METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BUSINESS WORKFLOW CYCLE OF A COMPOSITE DOCUMENT

• US 20120303968A1
• Filed: 05/26/2011
• Published: 11/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: BALINSKY, Helen, SIMSKE, Steven J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,656,181 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/189
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/14 using a plurality of keys or algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures

Abstract

A method and system for a business workflow of a composite document are described. An integrity and authenticity of an entry table are identified and verified using a verification key, a map file corresponding to entries in the table are identified using a private user decryption key, signature verification keys and access keys are read from the map file, and authenticity of the map file and the document parts are verified. Following verification, content is delivered to a user for review, update and/or modification of the content, and then is encrypted, signed, and moved along the workflow, normally to the next workflow participant. A secure distribution version of a composite document is created from a master copy by creating a serialization including at least one part of a composite document and at least one user, creating a table listing document parts and associated users, generating encryption and decryption keys, encrypting document parts, applying signatures to encrypted document parts, updating the tables with the signed parts and updating the composite document with the updated tables. A master copy is updated from a secure distribution copy after the distribution copy has completed a workflow and a workflow wrap.

Claims

1. A method for creating a secure distribution version of a composite document, comprising:

creating a serialization, where said serialization comprises at least one document part of a composite document and at least one user;

creating a table, where said table comprises at least one listing of said document part and an associated said user;

generating encryption and decryption keys;

performing encryption of at least one said document part using said encryption keys;

applying at least one signature to said at least one encrypted document part to form a signed encrypted part;

updating said tables with said signed encrypted part; and

updating said composite document with said updated tables.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said updated composite document is sent to a subsequent user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said composite document comprises a plurality of document parts.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said plurality of document parts each have unique access permissions.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said access permissions correspond to a plurality of said users.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said encryption and said decryption keys are symmetric keys.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said encryption and said decryption keys are asymmetric keys.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said creating of said serialization and said table are performed using information from a master copy of said composite document.

9. A method for determining a workflow comprising:

creating a serialization where said serialization comprises at least one document part of a composite document and at least one user;

creating a table, where said table comprises at least one entry of said document part and an associated said user;

identifying parts of said composite document;

generating at least one signature key;

generating at least one verification key;

determining a confidentiality level of a said document part;

generating a decryption key and a first encryption key;

performing encryption of at least one said document part using said encryption keys;

assigning at least one workflow element to said encrypted part;

applying said signature to said workflow element;

inserting at least of said workflow element, said part, and said signature into said table;

creating at least one map file;

generating a second encryption key;

determining access permissions to said document part;

encrypting said map file using said first encryption key;

encrypt said second encryption key;

applying said signature key to said encrypted map file together with said encrypted second encryption key;

inserting said signed map file and said signatures into said table;

updating said serialization by entering said encrypted elements and said signed map file into said serialization;

executing said updated serialization to perform a workflow.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said second encryption key is a symmetric key.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said serialization is a database file.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said database file is a .pex file.

13. A system for document workflow comprising:

a transient memory;

a processor;

a secured composite document comprising one or more encrypted content parts and access information for the said one or more content parts corresponding to one or more users; and

a document interface, to locate decryption files corresponding to a user from one or more encryption files, to decrypt a content part that the user may access according to said access information, and to store the said content part in decrypted form in the transient memory for access by a user, where said decrypted form is created by said processor performing decryption functions using said decryption files.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the said secured composite document was generated from a master copy maintained in a secure location.

15. The system of claim 13, further comprising a document serialization structure created in the said transient memory to hold the decrypted content parts.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the said secured composite document is distributed to a plurality of users performing tasks according to a workflow cycle.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising a relational database for storing said content parts.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform the method of implementing a workflow of a composite document, comprising:

identifying an integrity and authenticity of an entry table using a first signature verification key;

identifying a corresponding map file to an entry in said entry table using a private user decryption key;

reading a second signature verification key from said map file;

verifying authenticity of said map file and parts of said composite document;

reading an access key from said map file;

delivering content of said composite document to a first user using said access key;

performing content review and update of said document part by said user;

encrypting modified content with an encryption key;

applying a signature to said encrypted, modified content; and

moving said signed, encrypted, modified content to a second user.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, further comprising creating said composite document from a master copy stored in a secured environment.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising:

re-importing said signed, encrypted, modified content into said secure environment; and

merging said signed, encrypted, modified content with said master copy.