CUSTOMIZED MESSAGES FOR PASSWORD/PASSCODE CHANGE EVENTS

• US 20080282185A1
• Filed: 05/11/2007
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: VILA, ROBERTO, BLASS, OSCAR J., PASTRANA, RODRIGO J., COMMARFORD, PATRICK
• Application Number:
  US11/747,677
• Publication Number:
  US 20080282185A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/780
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/28 Restricting access to network management systems or functions, e.g. using authorisation function to access network configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0846 using time-dependent-passwords, e.g. periodically changing passwords

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method and system for notifying a user of a password/passcode change event. In the invention, a computing system can automatically detect a password/passcode change event. At least one user affected by the event can be determined. A pre-existing user defined message can be retrieved from a data store. A password/passcode change message can be automatically conveyed to the affected user. The change message can include content of the pre-existing user defined message. Further, in one embodiment, an automatically generated activity report associated with a password/passcode can be presented to either a user making a password/passcode change or as part of the conveyed change message.

Claims

1. A method for notifying a user of a password/passcode change event comprising:

a computing system automatically detecting a password/passcode change event;

determining at least one user affected by the password/passcode change event;

retrieving a pre-existing user defined message from a data store; and

automatically conveying a change message that includes the pre-existing user defined message to the determined user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one user comprises a plurality of users, wherein each of the plurality of users is associated with a different user defined message, said method further comprising:

automatically conveying a change message to each of the plurality of users, wherein each change message includes a user defined message associated with the user to which the change message was conveyed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the change message is at least one of an email message, a postal message, a telephone message, and a facsimile message.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the conveying step conveys the change message to a user defined delivery address.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the conveying step conveys the change message using a user defined delivery mechanism selected from one of email, postal mail, a telephone communication, and a facsimile message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user defined message specifies a series of actions to be taken by the user responsive to the password/passcode change event.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the change message include a new password/passcode.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the change message includes an activity report, wherein said activity report is a system generated report that provides information regarding recent usages of a password/passcode associated with the password/passcode change event.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing an automated interface through which a user is able to enter a user defined message;

receiving a user defined message for a user via the automated interface;

storing the received user defined message in a manner indexed to the user in the data store, wherein the stored message is the pre-existing message.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the automated interface is a user interface able to exchange digital content over an Internet with a network element.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the automated interface is a Web interface accessible via a Web browser.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the automated interface is a voice user interface of an interactive voice response system.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps of claim 1 are performed by at least one machine in accordance with at least one computer program stored in a computer readable media, said computer programming having a plurality of code sections that are executable by the at least one machine.

14. A security system comprising:

a notification configuration interface configured to permit a set of users to enter user specific messages, which are to be automatically presented to each of the users responsive to an occurrence of a password/passcode change event;

a notification data store configured to store and maintain user specific messages entered via the notification configuration interface; and

a notification engine configured to automatically detect a password change event, to determine a set of affected users, and to convey password change notices to the set of affected users, where each of the password change notices includes a user specific message provided by an associated user.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the notification configuration interface is a user interface able to exchange digital content over an Internet with a network element communicatively linked to the security system.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the notification configuration interface is at least one of a Web interface renderable within a standard Web browser and voice user interface of an interactive voice response system.

17. The system of claim 14, wherein the notification engine delivers the change notices to a user established delivery address using a user defined delivery mechanism selected from one of email, postal mail, a telephone communication, and a facsimile message.

18. The security system of claim 14, further comprising:

an activity monitor configured to automatically generate activity reports that provide information regarding recent usages of a password/passcode associated with the password/passcode change event.

19. The security system of claim 18, wherein the activity monitor is configured to present automatically generated activity reports to an authorized user before a password/passcode is changed.

20. The security system of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of the change notices include activity reports automatically generated by the activity monitor.