Methods and systems for providing access control to secured data

• US 10,229,279 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2017
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Garcia, Denis Jacques Paul, Ouye, Michael Michio, Rossmann, Alain, Crocker, Steven Toye, Gilbertson, Eric, Huang, Weiqing, Humpich, Serge, Vainstein, Klimenty, Ryan, Nicholas Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Chai, Longbit
• Application Number:
  US15/402,883
• Publication Number:
  US 20170213045A1
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• Field of Search: 713165
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2107 File encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2113 Multi-level security, e.g. mandatory access control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0891 Revocation or update of secret information, e.g. encryption key update or rekeying
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0894 Escrow, recovery or storing of secret information, e.g. secret key escrow or cryptographic key storage

Abstract

In a system for providing access control management to electronic data, techniques to secure the electronic data and keep the electronic data secured at all times are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a secured file or secured document includes two parts: an attachment, referred to as a header, and an encrypted document or data portion. The header includes security information that points to or includes the access rules and a file key. The access rules facilitate restrictive access to the secured document and essentially determine who/when/how/where the secured document can be accessed. The file key is used to encrypt/decrypt the encrypted data portion. Only those who have the proper access privileges are permitted to retrieve the file key to encrypt/decrypt the encrypted data portion.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a server device, whether an old key associated with a user should be updated;

generating, by the server device, based on determining that the old key should be updated, a new key using a cipher to replace the old key;

encrypting the new key using credential information of the user;

receiving a request from the user to access a secured document that is secured using the old key;

decrypting, by the server device, at least a portion of the secured document using the old key in response to receiving the request;

encrypting, by the server device, the at least a portion of the secured document using the new key in response to receiving the request; and

upon authorizing the user to access the new key at the server, transmitting, by the server device, the new key to a client device of the user, wherein the new key enables the user to access the requested secured document.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user is a human, a group of human users, an application, a process, a server, a client, a software agent, a group of software agents, a software application, a database query, devices, or executing computer processes that submit or spawn requests for electronic data and can be associated with a user key.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises:

automatically determining whether the old key should be updated based on predetermined criteria.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises:

determining whether the old key should be updated based on a second request by the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises:

determining whether the old key should be updated based on a key update schedule.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining further comprises:

determining that the old key should be updated when the old key has expired or been in use for a predetermined period of time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting further comprises:

releasing the new key for download by the user to the client device of the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting further comprises:

storing the new key at a server; and

authorizing the user to access the new key at the server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein old key and the new key are group keys.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user is a group of users.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon executable program instructions, execution of which by a computing device causes the computing device to perform operations comprising:

determining, by a server device, whether an old key associated with a user should be updated;

generating, by the server device, based on determining that the old should be updated, a new key using a cipher to replace the old key;

encrypting the new key using credential information of the user;

subsequently receiving a request from the user to access a secured document that is secured using the old key;

decrypting, by the server device, at least a portion of the secured document using the old key in response to receiving the request;

encrypting, by the server device, the at least a portion of the secured document using the new key in response to receiving the request; and

upon authorizing the user to access the new key at the server, transmitting, by the server device, the new key to a client device of the user, wherein the new key enables the user to access the requested secured document.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the user is a human, a group of human users, an application, a process, a server, a client, a software agent, a group of software agents, a software application, a database query, devices, or executing computer processes that submit or spawn requests for electronic data and can be associated with a user key.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein to determine whether an old key associated with a user should be updated the operations further comprise:

automatically determining whether the old key should be updated based on predetermined criteria.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein to determine whether an old key associated with a user should be updated the operations further comprise:

determining whether the old key should be updated based on a second request by the user.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein to determine whether an old key associated with a user should be updated the operations further comprise:

determining whether the old key should be updated based on a key update schedule.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein to determine whether an old key associated with a user should be updated the operations further comprise:

determining that the old key should be updated when the old key has expired or been in use for a predetermined period of time.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein to transmit the operations further comprise:

releasing the new key for download by the user to the client device of the user.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein to transmit the operations further comprise:

storing the new key at a server; and

authorizing the user to access the new key at the server.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein old key and the new key are group keys.

20. A system, comprising:

a server device;

a key manager, implemented on the server device, configured to;

determine whether an old key associated with a user should be updated;

generate, based on determining that the old key should be updated, a new key using a cipher to replace the old key;

encrypt the new key using credential information of the user;

subsequently receive a request from the user to access a secured document that is secured using the old key;

decrypt at least a portion of the secured document using the old key in response to receiving the request;

encrypt the at least a portion of the secured document using the new key in response to receiving the request; and

upon the server device authorizing the user to access the new key at the server, transmit the new key to a client device of the user, wherein the new key enables the user to access the requested secured document.