Method and system for securing digital assets using process-driven security policies

• US 7,703,140 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Ventures I LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Guardian Data Storage LLC
• Inventors: Nath, Satyajit, Ouye, Michael Michio, Vainstein, Klimenty
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh; Minh
• Application Number:
  US10/677,049
• Publication Number:
  US 20050071658A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,394 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/26
• 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 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/06 for supporting key management in a packet data network cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key management H04L9/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0833 involving conference or group key network architectures or network communication protocols for key management in group communication in a packet data network H04L63/065

Abstract

Techniques for dynamically altering security criteria used in a file security system are disclosed. The security criteria pertains to keys (or ciphers) used by the file security system to encrypt electronic files to be secured or to decrypt electronic files already secured. The security criteria can, among other things, include keys that are required to gain access to electronic files. Here, the keys can be changed automatically as electronic files transition between different states of a process-driven security policy. The dynamic alteration of security criteria enhances the flexibility and robustness of the security system. In other words, access restrictions on electronic files can be dependent on the state of the process-driven security policy.

Claims

1. A method for limiting access to an electronic document, comprising:

associating, by one or more computing devices, a classifier with a first state of a process-driven security policy having a plurality of states, with different states having different sets of access restrictions;

associating, by the one or more computing devices, an identifier representing a user or a group of users with the first state of the process-driven security policy;

associating, by the one or more computing devices, the electronic document with at least the first state of the process-driven security policy having a set of access restrictions on the electronic document;

limiting access to the electronic document by encrypting, by the one or more computing devices, at least a portion of the electronic document using a group key corresponding to the identifier and a state key corresponding to the classifier and requiring at least both the group key and the state key to decrypt at least the portion of the electronic document; and

changing, by the one or more computing devices, the state of the process-driven security policy for the electronic document automatically without user or administrator interaction from the first state to a second state in response to an internal or external system event, wherein the changed state is based on a transition rule associated with the event.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the identifier is a user ID or a group ID.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the process-driven security policy is provided as part of a document security system.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method further comprises:

creating the electronic document; and

assigning the identifier to the created electronic document.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the process-driven security policy is provided as part of a document security system, and

wherein said method further comprises:

creating a plurality of electronic documents; and

assigning the identifier and the classifier to the created electronic documents associated with the first state.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the event occurs at or is received at a client machine.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the event is a user-triggered event.

8. A method for imposing access restrictions on an electronic document, comprising:

associating, by one or more computing devices, an electronic document with at least a first state of a plurality of states of a process-driven security policy, the first state associated with a classifier and with an identifier representing a user or a group of users, with different states having different set of access restrictions;

imposing the set of access restrictions associated with the first state on the electronic document by encrypting, by the one or more computing devices, at least a portion of the electronic document using a group key corresponding to the identifier and a state key corresponding to the classifier and requiring at least both the group key and the state key to decrypt at least the portion of the electronic document; and

changing, by the one or more computing devices, the state of the process-driven security policy for the electronic document automatically without user or administrator interaction from the first state to a second state in response to an internal or external system event, wherein the changed state is based on a transition rule associated with the event.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the event is a user-triggered event.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the event occurs at or is received at the client machine.

11. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the electronic document includes security information, and the security information includes at least an indication of the state of the process-driven security policy for the electronic document.

12. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein said method is performed on a plurality of documents on a document-by-document basis.

13. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein at the client machine, a plurality of electronic documents is in one of the states of the process-driven security policy.

14. A tangible computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, if executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method for imposing access restrictions on an electronic document, the method comprising:

associating an electronic document with at least a first state of a plurality of states of a process-driven security policy, the first state associated with a classifier and with an identifier representing a user or a group of users, with different states having different set of access restrictions;

imposing the set of access restrictions associated with the first state on the electronic document by encrypting at least a portion of the electronic document using a group key corresponding to the identifier and a state key corresponding to the classifier and requiring at least both the group key and the state key to decrypt at least the portion of the electronic document; and

changing the state of the process-driven security policy for the electronic document automatically without user or administrator interaction from the first state to a second state in response to an internal or external system event, wherein the changed state is based on a transition rule associated with the event.

15. The tangible computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein the event is a user-triggered event.

16. The tangible computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein the event occurs at or is received at the client machine.

17. The tangible computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein the electronic document includes security information, and the security information includes at least an indication of the state of the process-driven security policy for the electronic document.

18. The tangible computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein the process-driven security policy is imposed on a plurality of documents on a document-by-document basis.

19. The tangible computer-readable medium as recited in claim 14, wherein at the client machine, a plurality of electronic documents is in one of the states of the process-driven security policy.