Security policy applied to common data security architecture

• US 6,941,471 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2001
• Issued: 09/06/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Lin, Along
• Primary Examiner(s): Morse, Gregory
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tran, Tongoc
• Application Number:
  US09/761,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20010018746A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 713/191, 713/189, 713/200, 713/187
• US Class Current: 726/1
• 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: G06F 2211/009 Trust
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities

Abstract

An improved architecture is provided, based upon the prior art common data security architecture, with the modification of adding in a generic trust policy library (217) at an add-in security modules layer (215) and a policy interpreter (224) at a common security services manager layer (202), so that individual users may provide sets of trust policies in the form of a trust policy description file (223), which uses a generic policy description language provided by the architecture. The architecture provides a generic method of incorporating trust policies into a computing platform in a manner which avoids a prior art problem of the semantics of trust policies which are hard-coded in prior art trust policy modules (117). The architecture also improves management flexibility. In the present disclosure, a generic policy description language is provided, which enables different users to define the semantics of a plurality of trust policies.

Claims

1. A security architecture for a computer platform comprising at least one data processor and at least one memory means said architecture comprising:

an applications layer for containing a plurality of user security applications;

a layered services layer for containing a plurality of security services protocols;

a common security services manager (CSSM) layer underlying the layered services layer comprising a plurality of security services management means, a set of integrity services, a manager of security contexts, and a plurality of interfaces for interfacing with add-in security modules; and

an add-in security modules layer underlying the common security services manager layer, configured to accept a plurality of add-in security modules implementing a set of standard security services;

a generic trust policy library within the add-in security modules layer and supporting a set of standard trust policy Application Programming Interfaces (APIs);

a trust policy description file containing a set of domain-specific trust policies written in a policy description language common to said architecture; and

a policy interpreter, said policy interpreter operating to interpret a set of policies contained in said policy description file.

2. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of said management means is provided with a corresponding respective policy description file determining the policies with which said at least one management means operates.

3. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a set of policy and model authoring tools, allowing a user to create said policy description file implementing a set of user specified domain-specific policies for controlling said computer platform.

4. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said policy description language comprises a known PROLOG language.

5. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said policy interpreter comprises a PROLOG inference engine.

6. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said common security services manager layer is provided with its own policy description file for implementing policies in that layer.

7. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said applications layer is provided with an applications layer policy description file for determining policies to be implemented in said applications layer.

8. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, wherein said layered services layer is provided with a layered services layer policy description file for determining policies followed by said layered services layer.

9. The architecture as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of add-in security modules is provided with a corresponding respective policy description file determining the policies with which at least one add-in security module operates.