Searching and replacing credentials in a disparate credential store environment

• US 20090064290A1
• Filed: 08/31/2007
• Published: 03/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Ford, Karl E., Norman, James M., Mashayekhi, Cameron
• Granted Patent: US 8,863,246 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/41 where a single sign-on provides access to a plurality of computers
• 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: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are described for searching and replacing user credentials in a multiple disparate credential store environment. Upon authentication of a user to change credentials, credential information of multiple disparate credential stores is searched. Upon population of search results, users indicate which of the credentials they desire to change and results are committed upon affirmative execution in a user interface dialog. In this manner, users locate their credential information, from whatever store, and change it in quantity or singularly from a single point of control. They can also fully understand how many passwords, secrets, keys, etc., they have over the many disparate stores available to them and affirmatively control their relationship to other credential information. Reversion of credential information to an earlier time is still another feature as is retrofitting existing SSO services. Computer program products and computing network interaction are also disclosed.

Claims

1. In a computing system environment, a method of searching and replacing user credentials in an environment of multiple disparate credential stores, comprising:

authenticating an authority of a user to change credential information;

if authenticated, searching for the credential information of at least two of said multiple disparate credential stores;

receiving the requested credential information through a common interface and in a common format; and

replacing at least one of the credential information from the at least two multiple disparate credential stores with a new credential information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the replacing further includes making the credential information for the at least two of said multiple disparate credential stores a same value.

3. The method of claim 1, further including reverting the new credential information back to an original value.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the authenticating further includes launching a credential store utility providing the common interface for the common format.

5. The method of claim 4, further including retrofitting an existing single-sign-on service with the credential store utility.

6. The method of claim 1, further including establishing a policy for when the replacing can occur.

7. The method of claim 1, further including replacing all the credential information of each said multiple disparate credential stores in a single replacement step.

8. The method of claim 1, further including indicating no-synchronizing of the credential information.

9. In a computing system environment, a method of searching and replacing user credentials in an environment of multiple disparate credential stores, comprising:

searching for the credential information for at least two of said multiple disparate credential stores;

receiving the requested credential information; and

at a same time, replacing the credential information from the at least two multiple disparate credential stores with a new credential information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the receiving the requested credential information further includes receiving through a common interface and in a common format.

11. The method of claim 9, further including authenticating an authority of a user for the replacing.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the replacing the credential information from the at least two multiple disparate credential stores with the new credential information occurs upon a single activation in a user-interface dialog.

13. The method of claim 9, further including providing a synchronizing engine to interface with a single-sign-on service, the synchronizing engine for the receiving and the replacing.

14. The method of claim 13, further including interfacing the synchronizing engine and the single-sign-on service with a layer intermediate the multiple disparate credential stores.

15. A computer program product available as a download or on a computer readable medium having executable instructions for searching and replacing user credentials in a computing environment of multiple disparate credential stores, comprising:

a first component for requesting and receiving credential information and, thereafter, updated credential information for at least two of said multiple disparate credential stores;

a second component to commonly format the credential information and the updated credential information;

a third component to receive user input indicating various values to search for in the credential information and updated credential information; and

a fourth component for replacing the credential information or updated credential information with a new credential information upon indication from a user.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein one or more of the components reside with a synchronizing engine for retrofitting with an existing single-sign-on service.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, further including a fifth component for authenticating an authority of the user for the replacing step of the fourth component.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, further including a fifth component for reverting the credential information or updated credential information back to an original value.

19. A computing system for searching and replacing user credentials in an environment of multiple disparate credential stores, comprising:

a user interface module for indicating various credentials to be searched-for and replaced;

a single-sign-on service;

a synchronizing engine interfacing with the single-sign-on service; and

at least two credential stores having dissimilar credential information, wherein the synchronizing engine is configured to search for the various credentials said indicated by a user via the user interface module and upon finding said various credentials to replace the various credentials with a new credential.

20. The computing system of claim 19, wherein the user interface module includes with a CASA manager.