Transient transaction server

• US 10,715,538 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2017
• Issued: 07/14/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stratus Digital Systems
• Original Assignee: Stratus Digital Systems
• Inventors: Torkelson, Cary, Chanin, Kenneth Ari, Sullivan, Patrick J., Geankoplis, Brad
• Primary Examiner(s): Schmidt, Kari L
• Application Number:
  US15/720,932
• Publication Number:
  US 20180103051A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0218 Distributed architectures, e.g. distributed firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1425 Traffic logging, e.g. anomaly detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1491 using deception as countermeasure, e.g. honeypots, honeynets, decoys or entrapment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/143 Termination or inactivation of sessions, e.g. event-controlled end of session

Abstract

A networked computer system enables one or more transactions to be executed securely. An initiator sends a service request to a control server. The control server creates or selects an existing transaction server for the sole purpose of executing the transaction requested by the service request. If the transaction server is pre-existing, it may be in an inaccessible state and then be made accessible in response to receiving the service request. The control server informs the initiator of the created transaction server. The initiator (and possibly one or more other authorized participants) engages in the transaction with the transaction server, independently of the control server. The transaction server terminates, such as upon completion of the transaction, the expiration of a timeout period, or satisfaction of another server termination criterion. The use of such a one-time transaction server increases security, privacy, and anonymity.

Claims

1. A method performed by at least one computer processor executing computer program instructions tangibly stored on at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, the method comprising:

(A) receiving, over a network at a control server, from an initiator, a request to execute a transaction, wherein the request includes a list specifying at least one authorized participant;

(B) before receiving the request, creating a transaction server and updating at least one security policy of the transaction server to make the transaction server unaddressable, thereby prohibiting the control server and the initiator from seeing the transaction server on the network and from sending network traffic to the transaction server;

(C) in response to receiving the request, updating the at least one security policy of the transaction server to allow network traffic to be sent to and from the transaction server only by the at least one authorized participant;

(D) in response to receiving the request, providing the initiator with information about the transaction server, including an address of the transaction server;

(E) using the transaction server to execute the transaction, with the at least one authorized participant over the network, independently of the control server, comprising;

(E) (1) allowing only the at least one authorized participant to participate in the transaction; and

(F) in response to determining that the transaction satisfies a termination criterion, terminating the transaction server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein (D) comprises transmitting a message, containing the information about the transaction server, to the initiator over a network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the transaction satisfies a termination criterion comprises determining that the transaction has completed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the transaction satisfies a termination criterion comprises determining that the transaction satisfies an anomalous condition.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein using the transaction server to execute the transaction independently of the control server comprises executing the transaction without communicating with the control server.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the control server has a first IP address and the transaction server has a second IP address, wherein the first IP address differs from the second IP address.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein (B) comprises identifying a type of the transaction and creating the transaction server to include means for executing a transaction of the identified type.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein (B) comprises identifying a property specified by the request and creating the transaction server to have the identified property.

9. A system comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium, the at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer program instructions executable by at least one computer processor to execute a method, the method comprising:

(A) receiving, over a network at a control server, from an initiator, a request to execute a transaction, wherein the request includes a list specifying at least one authorized participant;

(B) before receiving the request, creating a transaction server and updating at least one security policy of the transaction server to make the transaction server unaddressable, thereby prohibiting the control server and the initiator from seeing the transaction server on the network and from sending network traffic to the transaction server;

(C) in response to receiving the request, updating the at least one security policy of the transaction server to allow network traffic to be sent to and from the transaction server only by the at least one authorized participant;

(D) in response to receiving the request, providing the initiator with information about the transaction server, including an address of the transaction server;

(E) using the transaction server to execute the transaction, with the at least one authorized participant over the network, independently of the control server, comprising;

(E) (1) allowing only the at least one authorized participant to participate in the transaction; and

(F) in response to determining that the transaction satisfies a termination criterion, terminating the transaction server.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein (D) comprises transmitting a message, containing the information about the transaction server, to the initiator over a network.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein determining that the transaction satisfies a termination criterion comprises determining that the transaction has completed.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein determining that the transaction satisfies a termination criterion comprises determining that the transaction has completed.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein using the transaction server to execute the transaction independently of the control server comprises executing the transaction without communicating with the control server.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the control server has a first IP address and the transaction server has a second IP address, wherein the first IP address differs from the second IP address.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein (B) comprises identifying a type of the transaction and creating the transaction server to include means for executing a transaction of the identified type.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein (B) comprises identifying a property specified by the request and creating the transaction server to have the identified property.