System and method for protecting a security profile of a computer system

• US 20020095591A1
• Filed: 01/12/2001
• Published: 07/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus LLC (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Daigle, Brian K., Daniell, William T., Sevounts, Gary
• Granted Patent: US 7,065,644 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/55 Detecting local intrusion or implementing counter-measures

Abstract

A security application protects a security profile of a computer system by detecting security settings of the computer system have changed. In this regard, the security application activates the computer system'"'"'s security profile by controlling the security settings of the computer system based on user inputs. The security application then periodically monitors the security settings to ensure that none of the settings have changed since activation. If any of the security settings have changed, the security application automatically modifies the security settings in order to return the changed settings to their activation state. The security application then transmits a message to one or more users to alert the users of the detected change in the security settings.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

memory, and

a security application configured display a list of security rules to a user and to enable ones of said security rules based on user inputs, said security application configured to lock down resources of said computer system by modifying security settings of said computer system based on which of said security rules are enabled when an activation request is received by said computer system, said security application configured to store, in said memory, data indicative of said modified security settings, said security application configured to perform comparisons between said data and said security settings and to determine when one of said security settings has changed from a first value to another value based on one of said comparisons, said security application further configured to change said one security setting to said first value in response to said one comparison.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said security application is further configured to transmit a message indicating that said one security setting has changed in response to said one comparison.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said security application is further configured to store said data in response to said activation request.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said security application is further configured to periodically compare each of said security settings to said data.

5. A system for locking down resources of computer systems, comprising

means for receiving a request for activating a security profile;

means for modifying security settings of a computer system in response to said request;

means for storing data indicative of said modified security settings;

means for automatically determining when one of said security settings has changed from a first value to another value by periodically comparing said data to said security settings; and

means for automatically changing said one security setting to said first value in response to a determination by said determining means that said one security setting has changed.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said system further comprises:

means for automatically transmitting, in response to said determination, a message indicating that said one setting has changed.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein said storing means is configured to store said data in response to said request.

8. A method for locking down resources of computer systems, comprising the steps of:

receiving a request for activating a security profile;

modifying security settings of a computer system in response to said request;

storing data indicative of said security settings, as modified by said modifying step;

automatically determining when one of said security settings has changed from a first value to another value by periodically comparing said data to said security settings; and

automatically changing said one security setting to said first value in response to a determination in said determining step that said one security setting has changed.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

automatically transmitting, in response to said determination, a message indicating that said one security setting has changed.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said storing step is performed in response to said request.