SECURED ATTACHMENT MANAGEMENT

• US 20180167399A1
• Filed: 02/22/2017
• Published: 06/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AirWatch LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AirWatch LLC (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: VAS, SACHIN, VASAVAN, SUSHILVAS, PANCHAPAKESAN, RAMANI, NARAYANASWAMY, PAVITHRA
• Granted Patent: US 11,334,852 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1095 Meeting or appointment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/08 Annexed information, e.g. attachments
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]

Abstract

The secure management of attachments is described. In one example, files are identified for attachment to a message through a secure content application extension. Rather than directly attaching the files to the message, a resource locator or link to the files is generated, and the resource locator is inserted into the message. The message is then forwarded for distribution to client devices based on an addressee list for the message. The distribution of and access to the files is managed separately by a management service. The management service can notify the client devices to retrieve the files based on a file access schedule. At each of the client devices, users can access the files through a secure content file application extension using the resource locator during the file access schedule. Thus, the files are distributed through secure content file applications and not as direct attachments to messages.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by at least one computing device, an invitee list and a schedule associated with an event;

generating, by the at least one computing device, a calendar message for the event based on the invitee list and the schedule;

identifying, by the at least one computing device, a file for attachment to the calendar message, the file being identified through an extension of at least one function of a secure content file manager to a message handling application;

determining, by the at least one computing device, that sharing the file is permitted;

generating, by the at least one computing device, a resource locator associated with the file, wherein the resource locator uniquely identifies the file in a managed computing device environment;

inserting, by the at least one computing device, the resource locator into the calendar message; and

forwarding, by the at least one computing device, the calendar message to distribute the file for access on at least one other computing device using the resource locator.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining that sharing the file is permitted comprises communicating, by the at least one computing device, over a computer network with a management service executed by a remote computing environment communicatively coupled to the at least one computing device over the computer network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining that sharing the file is permitted comprises determining, by the at least one computing device, that file sharing is permitted according to an operating parameter of the at least one computing device as established by a management service executed by a computing environment communicatively coupled to the at least one computing device over a computer network.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein determining that sharing the file is permitted comprises determining, by the at least one computing device, that the file is permitted to be shared with at least one user identified in the invitee list.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, by the at least one computing device, an other file for attachment to the calendar message;

determining, by the at least one computing device, that sharing the other file is not permitted; and

generating, by the at least one computing device, a sharing restriction notification in response to a determination that sharing the other file is not permitted.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the at least one computing device, a file access schedule associated with the file; and

inserting, by the at least one computing device, the file access schedule into the calendar message.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the file access schedule comprises a period of time that at least one of begins before a start of the schedule associated with the event or ends after an end of the schedule associated with the event.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the resource locator comprises an environment-unique file identifier recognized uniquely among a plurality of managed applications executed by a plurality of computing devices in the managed computing device environment.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying program code executable in at least one computing device that, when executed by the at least one computing device, directs the at least one computing device to at least:

receive an addressee list and a message body associated with a message;

generate the message based on the addressee list;

identify a file for attachment to the message through an extension of at least one function of a secure content file manager to another application;

determine whether sharing the file is permitted;

generate a resource locator associated with the file and insert the resource locator into the message in response to a determination that sharing the file is permitted; and

forward the message to distribute the file for access on at least one other computing device using the resource locator, wherein the resource locator unique identifies the file in a managed computing device environment.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein, to determine whether sharing the file is permitted, the at least one computing device is further configured to communicate over a computer network with a management service executed by a remote computing environment communicatively coupled to the at least one computing device over the computer network.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein, to determine whether sharing the file is permitted, the at least one computing device is further configured to determine whether file sharing is permitted according to an operating parameter of the at least one computing device as established by a management service executed by a computing environment communicatively coupled to the at least one computing device over a computer network.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein, to determine whether sharing the file is permitted, the at least one computing device is further configured to determine whether the file is permitted to be shared with at least one user identified in the addressee list.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to generate a sharing restriction notification in response to a determination that sharing the file is not permitted.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to receive a file access schedule associated with the file and insert the file access schedule into the message.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein the resource locator comprises an environment-unique file identifier recognized uniquely among a plurality of managed applications executed by a plurality of computing devices in the managed computing device environment.

16. A system, comprising:

a memory device configured to store computer-readable instructions thereon; and

at least one computing device configured, through execution of the computer-readable instructions, to;

identify a file for attachment to a message through an extension to a secure content file manager;

determine that sharing the file is permitted;

generate a resource locator to the file, wherein the resource locator unique identifies the file in a managed computing device environment;

insert the resource locator into the message; and

forward the message based on at least one addressee of the message, to distribute the file for access by the at least one addressee using the resource locator.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein, to determine that sharing the file is permitted, the at least one computing device is further configured to determine that file sharing is permitted according to an operating parameter of the at least one computing device as established by a management service executed by a computing environment communicatively coupled to the at least one computing device over a computer network.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein, to determine that sharing the file is permitted, the at least one computing device is further configured to determine that the file is permitted to be shared with at least one user identified in an addressee list of the message.

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to receive a file access schedule associated with the file and insert the file access schedule into the message.

20. The system according to claim 16, wherein the resource locator to the file comprises an environment-unique file identifier recognized uniquely among a plurality of managed computing devices in the managed computing device environment.