Method and System for Accessing Network Feed Entries

• US 20110258679A1
• Filed: 04/15/2010
• Published: 10/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bonanno, James Michael, Kaplinger, Todd, Tarter, Aaron J., Ims, Steven D.
• Application Number:
  US12/760,607
• Publication Number:
  US 20110258679A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]

Abstract

A security mechanism for an application level protocol used to publish and edit web resources is extended to enable enforcement of a security policy on feed entries. The security mechanism ensures that only a certain class of privileged users can perform create, read, update and/or delete (CRUD) actions on feed entries, and it provides a uniform methodology for determining security access controls for resources. The techniques described herein enable selectively display of feed entries while at the same time maintaining a single document source for the privileged users.

Claims

1. A method for enforcing a security policy on a feed entry, comprising:

configuring a URI-based security rule that identifies a feed, user context information, and an authentication type;

in response to receiving a URL requesting return of the feed, filtering the URL against the URI-based security rule to determine access rights to the feed; and

returning a response based on the access rights so determined.

2. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the response is a feed entry associated with an entity that has been previously authenticated according to the authentication type.

3. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the access rights comprise a set of actions on a feed entry within the feed.

4. The method as described in claim 3 wherein the actions include a read.

5. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the user context information is a user identity.

6. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the user context information is a group identity.

7. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the response is a markup language document.

8. The method as described in claim 7 wherein the markup language document is XML and the URL is communicated via HTTP.

9. The method as described in claim 8 wherein the markup language document is an Atom document.

10. A method for enforcing a security policy on a feed, comprising:

filtering a URL against a URI-based security rule for a user credential indicating permission to perform one of a set of actions on a feed entry within the feed; and

returning a response to the URL based on the filtering.

11. The method as described in claim 10 wherein the response consists essentially of a given feed entry in the feed.

12. The method as described in claim 10 wherein the user credential is included in a header.

13. Apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

computer memory holding computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform a method for enforcing a security policy on a feed entry, the method comprising;

configuring a URI-based security rule that identifies a feed, user context information, and an authentication type;

in response to receiving a URL requesting return of the feed, filtering the URL against the URI-based security rule to determine access rights to the feed; and

returning a response based on the access rights so determined.

14. The apparatus as described in claim 13 wherein the response is a feed entry associated with an entity that has been authenticated according to the authentication type.

15. The apparatus as described in claim 13 wherein the access rights comprise a set of actions on a feed entry within the feed.

16. The apparatus as described in claim 15 wherein the actions include a read.

17. The apparatus as described in claim 13 wherein the user context information is a user identity or a group identity.

18. A computer program product in a computer readable medium for use in a data processing system for enforcing a security policy on a feed entry, the computer program product holding computer program instructions which, when executed by the data processing system perform a method, comprising:

filtering a URL against a URI-based security rule for a user credential indicating permission to perform one of a set of actions on a feed entry within the feed; and

returning a response to the URL based on the filtering.

19. The computer program product as described in claim 18 wherein the set of actions include a read.

20. The computer program product as described in claim 18 wherein the user credential is a group identity or a user identity.

21. The computer program product as described in claim 18 wherein the response consists essentially of a given feed entry in the feed.

22. The computer program product as described in claim 18, wherein the computer program instructions are stored in the computer readable medium in the data processing system, wherein the computer program instructions were downloaded over a network from a remote data processing system.

23. The computer program product as described in claim 18, wherein the computer program instructions are stored in the computer readable medium in the data processing system, wherein the computer program instructions are downloaded over a network to a remote data processing system for use in a computer readable medium with the remote system.