quickly at gateways without repeated time-consuming signing operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by applying digital signatures selectively only to the security label portion of the document, rather than signing the entire document. This partial signing approach provides sufficient security trust for access control decisions while significantly reducing the computational overhead and processing time compared to full document signing.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for generating trusted security labels in electronic documents is disclosed. The method comprises determining parts of the document to be cryptographically bound to the security label and hashing them; hashing the security label; specifying any necessary policies as signable signature properties; and digitally signing the collection of these items. The resulting security label is trusted, because it is digitally signed and its digital signature also covers the parts of the document to be protected, thus allowing any tampering of the security label or the covered parts of the document to be detectable. A corresponding system for generating trusted security labels is also provided.