Access rights mechanism for corporate records

• US 8,839,452 B1
• Filed: 09/04/2007
• Issued: 09/16/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Joy, David S., Arnish, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Lagor, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US11/850,021
• Time in Patent Office: 2,569 Days
• Field of Search: 726/28, 726/26, 707/786, 707/784, 707/785
• US Class Current: 726/27
• 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

Abstract

A method of managing access rights to corporate records is described. Employee data with respect to a first organizational hierarchy is maintained in a database, and file records data with respect to a second organizational hierarchy is maintained in another database. A request from an employee is received for a file record. A determination is made as to whether the requesting employee matches an entry in the first organizational hierarchy. Another determination is made as to whether the requested file record matches a file record of file records that the requesting employee is authorized to access, and access to the requested file record is permitted or denied to the requesting employee based upon the determinations.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

maintaining employee data with respect to a first organizational hierarchy in at least one memory, the employee data representative of a plurality of employees of an entity;

maintaining file records data with respect to a second organizational hierarchy in the at least one memory, the file records data representative of a plurality of file records in storage at a records supplier associated with an organizational division of the entity;

receiving, at a first computer, a request from an employee of the plurality of employees for a file record of the plurality of file records;

determining, by the first computer, whether the requesting employee matches an entry in the first organizational hierarchy;

determining, by the first computer that the first organizational hierarchy has not changed, responsive thereto;

determining, by the first computer, whether the requesting employee is authorized to access said file record based on the second organizational hierarchy; and

permitting, by the first computer, access to the requested file record to the requesting employee upon determining that the requesting employee is authorized to access said file record based on the second organizational hierarchy;

wherein the step of permitting includes enabling an audio indication of status of the access to the requested file record;

wherein the second organizational hierarchy identifies specific physical documents records boxes accessible to employees of the organizational division of the entity and not accessible to employees of a different organizational division of the entity,

wherein the permitting, by the first computer, access to the requested file record to the requesting employee includes permitting access to a specific physical document records box identified in the second organizational hierarchy.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically receiving, at the first computer, data representative of current positions for the plurality of employees within the first organizational hierarchy.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising updating, by the first computer, the employee data with respect to the first organizational hierarchy based upon the received data representative of the current positions.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically receiving, at the first computer, data representative of current associations for the plurality of file records within the second organizational hierarchy.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising updating, by the first computer, the file records data with respect to the second organizational hierarchy based upon the received data representative of the current associations.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving data representative of the requesting employee at the first computer.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the first computer, file records of the plurality of file records that the requesting employee is authorized to access.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising denying access, by the first computer, to the requested file record to the requesting employee upon determining the requested file record does not match a file record that the requesting employee is authorized to access.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of file records in storage at the records supplier belonging to the organizational division of the entity are a plurality of physical file records.

9. One or more non-transitory computer readable media storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method comprising:

maintaining employee data with respect to a first organizational hierarchy, the employee data representative of a plurality of employees of an entity;

maintaining file records data with respect to a second organizational hierarchy, the file records data representative of a plurality of file records in storage at a records supplier associated with an organizational division of the entity;

receiving a request from an employee of the plurality of employees for a file record of the plurality of file records;

determining whether the requesting employee matches an entry in the first organizational hierarchy;

determining, by the first computer that the first organizational hierarchy has not changed, responsive thereto

determining whether the requesting employee is authorized to access said requested file record based on the second organizational hierarchy; and

permitting access to the requested file record to the requesting employee upon determining that the requesting employee is authorized to access said file record based on the second organizational hierarchy;

wherein the step of permitting includes enabling an audio indication of status of the access to the requested file record;

wherein the second organizational hierarchy identifies specific physical documents records boxes accessible to employees of the organizational division of the entity and not accessible to employees of a different organizational division of the entity,

wherein the permitting, by the first computer, access to the requested file record to the requesting employee includes permitting access to a specific physical document records box identified in the second organizational hierarchy.

10. The non-transitory one or more computer readable media of claim 9, the method further comprising periodically receiving data representative of current positions for the plurality of employees within the first organizational hierarchy.

11. The non-transitory one or more computer readable media of claim 10, the method further comprising updating the employee data with respect to the first organizational hierarchy based upon the received data representative of the current positions.

12. The non-transitory one or more computer readable media of claim 9, the method further comprising periodically receiving data representative of current associations for the plurality of file records within the second organizational hierarchy.

13. The non-transitory one or more computer readable media of claim 12, the method further comprising updating the file records data with respect to the second organizational hierarchy based upon the received data representative of the current associations.

14. The non-transitory one or more computer readable media of claim 9, the method further comprising receiving data representative of the requesting employee.

15. The non-transitory one or more computer readable media of claim 9, the method further comprising determining file records of the plurality of file records that the requesting employee is authorized to access.

16. The non-transitory one or more computer readable media of claim 9, the method further comprising dewing access to the requested file record to the requesting employee upon determining the requested file record does not match a file record that the requesting employee is authorized to access.

17. A system comprising:

at least one database configured to maintain employee data with respect to a first organizational hierarchy, the employee data representative of a plurality of employees of an entity, and file records data with respect to a second organizational hierarchy, the file records data representative of a plurality of file records in storage at a records supplier associated with an organizational division of the entity; and

at least one computing device, operatively connected to the at least one database, operative to;

receive a request from an employee of the plurality of employees for a file record of the plurality of file records;

determine whether the requesting employee matches an entry in the first organizational hierarchy;

determine that the first organizational hierarchy has not changed, responsive thereto;

determine whether the requesting employee is authorized to access said file record based on the second organizational hierarchy the requested file record of file records that; and

permit access to the requested file record to the requesting employee upon determining that the requesting employee is authorized to access said file record based on the second organizational hierarchy;

wherein the permit step includes enabling an audio indication of status of the access to the requested file record;

wherein the second organizational hierarchy identifies specific physical documents records boxes accessible to employees of the organizational division of the entity and not accessible to employees of a different organizational division of the entity,

wherein the permitting, by the first computer, access to the requested file record to the requesting employee includes permitting access to a specific physical document records box identified in the second organizational hierarchy.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one computing device further operative to:

periodically receive data representative of current positions for the plurality of employees within the first organizational hierarchy; and

update the employee data with respect to the first organizational hierarchy based upon the received data representative of the current positions.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one computing device further operative to:

periodically receive data representative of current associations for the plurality of file records within the second organizational hierarchy; and

update the file records data with respect to the second organizational hierarchy based upon the received data representative of the current associations.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one computing device further operative to determine file records of the plurality of file records that the requesting employee is authorized to access.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the at least one computing device further operative to deny access to the requested file record to the requesting employee upon determining the requested file record does not match a file record that the requesting employee is authorized to access.