SECURE FILE TRANSFER SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20150242643A1
• Filed: 02/23/2014
• Published: 08/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aitheras, LLC, Northeastern, LLC.
• Original Assignee: Aitheras, LLC, Northeastern, LLC.
• Inventors: Hankins, Benjamin B. Jr., MacTaggart, Christopher W., Milisits, Andrew J. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,135,458 B1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32

Abstract

Certain example embodiments relate to file transfer systems and/or methods that enable a single provider to offer to different customers customizable file transfer solutions that are secure, scalable to handle enterprise-level amounts of data, and able to meet customer-specific needs even though such needs are not necessarily known in advance. Once initially set up, the file transfer solution of certain example embodiments delegates management of the customer-specific instances of the solution, optionally in a sub-delegatable manner and, thus, the single provider need not be consulted after specific initial instance deployment time (e.g., for security management and/or other routine maintenance issues).

Claims

1. A secure file transfer system, comprising:

processing resources including at least one processor and a memory; and

a non-transitory data store;

wherein the processing resources are configured to;

receive requests from customers to establish top-level accounts with the secure file transfer system,

in response to received requests;

allocate portions of the non-transitory data store for the customers making the respective requests, and

create a dedicated portal for each said top-level account, and

facilitate transfers of computer-storable assets to and/or from users associated with the respective top-level accounts through downloads and/or uploads of such assets through the respective dedicated portals and using the respective allocated portions of the non-transitory data store; and

wherein desired top-level account configuration details, including procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets, whether client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are internal and/or external to the respective customers, and aspects of how the top-level account will be managed in terms of user roles, are not known to the secure file transfer system prior to being deployed by the top-level account customers themselves.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising, for each said top-level account, (a) a definition of one or more user roles and accompanying privileges relative to the secure file transfer system for each said user role, and (b) a mapping between a user associated with the top-level account and a defined user role,

wherein apart from a top-level account owner user role, all other user roles and accompanying privileges are customer-definable and mappable to users by the customer.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein user roles are definable by the customers for parties external to the respective customers.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein plural user roles are defined for parties external to the respective customers, the plural user roles being hierarchical.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein hierarchically arranged user roles are assignable to each user of each said top-level account, exactly one top-level account owner user role being defined for each said top-level account and being the highest level in the hierarchy for the respective top-level account, and

wherein other than the top-level account owner user roles, customers are free to assign user roles to their users.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each said top-level account is scalable to accommodate enterprise levels of data throughput and storage, as well as enterprise levels of user numbers.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein each said top-level account is scalable to accommodate enterprise levels of data throughput and storage, as well as enterprise levels of user numbers, even though a need for corresponding scalability is not necessarily known to the secure file transfer system prior to being triggered by actual usage of the secure file transfer system.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the secure file transfer system is configured to dynamically adjust, on an individual top-level account basis, processing resource and/or storage space utilization based on a measure of actual or expected need.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein upward adjustments in processing resource and/or storage space utilization for each said top-level account are capped based on tiers to which the respective customers belong.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein each said top-level account supports a virtual file structure into which its computer-storable assets are storable.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a file system associated with the data store is unrelated to virtual file structures, except that the assets of any given top-level account are preferentially grouped together on one or more common nodes by the secure file transfer system and/or the file system.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets indicate whether each said customer anticipates transferring assets with:

(a) one or more other customers;

(b) one or more users who are not customers but have one or more respective portals set up for them by the respective customer;

(c) one or more users who are not customers and do not have any portals set up for them; and

/or (d) one or more users using an API that communicates with the secure file transfer system.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein at least some client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are external to the respective customers and have sub-accounts created by those customers wishing to exchange files with them.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising an email notification module configured to send email notifications to users letting them know that assets are ready to be downloaded and/or requesting that assets be uploaded.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein email notifications include links to portals facilitating the downloading and/or uploading of assets.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the links provide, directly or indirectly, information regarding authentication requirements that must be satisfied before assets can be downloaded and/or uploaded.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the links provide, directly or indirectly, a path from which an asset is to be downloaded and/or to which an asset it to be uploaded.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the path is a path from which an asset is to be downloaded and is understandable by a file system supporting the data store.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the path is a path to which an asset it to be uploaded and is translated from a user-provided logical path in a virtual file structure to a more concrete path understandable by a file system supporting the data store.

32. The system of claim 1, wherein all desired top-level account configuration details, including procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets, whether client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are internal and/or external to the respective customers, and aspects of how the top-level account will be managed in terms of user roles, are not known to the secure file transfer system prior to being deployed by the top-level account customers themselves.

20. A method of operating a secure file transfer system having processing resources including at least one processor and a memory, as well as a non-transitory data store, the method comprising:

receiving requests from customers to establish top-level accounts with the secure file transfer system;

in response to a received request to establish a top-level account;

allocating a portion of the non-transitory data store for the customer making the respective request, and

creating a dedicated portal for the respective top-level account; and

facilitating transfers of computer-storable assets to and/or from users associated with the respective top-level accounts through downloads and/or uploads of such assets through respective dedicated portals and using respective allocated portions of the non-transitory data store; and

wherein desired top-level account configuration details, including procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets, whether client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are internal and/or external to the respective customers, and aspects of how the top-level account will be managed in terms of user roles, are not known to the secure file transfer system prior to being deployed by the top-level account customers themselves.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

assigning to exactly one user of each said account a top-level account owner user role; and

delegating to each said customer the ability to assign hierarchical user roles to users associated with the respective top-level account, the assignable hierarchical user roles being below the level of the top-level account owner user role.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein each said top-level account is scalable to accommodate enterprise levels of data throughput and storage, as well as enterprise levels of user numbers, even though a need for corresponding scalability is not necessarily known to the secure file transfer system prior to being triggered by actual usage of the secure file transfer system, and further comprising:

dynamically adjusting, on an individual top-level account basis, allowed processing resource and/or storage space utilization based on a measure of actual or expected need for the respective top-level account.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising storing assets for a given top-level account in accordance with a virtual file structure designed and managed by authorized users of the given top-level account.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets indicate whether each said customer anticipates transferring assets with:

