Protecting Data From Unauthorized Access

• US 20170012982A1
• Filed: 07/10/2015
• Published: 01/12/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Carter, Bernadette Alexia
• Application Number:
  US14/795,960
• Publication Number:
  US 20170012982A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/556 involving covert channels, i.e. data leakage between processes inhibiting the analysis of circuitry or operation with measures against power attack G06F21/755
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6281 at program execution time, where the protection is within the operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security

Abstract

In general, the subject matter described in this disclosure can be embodied in methods, systems, and program products for identifying that an application program does not have permission to access a first type of data that is provided by a first application program. A computing system identifies that a second application program has permission to access the first type of data. The second application program provides a second type of data and is able to modify the second type of data to include the first type of data. The computing system identifies that the application program has permission to access the second type of data. The computing system determines that the second type of data includes the first type of data. The computing system performs an action to prevent the first type of data from being provided from the second application program to the application program without user authorization.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

identifying, by a computing system, that an application program does not have permission to access a first type of data that is provided by a first application program;

identifying, by the computing system, that a second application program has permission to access the first type of data that is provided by the first application program, wherein the second application program provides a second type of data and is able to modify the second type of data to include the first type of data;

identifying, by the computing system, that the application program has permission to access the second type of data that is provided by the second application program;

determining, by the computing system, that the second type of data that is provided by the application program and that the application program has permission to access, includes the first type of data; and

performing, by the computing system as a result of having determined that the second type of data includes the first type of data, an action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program, without user authorization.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, by the computing system, a user interface with which user input is able to specify whether the application program is to have permission to access the first type of data; and

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies that the application program is to not have permission to access the first type of data.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, further comprising:

providing, by the computing system, a second user interface with which user input is able to specify whether the second application program is to have permission to access the first type of data; and

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies that the second application program is to have permission to access the first type of data.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

preventing, by the computing system, the application program from receiving the second type of data that includes the first type of data from the second application program.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

removing, by the computing system, the first type of data from the second type of data; and

providing, by the computing system, the second type of data from the second application program to the application program with the first type of data removed.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

providing, by the computing system, a user interface that indicates that the second type of data that is provided by the second application program includes the first type of data; and

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies whether the second type of data is to be provided from the second application program to the application program despite the second type of data including the first type of data.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

replacing, by the computing system, the first type of data with an identifier that is not of the first type of data and from which the computing system is able to later access the first type of data in response to user input that indicates that the application program has permission to access the first type of data.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies that the application program is to have permission to access the first type of data; and

permitting, by the computing system as a result of having identified that the application program has permission to access the first type of data, the second type of data to be provided from the second application program to the application program without user authorization, other than the user input that specifies that the application program is to have the permission to access the first type of data.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the first type of data is geographical location data and the second type of data is a picture or video.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

the first type of data is a time of day that a file was generated and the second type of data is the file;

the first type of data is an author of a document and the second type of data is the document;

or

the first type of data is a geographical location and the second type of data is calendar event information.

11. One or more computer-readable devices including instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause performance of operations that include:

identifying, by a computing system, that an application program does not have permission to access a first type of data that is provided by a first application program;

identifying, by the computing system, that a second application program has permission to access the first type of data that is provided by the first application program, wherein the second application program provides a second type of data and is able to modify the second type of data to include the first type of data;

identifying, by the computing system, that the application program has permission to access the second type of data that is provided by the second application program;

determining, by the computing system, that the second type of data that is provided by the application program and that the application program has permission to access, includes the first type of data; and

performing, by the computing system as a result of having determined that the second type of data includes the first type of data, an action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program, without user authorization.

12. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

providing, by the computing system, a user interface with which user input is able to specify whether the application program is to have permission to access the first type of data; and

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies that the application program is to not have permission to access the first type of data.

13. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise:

providing, by the computing system, a second user interface with which user input is able to specify whether the second application program is to have permission to access the first type of data; and

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies that the second application program is to have permission to access the first type of data.

14. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

preventing, by the computing system, the application program from receiving the second type of data that includes the first type of data from the second application program.

15. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

removing, by the computing system, the first type of data from the second type of data; and

providing, by the computing system, the second type of data from the second application program to the application program with the first type of data removed.

16. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

providing, by the computing system, a user interface that indicates that the second type of data that is provided by the second application program includes the first type of data; and

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies whether the second type of data is to be provided from the second application program to the application program despite the second type of data including the first type of data.

17. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein performing the action to prevent the first type of data from being provided, in the second type of data, from the second application program to the application program without user authorization includes:

replacing, by the computing system, the first type of data with an identifier that is not of the first type of data and from which the computing system is able to later access the first type of data in response to user input that indicates that the application program has permission to access the first type of data.

18. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, by the computing system, user input that specifies that the application program is to have permission to access the first type of data; and

permitting, by the computing system as a result of having identified that the application program has permission to access the first type of data, the second type of data to be provided from the second application program to the application program without user authorization, other than the user input that specifies that the application program is to have the permission to access the first type of data.

19. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein:

the first type of data is geographical location data and the second type of data is a picture or video.

20. The one or more computer-readable devices of claim 11, wherein:

the first type of data is a time of day that a file was generated and the second type of data is the file;

the first type of data is an author of a document and the second type of data is the document;

or

the first type of data is a geographical location and the second type of data is calendar event information.