Restricting access to information

• US 8,205,093 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property, Inc. (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Argott, Lauren
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEHESHTI SHIRAZI, SAYED ARESH
• Application Number:
  US11/771,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20090007259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: 370/259, 370/260, 370/261, 370/262, 370/263, 370/266, 370/352, 370/400, 715/753, 715/750, 455/416, 713/182, 726/28, 348/564, 348/569, 348/570, 705/26.2, 705/26.25, 705/26.35
• US Class Current: 713/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation

Abstract

Technologies are presented herein for restricting access to information. According to various embodiments described herein, an authorization device is provided that includes functionality for detecting other proximately located authorization devices. When an authorization device detects another proximately located authorization device, authorization data stored in the detected device is retrieved. The retrieved authorization data is compared to stored authorization data and a determination is made as to whether a person associated with the detected device is authorized to receive information. The authorization device provides an indication as to whether the person is authorized to receive information. The authorization device may also provide an indication of the particular information that the person is authorized to receive. The authorization device may also be utilized to ensure that only authorized individuals participate in a meeting and that each participant is authorized to receive the information that is the subject of the meeting.

Claims

1. A method for determining whether a proximately located person is authorized to receive information, the method comprising:

detecting, at a first authorization device, a second authorization device, wherein the first authorization device is operative to maintain first authorization data and wherein the second authorization device is associated with the proximately located person and is operative to maintain second authorization data indicating whether the proximately located person is authorized to receive the information;

receiving, at the first authorization device, the second authorization data from the second authorization device, wherein the second authorization data indicates first topics of data the proximately located person is authorized to receive, wherein the first topics comprise a list of confidentiality agreements signed by the proximately located person indicating the data the proximately located person is authorized to receive;

comparing, at the first authorization device, the first authorization data to the second authorization data to determine any matches between the first authorization data and second authorization data;

in response to determining a match between the first authorization data and the second authorization data, displaying at the first authorization device, a first indication for each of the first topics of the second authorization data that matches the first authorization data, wherein the first indication displayed at the first authorization device identifies each of the first topics of the second authorization data that matches the first authorization data; and

in response to determining no matches between the first authorization data and the second authorization data, displaying, at the first authorization data, a second indication that none of the second authorization data matches the first authorization data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first authorization data comprises a second topic associated with the information, the method of claim 1 further comprising determining to provide the information to the proximately located person in response to one of the first topics of the second authorization data matching the second topic of the first authorization data associated with the information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second authorization device is located in an area proximate to the first authorization device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein detecting the second authorization device comprises:

transmitting, from the first authorization device, a wireless signal within the area;

receiving a response to the wireless signal from the second authorization device; and

detecting a presence of the second authorization device based on the response to the wireless signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the second authorization device is performed periodically by the first authorization device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the second authorization device is performed in response to a user request received at the first authorization device.

7. A first authorization device for determining whether a proximately located person is authorized to receive information, the first authorization device comprising:

memory for storing a program containing code for determining whether the proximately located person is authorized to receive the information; and

a processor functionally coupled to the memory, the processor being responsive to computer executable instruction contained in the program enabling the processor to perform a method comprising;

detecting a second authorization device, wherein the first authorization device is operative to maintain first authorization data and wherein the second authorization device is associated with the proximately located person and is operative to maintain second authorization data indicating whether the proximately located person is authorized to receive the information,

receiving the second authorization data from the second authorization device, wherein the second authorization data indicate first topics of data the proximately located person is authorized to receive, wherein the first topics comprise a list of confidentiality agreement signed by the proximately located person indicating the data the proximately located person is authorized to receive;

comparing the first authorization data to the second authorization data to determine any matches between the first authorization data and second authorization data,

in response to determining a match between the first authorization data and the second authorization data, displaying a first indication for each of the first topics of the second authorization data that matches the first authorization data, wherein the first indication displayed at the first authorization device identifies each of the first topics of the second authorization data that matches the first authorization data, and

in response to determining no matches between the first authorization data and the second authorization data, displaying, at the first authorization device, a second indication that none of the second authorization data matches the first authorization data.

8. The first authorization device of claim 7, wherein the first authorization data comprises a second topic associated with the information and wherein the processor is enabled to perform a method further comprising determining to provide the information to the proximately located person in response to one of the first topics of the second authorization data matching the second topic of the first authorization data associated with the information.

9. The first authorization device of claim 7, wherein the processor is enabled to perform a method further comprising periodically detecting any proximately located authorization devices.

10. The first authorization device of claim 7, wherein the processor is enabled to perform a method further comprising detecting any proximately located authorization devices in response to a user request.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising:

detecting a plurality of participants of a meeting by detecting an authorization device associated with each of the plurality of participants of the meeting, the authorization device operative to maintain authorization data indicating first topics of information each of the plurality of participants of the meeting is authorized to receive data;

determining whether each of the plurality of participants of the meeting is authorized to receive a second topic of information that is a subject of the meeting; and

in response to determining that a participant of the plurality of participants is not authorized to receive the second topic of information that is the subject of the meeting, displaying an indication that all of the plurality of participants are not authorized to receive the second topic of information, wherein the indication identifies the participant of the plurality of participants that is not authorized to receive the second topic of information.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, having further computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the computer, cause the computer to perform a method comprising:

receiving the authorization data from the authorization device; and

comparing the second topic of information that is the subject of the meeting to the first topics of information of the authorization data to determine whether each of the plurality of participants of the meeting is authorized to receive the second topic of information that is the subject of the meeting.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the authorization data comprises a list of confidentiality agreements signed by each of the participants of the meeting indicating the first topics of information the each of the participants of the meeting is authorized to receive the data.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the authorization device is located in an area proximate to the meeting.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein detecting the authorization device comprises:

transmitting a wireless signal within the area;

receiving a response to the wireless signal; and

detecting a presence of the authorization device based on the response to the wireless signal.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein detecting the authorization device is performed in response to a user request.