VIEW MECHANISM FOR DATA SECURITY, PRIVACY AND UTILIZATION

• US 20100241641A1
• Filed: 03/20/2009
• Published: 09/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Wong, Daniel M., Byun, Ji-Won, Chui, Chi Ching
• Granted Patent: US 8,239,396 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/757
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24565 Triggers; Constraints
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices

Abstract

A machine-implemented method and machine-readable media for transforming sensitive data in a database is provided. Sensitive data in the database are transformed based on a query context of a query. The query may also be transformed. The transformed query may be applied against the transformed sensitive data to construct a query result. The query result with the transformed sensitive data represents a lenticular view. The lenticular view represents a modified form of the sensitive data that an end-user is allowed access to.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of controlling access to data in a database, comprising:

registering a plurality of transformation techniques for a column of a table in said database;

computing a query, said query referencing said column;

wherein computing said query comprises;

selecting a transformation technique from said plurality of transformation techniques; and

based on the selected transformation technique, transforming values in said column to generate transformed values to use as the values in said column in lieu of the actual values stored in said column.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein said column stores a value from a first value domain, wherein each transformation technique of said plurality of transformation techniques transforms data to a second value domain different than said first value domain, wherein the method further includes:

rewriting said query to reflect the second value domain of said selected transformation technique.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2,

wherein said query contains a predicate referring to said column and to a value of said first value domain,

wherein the method further includes rewriting said predicate to refer to a value from said second value domain of said selected transformation technique.

4. The computer-implement method of claim 1, wherein selecting a transformation technique is based on a query context associated with said query.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein one or more query context information is associated with each transformation technique of said plurality of transformation techniques using rules;

wherein said rules are registered as part of registering said plurality of transformation techniques.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein a query result includes more data than said query result would have included if the values in said column are not transformed.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein selecting a transformation technique is performed by a kernel of a database server.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein said query context information includes at least one of the identity of the end-user, the role of said end-user, and session attributes.

9. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 1.

10. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 2.

11. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 3.

12. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 4.

13. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 5.

14. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 6.

15. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 7.

16. A volatile or non-volatile medium storing one or more sequences of instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to perform the method recited in claim 8.