Automatic folder access management
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for controlling data access by users of a file system, comprising the steps of:
- receiving a request for a change in user access rights of one of said users to a designated storage element of said file system, wherein said file system comprises storage elements, respective first portions of said storage elements being owned by data owners that control said user access rights thereto, and a user repository in said file system includes groups of said users, wherein said groups have common access rights to respective second portions of said storage elements;
identifying one of said groups, wherein said common access rights of said identified group include said designated storage element;
obtaining a consent to said request from said data owner of said designated storage element; and
responsively to said consent adjusting a membership of said one user in said identified group to conform said user access rights of said one user to said designated storage element to said request.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems are provided for decentralizing user data access rights control activities in networked organizations having diverse access control models and file server protocols. A folder management application enables end users of the file system to make requests for access to storage elements, either individually, or by becoming members of a user group having group access privileges. Responsibility for dealing with such requests is distributed to respective group owners and data owners, who may delegate responsibility to authorizers. The application may also consider automatically generated proposals for changes to access privileges. An automatic system continually monitors and analyzes access behavior by users who have been pre-classified into groups having common data access privileges. As the organizational structure changes, these groups are adaptively changed both in composition and in data access rights.
130 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for controlling data access by users of a file system, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request for a change in user access rights of one of said users to a designated storage element of said file system, wherein said file system comprises storage elements, respective first portions of said storage elements being owned by data owners that control said user access rights thereto, and a user repository in said file system includes groups of said users, wherein said groups have common access rights to respective second portions of said storage elements; identifying one of said groups, wherein said common access rights of said identified group include said designated storage element; obtaining a consent to said request from said data owner of said designated storage element; and responsively to said consent adjusting a membership of said one user in said identified group to conform said user access rights of said one user to said designated storage element to said request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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- 10. A computer software product for controlling data access by users of a file system, including a tangible computer-readable medium in which computer program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a computer, cause the computer to receive a request for a change in user access rights of one of said users to a designated storage element of said file system, wherein said file system comprises storage elements, respective first portions of said storage elements being owned by data owners that control said user access rights thereto, and a user repository in said file system includes groups of said users, wherein said groups have common access rights to respective second portions of said storage elements, said computer being caused by said instructions to identify one of said groups, wherein said common access rights of said identified group include said designated storage element, obtain a consent to said request from said data owner of said designated storage element, and responsively to said consent adjust a membership of said one user in said identified group to thereby conform said user access rights of said one user to said designated storage element to said request.
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15. A data processing apparatus for controlling data access by users of a file system, comprising:
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a processor; and a memory accessible to said processor having instructions resident therein, said processor operative by executing said instructions to receive a request for a change in user access rights of one of said users to a designated storage element of said file system, wherein said file system comprises storage elements, respective first portions of said storage elements being owned by data owners that control said user access rights thereto, and a user repository in said file system includes groups of said users, wherein said groups have common access rights to respective second portions of said storage elements, identify one of said groups, wherein said common access rights of said identified group include said designated storage element, obtain a consent to said request from said data owner of said designated storage element and responsively to said consent adjust a membership of said one user in said identified group to thereby conform said user access rights of said one user to said designated storage element to said request. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification