MICRO AND MACRO TRUST IN A DECENTRALIZED ENVIRONMENT

• US 20090133096A1
• Filed: 11/20/2007
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Li, Hong, Wouhaybi, Rita H., Vicente, John
• Granted Patent: US 8,250,639 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2113 Multi-level security, e.g. mandatory access control
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2145 Inheriting rights or properties, e.g., propagation of permissions or restrictions within a hierarchy
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed. In one embodiment the method includes calculating a trust level of a first entity. The first entity has a plurality of components. Each component in the first entity has at least the trust level of the first entity.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

calculating a trust level of a first entity, the first entity comprising a plurality of components, wherein each component of the plurality of components has at least a minimum requisite trust level.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calculating a trust level of an additional component external to the first entity;

integrating the additional component into the first entity if the trust level of the additional component is at least equal to a minimum trust level required for integration into the first entity.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein calculating the trust level of the first entity further comprises

retrieving internal trust information regarding the first entity from at least one of the plurality of components in the first entity;

retrieving external trust information regarding the first entity from one or more components external to the first entity; and

compiling the internal and external trust information utilized in the trust calculation of the first entity.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

calculating an individual trust level of a single component within the first entity, wherein the individual trust level of the single component is higher than the trust level of the first entity;

maintaining the individual trust level of the single component within the first entity and the trust level of the first entity separately.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

combining the first entity with a second entity, the second entity comprising a plurality of additional components, into a third entity;

calculating the trust level of the second entity, wherein the trust level of each component of the plurality of components in the second entity has at least the trust level of the second entity;

calculating the trust level of the third entity, wherein each of the components of the third entity has at least the trust level of the lower of the trust level of the first entity and the trust level of the second entity.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

recalculating the trust level of at least one of the plurality of components comprising the first entity as the result of an event;

determining that at least one of the one or more recalculated trust levels has changed from the current trust level of the first entity; and

notifying at least one additional component not within the first entity of the change in at least one of the one or more recalculated trust levels of the one or more components comprising the first entity.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

removing at least one of the one or more components with a recalculated trust level if the recalculated trust level decreases from the current trust level of the first entity; and

recalculating the trust level of the first entity without the one or more removed components.

8. A system, comprising:

a first entity, wherein the first entity includes

a plurality of first entity components, wherein each first entity component of the plurality of second entity components has at least the trust level of the first entity; and

a first entity hub component, wherein the first entity hub component is one of the plurality of first entity components, the first entity hub component to provide trust level communication between one or more of the plurality of first entity components in addition to the first entity hub component, and a second entity; and

the second entity, wherein the second entity includes a plurality of second entity components, each second entity component of the plurality of second entity components has at least the trust level of the second entity.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of components within the first entity comprises a first entity super component, the first entity super component operable to

provide the trust level of at least one of the plurality of first entity components to at least one other of the plurality of first entity components;

and

provide the trust level of at least one of the plurality of first entity components to at least one second entity component.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the first entity super component is further operable to determine whether a first component external to the first entity has a requisite minimum trust level to be integrated into the first entity.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first entity super component is further operable to determine whether a given first entity component has lost one or more sufficient trust levels to be expelled from the first entity.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of first entity components comprise a decentralized distributed system.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein two or more of the plurality of first entity components are required to determine whether a first component external to the first entity has at least a minimum trust level required to be integrated into the first entity.