Determining security factors associated with an operating environment

• US 9,246,943 B2
• Filed: 04/11/2013
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: French, Paul B., Healy, Jack, Lucey, Niall J., Truss, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Desrosiers, Evans
• Application Number:
  US13/860,710
• Publication Number:
  US 20140310763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 726/1, 713155-159, 709/22
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• 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: H04W 12/06 Authentication

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method, computer program product, and system for determining security factors associated with an operating environment for a computer through a wireless network. The computer identifies one or more local computers operating within range of wireless communications to the computer through a wireless network. The computer determines a current operating environment corresponding to the one or more identified local computers. The computer determines a current security value for the current operating environment corresponding to identities and security of the identified local computers. The computer identifies data corresponding to the current operating environment, the data corresponding to a current time period of the current operating environment. The computer determines security information corresponding to the current operating environment, wherein the security information includes a familiarity of the computer to the current operating environment, and a historical security of the computer in the current operating environment.

Claims

1. A computer program product for determining security factors associated with an operating environment for a computer through a wireless network, the computer program product comprising:

one or more computer-readable storage devices and program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage devices, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to identify one or more local computers, wherein the one or more local computers are computing devices that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network;

program instructions to determine a current operating environment of computing devices that includes the computer and the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network;

program instructions to determine a current security value for the determined current operating environment of computing devices utilizing information corresponding to identities of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices, and a security of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices;

program instructions to identify data corresponding to the determined current operating environment of computing devices, wherein the data corresponds to a current time period of the determined current operating environment of computing devices;

program instructions to determine security information corresponding to the determined current operating environment of computing devices,

wherein the determined security information includes a familiarity of the computer to the determined current operating environment of computing devices based on information indicating how frequently the computer is operating in the determined current operating environment of computing devices during the current time period, and

wherein a historical security of the computer in the determined current operating environment of computing devices based on information indicating how frequently authentication failures occur on the computer when the computer is operating in the determined current operating environment of computing devices during the current time period.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, further comprising program instructions to:

send the determined current security value and the determined security information to a program for determining a security policy for the computer.

3. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein said program instructions to determine current security value for the determined current environment of computing devices further comprises program instructions to:

identify information corresponding to an identity of the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network;

determine whether a first of the one or more identified local computers includes additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices;

responsive to determining the first of the one or more identified local computers includes additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices, to query the first of the one or more identified local computers for the additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices; and

receive additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices from the first of the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network.

4. The computer program product of claim 3, wherein the additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers includes a number of authentication failures that have occurred on the first of the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the identifying one or more local computers occurs during a boot up phase for the computer.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications that the computer identifies one or more local computers utilize Bluetooth®

or WiFi®

protocols.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the current time period includes an indication of a weekday, a time of day during the weekday, and a time zone of the determined current operating environment of computing devices.

8. A computer system for determining security factors associated with an operating environment for a computer through a wireless network, the computer system comprising:

one or more computer processors; and

one or more computer-readable storage devices;

program instructions stored on the computer-readable storage devices for execution by at least one of the one or more processors, the program instructions comprising;

program instructions to identify one or more local computers, wherein the one or more local computers are computing devices that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network;

program instructions to determine a current operating environment of computing devices that includes the computer and the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network;

program instructions to determine a current security value for the determined current operating environment of computing devices utilizing information corresponding to identities of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices, and a security of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices;

program instructions to identify data corresponding to the determined current operating environment of computing devices, wherein the data corresponds to a current time period of the determined current operating environment of computing devices;

program instructions to determine security information corresponding to the determined current environment of computing devices,

wherein the determined security information includes a familiarity of the computer to the determined current operating environment of computing devices based on information indicating how frequently the computer is operating in the determined current operating environment of computing devices during the current time period, and

wherein a historical security of the computer in the determined current operating environment of computing devices based on information indicating how frequently authentication failures occur on the computer when the computer is operating in the determined current operating environment of computing devices during the current time period.

9. The computer system of claim 8, further comprising program instructions to:

send the determined current security value and the determined security information to a program for determining a security policy for the computer.

10. The computer system of claim 8, wherein said program instructions to determine current security value for the determined current operating environment of computing devices further comprises program instructions to:

identify information corresponding to an identity of the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network;

determine whether a first of the one or more identified local computers includes additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices;

responsive to determining the first of the one or more identified local computers includes additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices, to query the first of the one or more identified local computers for the additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices; and

receive additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers in the determined current operating environment of computing devices from the first of the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network.

11. The computer system of claim 10, wherein the additional information corresponding to the security of the first of the one or more identified local computers includes a number of authentication failures that have occurred on the first of the one or more identified local computers that are operating within a range of wireless communications to the computer through the wireless network.

12. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the identifying one or more local computers occurs during a boot up phase for the computer.

13. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the wireless communications that the computer identifies one or more local computers utilize Bluetooth®

or WiFi®

protocols.

14. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the current time period includes an indication of a weekday, a time of day during the weekday, and a time zone of the determined current operating environment of computing devices.