Intelligent secure data manipulation apparatus and method

• US 7,730,528 B2
• Filed: 09/19/2001
• Issued: 06/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Chun, Jon Andre, Hui Hsu, Stephen Dao, Hormuzdiar, James Noshir
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh; Minh
• Application Number:
  US09/956,730
• Publication Number:
  US 20020184527A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,177 Days
• Field of Search: 713153-154, 713/168, 713/182, 713/201
• US Class Current: 726/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/08 Protocols for interworking; Protocol conversion

Abstract

A data manipulation appliance can be installed or plugged into a computer network between business partners, and can perform many of the difficult and tedious data manipulation operations in a substantially automated manner. Examples of operations that can be performed by an embodiment of the apparatus include, but are not limited to, encryption, authentication, auditing, shaping data to a common intermediate format for exchange between partners, other auditing of data exchanges in transaction logs, filtering data for privacy compliance and risk management, error detection and correction, mapping internal non-standard data elements to external standard code sets, proxy and protocol re-writing, and so on. The appliance can be embedded with various tools to perform these operations, and therefore appears to be “intelligent.”

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores program instructions executable by the apparatus to;

receive a set of user instructions for data conversion;

translate the set of user instructions into a set of user-defined rules for data conversion;

secure an authenticated connection between the apparatus and a first computer system;

authorize an access to a second computer system over a private network; and

transform a set of related electronic data from a first format to a second format during transit of the set of related electronic data between the first computer system and the second computer system, including;

receiving the set of related electronic data from the first computer system in the first format;

converting the set of related electronic data from the first format to the second format, including parsing the user-defined rules and structuring the set of related electronic data according to the user-defined rules; and

sending the converted set of related electronic data to the second computer system in the second format.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of related electronic data includes one or more programs.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, in converting the set of related electronic data from the first format to the second format, the program instructions are further executable by the processor to:

classify elements of the set of related electronic data into standard dictionary terms for electronic data interchange.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to:

audit high and low level portions of the set of related electronic data.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to:

re-format the set of related electronic data to an intermediate format prior to converting the set of related electronic data to the second format.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first format comprises a non-web-based format, and wherein the second format comprises a web-based format.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to rewrite a protocol corresponding to the set of related electronic data into a lower packet level protocol.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable by the processor to:

obtain audit information corresponding to the set of related electronic data to be exchanged and to store the obtain audit information in an audit logs data store; and

provide report information based on the audit information stored in the audit logs data store.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first format is an e-mail format.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first protocol is a file system protocol.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a network device configured to couple to a public network, and wherein the network device is configured to perform data-shaping operations on data in motion.

12. A method comprising:

a network device receiving a set of user instructions for data conversion;

the network device translating the set of user instructions into a set of user-defined rules for data conversion;

the network device securing an authenticated connection between the network device and a first computer system;

the network device authorizing an access to a second computer system over a private network;

during transit of a set of related electronic data between the first computer system and the second computer system, the network device converting the set of related electronic data from a first format to a second format, wherein converting the set of related electronic data from the first format to the second format comprises parsing the user-defined rules and structuring the set of related electronic data according to the user-defined rules; and

the network device sending the converted set of related electronic data to the second computer system in the second format.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein converting the set of related electronic data includes:

classifying elements of the set of related electronic data into standard dictionary terms for electronic data interchange.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

auditing high and low level portions of the set of related electronic data.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

re-formatting the set of related electronic data to an intermediate format prior to converting the set of related electronic data to the second format.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the first format comprises a non-web-based format, and wherein the second format comprises a web-based format.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

obtaining audit information corresponding to the set of related electronic data and storing the obtained audit information in an audit logs data store; and

providing report information based on the stored audit information.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the network device is configured to perform data-shaping operations on data in motion between a public network and a private network.

19. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that are executable by a device to;

receive a set of user instructions for data conversion;

translate the set of user instructions into a set of user-defined rules for data conversion;

secure an authenticated connection between the device and a first computer system;

authorize an access to a second computer system over a private network;

during transit of a set of related electronic data between the first computer system and the second computer system, convert the set of related electronic data from a first format to a second format, wherein converting the set of related electronic data from the first format to the second format comprises parsing the user-defined rules and structuring the set of related electronic data according to user-defined rules; and

send the converted set of related electronic data to the second computer system in the second format.

20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein converting the set of related electronic data includes:

classifying elements of the set of related electronic data into standard dictionary terms for electronic data interchange.

21. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to:

audit high and low level portions of the set of related electronic data.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the first format comprises a non-web-based format, and wherein the second format comprises a web-based format.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to:

obtain audit information corresponding to the set of related electronic data and store the obtained audit information; and

provide report information based on the stored audit information.

24. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the machine-readable medium further includes instructions stored thereon to:

perform data-shaping operations on data in motion between a public network and a private network.