Customized untrusted certificate replication

• US 7,882,550 B2
• Filed: 12/29/2006
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Myers, Andrew S., Wray, John C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand; Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAHIM, MONJUR
• Application Number:
  US11/618,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20080163346A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,495 Days
• Field of Search: 726/18, 726/6, 713/158, 713/193, 380/251
• US Class Current: 726/6
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0823 using certificates cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving certificates H04L9/3263
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to electronic messaging security through replicated certificate stores and provide a method, system and computer program product user-specific certificate repository replication. In one embodiment of the invention, a method of replicating with multiple different messaging systems disposed in correspondingly different computing clients, retrieving a local repository of untrusted certificates from each of the different messaging systems during replication, and associating each retrieved local repository with a particular end user can be provided. Moreover, the method can include updating a global repository of untrusted certificates with the untrusted certificates of each local repository while eliminating redundant instances of an untrusted certificate present in different retrieved local repositories.

Claims

1. A user-specific certificate repository replication method comprising:

replicating with multiple different messaging systems disposed in correspondingly different computing clients;

retrieving a local repository of untrusted certificates by certificate subset selection logic executing in memory by at least one processor of a host computing platform, from each of the different messaging systems during replication and associating each retrieved local repository with a particular end user;

updating a global repository of untrusted certificates with the untrusted certificates of each local repository while eliminating redundant instances of an untrusted certificate present in different retrieved local repositories.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking user-specific interest data of untrusted certificates for each end user;

receiving a request to replicate from a particular one of the messaging systems;

associating the request for a particular end user;

generating a local repository based upon a tracked user-specific interest data for the particular end user; and

,

returning the local repository to the particular one of the messaging systems during replication.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

marking one of the untrusted certificates to indicate administratively-specified mandatory replication to a subset of all end users; and

,

updating each local repository for each of the end users in the subset with replicated additional untrusted certificates based on the marking of administratively-specified mandatory replication.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining common matching interests among end users according to the tracked user-specific interest data for each end user; and

,

updating the local repository for each end user with replicated additional untrusted certificates based on the tracked user-specific interest data for another end user known to have common matching interests.

5. A system for user-specific certificate repository replication comprising:

a plurality of different computing clients, each with at least one processor and memory;

multiple different messaging systems disposed in correspondingly different ones of the computing clients;

a local repository associated with a particular end user;

a host computing platform;

a global certificate repository disposed in the host computing platform;

user-specific interest data disposed in the host computing platform;

certificate subset selection logic disposed in the host computing platform or disposed in each computing client, the certificate subset selection logic configured to create and store a certificate subset of the global certificate repository based upon a tracked user-specific interest data for the particular end user in the host computing platform, and return an updated local repository for the particular end use.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

certificate subset selection logic configured to determine common matching interests among end users according to the tracked user-specific interest data for each end user and, to update the local repository for each end user with replicated additional untrusted certificates based on the tracked user-specific interest data for another end user known to have common matching interests.

7. The system of claim 5, further comprising:

certificate subset selection logic configured to mark one of the untrusted certificates to indicate administratively-specified mandatory replication to a subset of all end users and, to update each local repository for each of the end users in the subset with replicated additional untrusted certificates based on the marking of administratively-specified mandatory replication.

8. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable storage medium embodying computer usable program code for user-specific certificate repository replication, the computer program product comprising

computer usable program code for replicating with multiple different messaging systems disposed in correspondingly different computing clients;

computer usable program code for retrieving a local repository of untrusted certificates from each of the different messaging systems during replication and associating each retrieved local repository with a particular end user;

computer usable program code for updating a global repository of untrusted certificates with the untrusted certificates of each local repository while eliminating redundant instances of an untrusted certificate present in different retrieved local repositories.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

computer usable program code for tracking user-specific interest data of untrusted certificates for each end user;

computer usable program code for receiving a request to replicate from a particular one of the messaging systems;

computer usable program code for associating the request for a particular end user;

computer usable program code for generating a local repository based upon a tracked user-specific interest data for the particular end user; and

,

computer usable program code for returning the local repository to the particular one of the messaging systems during replication.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, further comprising:

computer usable program code for marking one of the untrusted certificates to indicate administratively-specified mandatory replication to a subset of all end users; and

,

computer usable program code for updating each local repository for each of the end users in the subset with replicated additional untrusted certificates based on the marking of administratively-specified mandatory replication.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising:

computer usable program code for determining common matching interests among end users according to the tracked user-specific interest data for each end user; and

,

computer usable program code for updating the local repository for each end user with replicated additional untrusted certificates based on the tracked user-specific interest data for another end user known to have common matching interests.