(a) one or more other customers;

(b) one or more users who are not customers but have one or more respective portals set up for them by the respective customer;

(c) one or more users who are not customers and do not have any portals set up for them; and

/or (d) one or more users using an API that communicates with the secure file transfer system.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein at least some client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are external to the respective customers and have sub-accounts created by those customers wishing to exchange files with them.

26. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

emailing, using the processing resources, first notifications to users letting them know that assets are ready to be downloaded; and

emailing, using the processing resources, second notifications, requesting that assets be uploaded.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the first and second notifications include links to portals facilitating the downloading and/or uploading of assets.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein:

links in the first notifications provide, directly or indirectly, first paths from which assets are to be downloaded, the first paths being paths understandable by a file system supporting the data store, and

links in the second notifications provide, directly or indirectly, second paths to which assets are to be uploaded, the second paths being paths translated from user-provided logical paths in customer-managed virtual file structures to paths understandable by the file system supporting the data store.

33. The method of claim 20, wherein all desired top-level account configuration details, including procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets, whether client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are internal and/or external to the respective customers, and aspects of how the top-level account will be managed in terms of user roles, are not known to the secure file transfer system prior to being deployed by the top-level account customers themselves.

29. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly storing instructions that, when performed by processing resources including at least one processor of a secure file transfer system, at least:

process requests received from customers to establish top-level accounts with the secure file transfer system;

in response to a received request to establish a top-level account;

allocate a portion of a non-transitory data store of the secure file transfer system for the customer making the respective request, and

create a dedicated portal for each said top-level account; and

facilitate transfers of computer-storable assets to and/or from users associated with the respective top-level accounts through downloads and/or uploads of such assets through the respective dedicated portals and using the respective allocated portions of the non-transitory data store; and

wherein desired top-level account configuration details, including procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets, whether client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are internal and/or external to the respective customers, and aspects of how the top-level account will be managed in terms of user roles, are not known to the secure file transfer system prior to being deployed by the top-level account customers themselves.

34. The at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 29, wherein all desired top-level account configuration details, including procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets, whether client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are internal and/or external to the respective customers, and aspects of how the top-level account will be managed in terms of user roles, are not known to the secure file transfer system prior to being deployed by the top-level account customers themselves.

30. The at least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium, wherein:

each said top-level account is scalable to accommodate enterprise levels of data throughput and storage, as well as enterprise levels of user numbers, even though a need for corresponding scalability is not necessarily known to the secure file transfer system prior to being triggered by actual usage of the secure file transfer system;

procedural approaches to be used in transferring computer-storable assets indicate whether each said customer anticipates transferring assets with;

(a) one or more other customers;

(b) one or more users who are not customers but have one or more respective portals set up for them by the respective customer;

(c) one or more users who are not customers and do not have any portals set up for them; and

/or (d) one or more users using an API that communicates with the secure file transfer system;

at least some client devices involved in transferences of computer-storable assets are external to the respective customers and have sub-accounts created by those customers wishing to exchange files with them; and

further instructions are provided to at least enable;

assignment to exactly one user of each said account a top-level account owner user role,

delegation to each said customer the ability to assign hierarchical user roles to users associated with the respective top-level account, the assignable hierarchical user roles being below the level of the top-level account owner user role,

emailing, using the processing resources, first notifications to users letting them know that assets are ready to be downloaded, and

emailing, using the processing resources, second notifications, requesting that assets be uploaded, and

wherein the first and second notifications include links to portals facilitating the downloading and/or uploading of assets.

31. A file transfer system, comprising:

processing resources including at least one processor; and

a non-transitory data store;

wherein the processing resources are configured to;

maintain a plurality of file transfer system instances, each said file transfer system instance being scalable to accommodate a number of users expected for an enterprise-wide operation and an amount of data suitable for an enterprise, regardless of how many users actually use, and how much data is actually stored to the non-transitory data store in connection with, the respective file transfer system instance;

generate new file transfer system instances upon receipt of corresponding verified user requests;

for each said file transfer system instance, provide a sub-delegable delegation of authority to exactly one administrator of the respective file transfer system instance that at least enables specification of an approach to be used in sharing data storable to the non-transitory data store among and/or between users who, directly or indirectly, use the respective file transfer system instance; and

for each said file transfer system instance, facilitate the sharing of data, using the non-transitory data store and the respective specified approach to be used in sharing data, and in accordance with the respective sub-delegable delegation of authority, among and/or between the users who, directly or indirectly, use the respective file transfer system instance; and

wherein, for each said file transfer system instance, (a) how the respective approach to be used in sharing data will be specified, (b) whether and how the respective sub-delegable delegation of authority will be distributed, (c) the identities of users, other than the one administrator, who will actually use the respective file transfer system instance, and (d) the amount of data that actually will be stored in connection with the respective file transfer system instance, are at least initially not known to the file transfer system and thereafter can be influenced by users in accordance with the respective sub-delegable delegation of authority in ways not knowable to the file transfer system in advance.