Access control management

• US 8,763,093 B2
• Filed: 09/12/2011
• Issued: 06/24/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Langworthy, David E., Wang, Qian, Layman, Andrew John, Shewchuk, John Peter Jr., Yong, Shiung-Vei, Passmore, Charles Edgar, Wilson, Hervey Oliver, Baker, Caleb Geoffrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Chea, Philip
• Assistant Examiner(s): RAHIM, MONJUR
• Application Number:
  US13/230,799
• Publication Number:
  US 20130067539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,016 Days
• Field of Search: 726/4
• US Class Current: 726/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• 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 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices

Abstract

The subject disclosure relates to authorization based on a determination of permissions that can be granted for an action(s) to be performed on a resource. The determination of the permission is based on a set of rules that represent a theory including a notion of trust that has been divided into different sized tables. The tables are utilized to evaluate two or more input claims and to facilitate a determination of whether access to at least one system resource is to be granted. The evaluation can include matching the two or more input claims to rows in the table, wherein access is allowed if a match is found.

Claims

1. An access control system, comprising a claims processing component configured to expand two or more input claims associated with a device into a set of output claims used to selectively authorize access to system resources by applying facts associated with the two or more input claims against a data structure to expand the two or more input claims into one or more output claims and thereafter iteratively applying a fact associated with the two or more input claims and a fact associated with at least one of the one or more output claims against the data structure to further expand the two or more input claims into the set of output claims;

and

an authorization component configured to match the set of output claims to an authorization table for rows that contain a matching resource claim, a matching subject claim, and a matching action claim to indicate the device is authorized to access a particular system resource;

wherein the claims processing component is configured to produce a first output claim by matching a first input claim, a second input claim, or both the first input claim and the second input claim with at least one row in a rules table;

wherein the claims processing component is configured to assign a type and a value of the matched row to the first output claim.

2. The access control system of claim 1, wherein the authorization component is further configured to match the set of output claims to an authorization table.

3. The access control system of claim 1, wherein the claims processing component is configured to verify a matching row in a rules table for a plurality of the two or more input claims and to create a first output claim.

4. The access control system of claim 1, wherein the authorization component is configured to match the set of output claims against the authorization table and to allow access to the system resource.

5. The access control system of claim 4, wherein the authorization table comprises a plurality of rows, wherein each row comprises a resource claim, a subject claim, and an action claim.

6. The access control system of claim 1, wherein an input claim and an output claim comprises identity information signed by an issuer.

7. A method, comprising:

receiving an authorization request;

using a processing unit, expanding a first input claim and a second input claim into a set of output claims used to selectively authorize access to system resources, wherein the expanding further comprises;

matching the first input claim and the second input claim with a row in a rules table;

producing a first output claim based on the matching;

matching the first output claim and either the first input claim or the second input claim with another row in the rules table; and

producing a second output claim as a result of the matching, wherein the second output claim comprises a type and a value of the another row;

using the processing unit, correlating a plurality of output claims in the set of output claims to an authorization table; and

authorizing an action for the first input claim and the second input claim as a result of the correlating.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the expanding comprises:

verifying a row in a rules table matches the first input claim and the second input claim; and

creating the first output claim as a function of the verifying.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the producing comprises:

assigning a type and a value of the matched row to the first output claim.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the expanding further comprises corresponding an input issuer, a type, and a value of the first input claim or the second input claim with a row in a rules table.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the authorizing the action comprises:

evaluating the set of output claims against an authorization table that comprises rows based on at least one row that comprises a resource claim, a subject claim, and an action claim; and

allowing authorization as a function of an output of the evaluating.

12. A computer-readable storage memory comprising computer-executable instructions stored therein that, in response to execution, cause a computing system to perform operations, comprising:

expanding two or more input claims associated with a device into a set of output claims by applying facts associated with the two or more input claims against a data structure to expand the two or more input claims into one or more output claims and thereafter iteratively applying a fact associated with the two or more input claims and a fact associated with at least one of the one or more output claims against the data structure to further expand the two or more input claims into the set of output claims; and

corresponding the set of output claims to an authorization table for rows that include a matching resource claim, subject claim, and action claim to indicate the device is authorized to access a system resource.

13. The computer-readable storage memory of claim 12, where the two or more input claims and the set of output claims comprise a piece of identity information signed by an issuer.