PROTECTION OF SENSITIVE DATA OF A USER FROM BEING UTILIZED BY WEB SERVICES

• US 20140280870A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent SA (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent India Limited (Nokia Corporation), Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Shrivastava, Nisheeth, Jaiswal, Sharad, Panjwani, Saurabh, Nandi, Animesh, Woo, Thomas, Shukla, Saurabh
• Granted Patent: US 9,686,242 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Systems and methods for preventing web services from using sensitive data in customizing web pages for a user. In one embodiment, a protection system is implemented between the user and the web service. The protection system identifies past interactions of the user with the web service, identifies text in the past interactions between the user and the web service, and identifies subjects discussed in the text. The protection system then communicates with the user to determine which of the subjects are sensitive to the user, and deletes a history stored by the web service for the user that relates to the sensitive subjects.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a protection system implemented between a user and a web service;

the protection system is configured to identify past interactions of the user with the web service, to identify text in the past interactions between the user and the web service, and to identify subjects discussed in the text;

the protection system is further configured to communicate with the user to determine which of the subjects are sensitive to the user, and to delete a history stored by the web service for the user that relates to the sensitive subjects.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to query the web service for the past interactions between the user and the web service.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to monitor real-time interactions between the user and the web service over time.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to query a device of the user for cookies stored by the device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to assign sensitive scores to the subjects, and display the sensitivity scores for the subjects to the user.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to receive input from the user on the sensitivity scores, and to adjust the sensitivity scores for the subjects based on the input from the user.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to intercept a request for the web service as initiated by the user, to parse the request to determine if the request includes text that relates to a sensitive subject, and to send an alert to the user that includes at least one option for handling the request.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to anonymize the request before sending the request to the web service in response to input from the user.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein:

the protection system is further configured to block the request from being sent to the web service in response to input from the user.

10. A method comprising:

identifying past interactions of a user with a web service;

identifying text in the past interactions between the user and the web service;

identifying subjects discussed in the text;

communicating with the user to determine which of the subjects are sensitive to the user; and

deleting a history stored by the web service for the user that relates to the sensitive subjects.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein identifying past interactions of a user with a web service comprises:

querying the web service for the past interactions between the user and the web service.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein identifying past interactions of a user with a web service comprises:

monitoring real-time interactions between the user and the web service over time.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein identifying past interactions of a user with a web service comprises:

querying a device of the user for cookies stored by the device.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

assigning sensitive scores to the subjects; and

displaying the sensitivity scores for the subjects to the user.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

receiving input from the user on the sensitivity scores; and

adjusting the sensitivity scores for the subjects based on the input from the user.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

intercepting a request for the web service as initiated by the user;

parsing the request to determine if the request includes text that relates to a sensitive subject; and

sending an alert to the user that includes at least one option for handling the request.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

anonymizing the request before sending the request to the web service in response to input from the user.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

blocking the request from being sent to the web service in response to input from the user.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores instructions that, when executed by a computing system, causes the computing system to perform a method of:

identifying past interactions of a user with a web service;

identifying text in the past interactions between the user and the web service;

identifying subjects discussed in the text;

communicating with the user to determine which of the subjects are sensitive to the user; and

deleting a history stored by the web service for the user that relates to the sensitive subjects.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 19, wherein the method further comprises:

intercepting a request for the web service as initiated by the user;

parsing the request to determine if the request includes text that relates to a sensitive subject; and

sending an alert to the user that includes at least one option for handling the request.