Shielding a Sensitive File

• US 20100138656A1
• Filed: 11/23/2009
• Published: 06/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Noda, Shinsuke, Chinen, Mitsuru
• Granted Patent: US 8,245,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/577 Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security
• 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 9/0897 involving additional devices, e.g. trusted platform module [TPM], smartcard or USB
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide for shielding a sensitive file on a computer that can connect to a server computer via a network. The computer may determine whether it complies with security compliance requirements sent from another computer or not in response to a read instruction or a write instruction of the sensitive file by application software, and encrypt the sensitive file with an encryption key.

Claims

1. An apparatus for shielding a sensitive file that can connect to a server computer via a network, comprising:

an encryption-decryption unit for encrypting the sensitive file with an encryption key and decrypting the encrypted sensitive file with a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key, wherein an encryption key ID is embedded in the encrypted sensitive file, and the encryption key and the decryption key correspond to the encryption key ID;

an encryption key storing unit for storing the encryption key;

a decryption key storing unit for storing the decryption key;

a compliance requirements storing unit that stores security compliance requirements of the apparatus, wherein the security compliance requirements are sent from the server computer; and

a security requirements monitoring unit for determining whether the apparatus complies with the security compliance requirements or not in response to a read instruction or a write instruction of the sensitive file by application software, wherein

when the apparatus complies with the security compliance requirements, said security requirements monitoring unit passes the encryption key and the encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key from said encryption key storing unit to said encryption-decryption unit in response to the write instruction, or

passes the decryption key corresponding to the encryption key ID embedded in the encrypted sensitive file from said decryption key storing unit to said encryption-decryption unit in response to the read instruction.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit

communicates with the server computer at a predetermined time,

requests the server computer to verify user information of the apparatus and a version of the security compliance requirements, and

when the user information is successfully verified on the server computer and the version of the apparatus matches the latest version of the security compliance requirements stored in the server computer, receives the encryption key and the decryption key corresponding to the latest version of the security compliance requirements and the encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key and the decryption key from the server computer.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit locks said encryption key storing unit and said decryption key storing unit when the apparatus is connected to the network but has not reached the server computer.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit unlocks said encryption key storing unit and said decryption key storing unit when the apparatus is disconnected from the network.

5. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit requests the server computer to verify user information of the apparatus and the version of the security compliance requirements, and

unlocks said encryption key storing unit and said decryption key storing unit when the user information and the version are successfully verified.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit deletes the encryption key stored in said encryption key storing unit and the decryption key stored in said decryption key storing unit when the apparatus does not comply with the security compliance requirements.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit deletes the encryption key stored in said encryption key storing unit and the decryption key stored in said decryption key storing unit when the security compliance requirements are not stored in said compliance requirements storing unit.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit deletes the encryption key stored in said encryption key storing unit and the decryption key stored in said decryption key storing unit in response to reception of a warning from security software.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit sends an instruction to request the decryption key, the user information, and the encryption key ID corresponding to the decryption key to the server computer when the decryption key is not in said decryption key storing unit, and in response to the reception of the decryption key corresponding to the encryption key ID from the server computer, passes the received decryption key to said encryption-decryption unit.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit notifies said encryption-decryption unit that the encryption key cannot be obtained when the encryption key is not in said encryption key storing unit.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said security requirements monitoring unit determines whether the apparatus complies with the security compliance requirements or not by a predetermined cycle.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said encryption-decryption unit

obtains the encryption key ID embedded in the sensitive file to be decrypted from the sensitive file;

passes the encryption key ID to said security requirements monitoring unit; and

decrypts the encrypted sensitive file with the decryption key passed from said security requirements monitoring unit.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said encryption-decryption unit

encrypts the sensitive file with the encryption key passed from said security requirements monitoring unit;

and

embeds the encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key in the encrypted sensitive file.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein compliance of the security compliance requirements includes at least one of:

no threat being reported by the security software;

a boot password for the apparatus being set; and

an idle time screen lock being set.

15. A server computer that can connect to the apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

an access authority storing unit that stores access authority information of a user of the apparatus;

a server side compliance requirements storing unit that stores security compliance requirements to be sent to the apparatus;

an encryption key-decryption key storing unit that stores a record including an encryption key, a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key, an encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key and the decryption key, and a version of security compliance requirements; and

a security verifying unit that matches user information sent from the apparatus with access authority information stored in said access authority storing unit in response to reception of a request to verify the user information from the apparatus, and if the two kinds of information match, compares the version of the security compliance requirements sent from the apparatus with the latest version that is stored in said security requirements storing unit.

16. The server computer according to claim 15, wherein said encryption key-decryption key creating unit adds a record including the encryption key, the decryption key corresponding to the encryption key, the encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key and the decryption key, and an updated version of the security compliance requirements to encryption key-decryption key storing unit at each time when the security compliance requirements are updated.

17. The server computer according to claim 15, wherein if the version of the security compliance requirements sent from the apparatus matches the latest version that is stored in said security compliance requirements storing unit,

said security verifying unit

sends the encryption key, the decryption key, the encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key and the decryption key which correspond to the latest version of the security compliance requirements, and the latest version of the security compliance requirements to the apparatus.

18. The server computer according to claim 15, wherein said security verifying unit matches the user information that is sent with a request to send the decryption key with the access authority that is stored in said access authority storing unit in response to reception of the request from the apparatus, and if the user information matches the access authority, sends the decryption key, and the encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key and the decryption key to the apparatus.

19. A method for shielding a sensitive file on an apparatus that can connect to a server computer via a network, comprising:

determining whether the apparatus complies with security compliance requirements sent from the server computer or not in response to a read instruction or a write instruction of the sensitive file by application software, wherein the security compliance requirements are stored in a compliance requirements storing unit;

when the security requirements are complied with,

in response to the write instruction,

executing

encrypting the sensitive file with an encryption key, wherein the encryption key is stored in an encryption key storing unit; and

embedding an encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key in the encrypted file;

or,

in response to the read instruction,

executing

decrypting the encrypted sensitive file with a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key ID embedded in the encrypted sensitive file, wherein the decryption key is stored in a decryption key storing unit.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

when the apparatus does not comply with the security compliance requirements,

when the security compliance requirements are not stored in the compliance requirements storing unit, or

when a warning is received from security software,

deleting the encryption key stored in the encryption key storing unit and the decryption key stored in the decryption key storing unit.

21. The method according to claim 19, further comprising:

sending an instruction to request the decryption key, user information, the encryption key ID corresponding to the decryption key to the server computer when the decryption key is not in the decryption key storing unit; and

in response to reception of the decryption key corresponding to the encryption key ID from the server computer, decrypting the encrypted sensitive file with the received decryption key.

22. A method for shielding a sensitive file on an apparatus that can connect to a server computer via a network, comprising:

determining whether the apparatus complies with security compliance requirements sent from the server computer or not in response to a read instruction or a write instruction of the sensitive file by application software, wherein the security compliance requirements are stored in a compliance requirements storing unit;

when the apparatus complies with the security compliance requirements,

in response to the write instruction,

executing

encrypting the sensitive file with an encryption key, wherein the encryption key is stored in an encryption key storing unit; and

embedding an encryption key ID corresponding to the encryption key in the encrypted file;

or,

in response to the read instruction,

executing

decrypting the encrypted sensitive file with a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key ID embedded in the encrypted sensitive file, wherein the decryption key is stored in a decryption key storing unit, and

when the apparatus does not comply with the security compliance requirements,

executing

deleting the encryption key stored in the encryption key storing unit and the decryption key stored in the decryption key storing unit; and

requesting the server computer to send the security compliance requirements.