APPLICATION AUTHENTICATION CHECKING SYSTEM

• US 20150089632A1
• Filed: 09/26/2013
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Iii, Gerald Duane Corson
• Inventors: Bartholomew, Aaron Robert, Hogg, William, Hester, Michael Scott, Corson, Gerald Duane III
• Application Number:
  US14/037,638
• Publication Number:
  US 20150089632A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/44 Program or device authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application

Abstract

A method for authentication checking comprises receiving an authentication verification request for accessing an application. The authentication verification request includes a user identification, a device identification and an application identification. A validity of the authentication verification request is determined based on at least a last known authentication information, and a first subset of an application policy rule-set specific to the user identification and the device identification, if the application policy rule-set permits cross-application authentication; otherwise the validity is determined based on at least a second subset of the application policy rule-set specific to the user identification, the device identification and the application identification. Access to the application is enabled if the validity of the authentication verification request is true; otherwise a new authentication is requested.

Claims

1. A method for authentication checking comprising:

receiving an authentication verification request for accessing an application, the authentication verification request including a user identification, a device identification and an application identification;

determining a validity of the authentication verification request, based on at least a last known authentication information, and a first subset of an application policy rule-set specific to the user identification and the device identification, if the application policy rule-set permits cross-application authentication;

determining the validity of the authentication verification request, based on at least the last known authentication information, and a second subset of the application policy rule-set specific to the user identification, the device identification and the application identification, if the application policy rule-set does not permit cross-application authentication;

enabling access to the application if the validity of the authentication verification request is true; and

requesting a new authentication if the validity of the authentication verification request is false.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the validity of the authentication verification request comprises comparing an elapsed time since a last authentication contained in the last known authentication information to an allowable authentication interval contained in the application policy rule-set.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the validity of the authentication verification request comprises comparing an elapsed time since a last activity contained in the last known authentication information to an allowable inactivity interval contained in the application policy rule-set.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising locking the application when the validity of the authentication verification request is false.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the application policy rule-set defines an allowable authentication interval specific to at least one of the user identification, the device identification and the application identification.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the application policy rule-set defines an allowable inactivity interval specific to at least one of the user identification, the device identification and the application identification.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the validity of the authentication verification request comprises comparing at least one of the user identification to a list of allowable users and a user role against a list of allowable user roles.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the validity of the authentication verification request comprises comparing the device identification to a list of allowable devices.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the validity of the authentication verification request comprises comparing the user identification to a list of allowable users for a device defined by the device identification.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the validity of the authentication verification request comprises comparing the user identification to a list of allowable users for a device defined by the device identification and an application defined by the applications identification when the application policy rule-set does not permit cross-application authentication.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising retrieving the application policy rule-set from a data storage unit over a networked connection.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising retrieving the application policy rule-set from a local cache on a device defined by the device identification, the local cache including at least a portion of remote data stored in a data storage unit over a networked connection.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the application policy rule-set is encrypted while stored in the local cache.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein a local cache stores the application policy rule-set, and at least one of a last authentication time and a last activity time.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the local cache transfers the application policy rule-set, and at least one of the last authentication time and the last activity time to a data storage unit upon reestablishing a network connection between the local cache and the storage unit.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein requesting the new authentication further comprises updating the last known authentication information when a new validity of the new authentication is true.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein updating the data storage unit includes updating at least one of a first elapsed time since a last authentication, a second elapsed time since a last activity, the user identification, the device identification and the application identification.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising requesting the new authentication if at least one of a maximum time between authentication checks has elapsed and a maximum inactivity before verification has elapsed.

19. A method for accessing an application on a device comprising:

initiating an authentication verification request for accessing an application, the authentication verification request including a user identification, a device identification and an application identification;

accessing the application if the user identification and the device identification are valid, a user authentication is valid and if cross-application authentication is allowed; and

accessing the application if the user identification and the device identification are valid for the application identified by the application identification, the user authentication is valid and if cross-application authentication is not allowed.

20. A computer program product for authentication checking, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to receive an authentication verification request for accessing an application, the authentication verification request including a user identification, a device identification and an application identification;

computer readable program code configured to determine a validity of the authentication verification request, based on at least a last known authentication information, and a first subset of an application policy rule-set specific to the user identification and the device identification, if the application policy rule-set permits cross-application authentication;

computer readable program code configured to determine the validity of the authentication verification request, based on at least the last known authentication information, and a second subset of the application policy rule-set specific to the user identification, the device identification and the application identification, if the application policy rule-set does not permit cross-application authentication;

computer readable program code configured to enable access to the application if the validity of the authentication verification request is true; and

computer readable program code configured to request a new authentication if the validity of the authentication verification request is false.