Method and apparatus for providing xml document encryption

• US 20040078577A1
• Filed: 10/27/2003
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agency For Science Technology and Research
• Original Assignee: Agency For Science Technology and Research
• Inventors: Feng, Peirong, Bao, Feng, Deng, Huijie Robert
• Application Number:
  US10/433,586
• Publication Number:
  US 20040078577A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• 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 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of information security, and more specifically to a mechanism that provides XML with a relative level of security and method of access control on XML documents. The mechanism is applicable to all well-formed XML documents. The secure XML document generated by using this technology keeps the well-formedness of the source document. The invention is directed to providing encryption at the element level of the document.

Claims

1. A method of providing XML document security by way of encryption, the encryption being in accordance with any symmetric key cryptosystem, the document having contents defined by a plurality of levels, namely at least an entity level, the entity level having at least one element level including element(s), the method including the step of:

providing the encryption at the element level.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, including the further step of:

providing the encryption to selected element(s).

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, including the further step of:

providing the encryption in accordance with a predetermined schema to element(s).

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, in which an element is encrypted with its children elements as one block.

5. A method as claimed in any one of claims 1, wherein each element is encrypted using a key value.

6. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the key value is a random key value.

7. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the key value is encrypted using the value of its parent element.

8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the key value of a root element is also protected by a document key.

9. A method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the key value is encrypted using a document key.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein an indication is given whether there are any elements with encrypted contents in the document.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein an indication is given of the encryption algorithm and encryption mode used in the securing the XML document.

12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein an indication is given of the key management method used in the secure XML document.

13. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein an indication is given of whether the content of an element is encrypted, encrypted with its children as one block, or is unchanged.

14. A method as claimed in claim 10, in which the indication is provided by way of a namespace declaration to specify field(s) of attributes used in the document.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein information about the key values for elements is stored.

16. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the well-formedness of the source document is substantially kept in tact.

17. A method of protecting copyright of electronic documents using a method as claimed in claim 1.

32. A system adapted to use a method as claimed in claim 1 to secure XML documents.

34. An XML document encrypted in accordance with the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 17.

37. A computer program product as claimed in claim 36, wherein the computer readable code is further adapted to perform the method as claimed in claim 2.

18. A system adapted to provide XML document security by way of encryption, the document having contents defined by a plurality of levels, namely at least an entity level, the entity level having at least one element level including element(s), the system including:

encryption means adapted to provide encryption with any symmetric key cryptosystem, and wherein the encryption means provides encryption at the element level.

19. A system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the encryption means provides encryption to selected element(s).

20. A system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the encryption means provides encryption in accordance with a predetermined schema to element(s).

21. A method as claimed in claim 18, 19 or 20, in which the encryption means encrypts an element is encrypted with its children elements as one block.

22. A system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the encryption means encrypts each element using a key value.

23. A system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the key value is a random key value.

24. A system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the key value is encrypted using the value of its parent element.

25. A system as claimed in claim 24, wherein the key value of a root element is also protected by a document key.

26. A system as claimed in claim 22, wherein the key value is encrypted using a document key.

27. A system as claimed in claim 18, further including indicator means for indicating whether there are any elements with encrypted contents in the document.

28. A system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the indicator means provides an indication of the encryption algorithm and encryption mode used in the securing the XML document.

29. A system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the indicator means provides an indication of the key management method used in the secure XML document.

30. A system as claimed in claim 18, wherein the indicator means provides an indication of whether the content of an element is encrypted, encrypted with its children as one block, or is unchanged.

31. A system as claimed in claim 18, further including storage means for storing information about the key values of elements.

33. A system as claimed in claim 18, further including access control means providing control of access to the document.

35. An XML document encrypted in accordance with the system as claimed in claim 18.

36. A computer program product including:

a computer usable medium having computer readable program code and computer readable system code embodied on said medium for providing XML document security by way of encryption, within a data processing system, the encryption being in accordance with any symmetric key cryptosystem, the document having contents defined by a plurality of levels, namely at least an entity level, the entity level having at least one element level including element(s), said computer program product further including;

computer readable code within said computer usable medium for providing the encryption at the element level.