Collaboration space with event-trigger configuration views

• US 9,426,163 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2014
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: DeLuca, Lisa Seacat, Lakshmanan, Geetika T., Muller, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Smithers, Matthew
• Application Number:
  US14/204,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20150264054A1
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security

Abstract

Protecting sensitivity of information in a shared collaborative space on a computer network includes associating a set of sensitivity levels to sets of users and to sets of data elements. Access by each user to the shared collaborative space may be restricted to those data elements that have the same sensitivity level as of the user. Where multiple users join a single session, only data elements having a lowest common sensitivity level are made accessible by the users of the session.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for protecting sensitive data in a shared collaborative space, the method comprising:

associating any one or more of a plurality of sensitivity levels with any one or more of a plurality of users of a shared collaborative space on a computer network;

associating any one or more of the plurality of sensitivity levels with any one or more of a plurality of data elements of the shared collaborative space on the computer network;

providing access to a first data set in the plurality of data elements, by a first user among the plurality of users, wherein sensitivity levels associated with data elements of the first data set correspond to an equal or lesser sensitivity level as the sensitivity level associated with the first user;

detecting a trigger event corresponding to a second user;

generating a modified form of the first data set comprising data elements having a sensitivity level corresponding to a lowest common sensitivity level of the first user and the second user, and excluding data elements having a sensitivity level higher than the sensitivity level of the second user; and

providing access to the modified form of the first data set by the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein two or more of the plurality of sensitivity levels are hierarchically organized relative to one another.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein associating the plurality of sensitivity levels to each of the plurality of users comprises:

defining each of the plurality of sensitivity levels as metadata; and

associating the metadata of the plurality of sensitivity levels with the plurality of users and with the plurality of data elements.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of data elements has a corresponding owner, the owner designating the sensitivity level of the corresponding data element in the plurality of data elements.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensitivity level is any one of a Boolean indicator and a number.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the trigger event comprises one or more users logging into the shared collaborative space.

7. A computer system for protecting sensitive data in a shared collaborative space, comprising:

a computer having a processor and a tangible storage device;

a program embodied on the tangible storage device for execution by the processor, the program having a plurality of program instructions for execution by the processor, the program instructions comprising instructions for;

associating any one or more of a plurality of sensitivity levels with any one or more of a plurality of users of a shared collaborative space of a computer network;

associating any one of more of the plurality of sensitivity levels with any one or more of a plurality of data elements of the shared collaborative space on the computer network;

providing access to a first data set in the plurality of data elements, by a first user among the plurality of users, wherein sensitivity levels associated with data elements of the first data set correspond to an equal or lesser sensitivity level as the sensitivity level associated with the first user;

detecting a trigger event corresponding to a second user;

generating a modified form of the first data set comprising data elements having a sensitivity level corresponding to a lowest common sensitivity level of the first user and the second user, and excluding data elements having a sensitivity level higher than the sensitivity level of the second user; and

providing access to the modified form of the first data set by the second user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of users is a mobile device.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of users is a desktop computer.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein providing access comprising displaying data on a display.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein detecting the trigger event includes detecting an input to the computer including any one or more of:

a pressing of a key stroke on a keyboard of the computer;

a clicking of a mouse button where a corresponding pointer of the mouse appears over a graphical user interface component of the computer; and

a pressing of a touch screen of the computer.

12. A computer program product for protecting sensitive data in a shared collaborative space, the computer program product comprising a tangible storage device having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by a processor of a computer to perform a method, the method comprising:

associating, by the processor, any one or more of a plurality of sensitivity levels to any one or more of a plurality of users of a shared collaborative space on a computer network;

associating, by the processor, any one or more of the plurality of sensitivity levels to any one or more of a plurality of data elements of the shared collaborative space on the computer network;

providing access, by the processor, to a first data set in the plurality of data elements, by a first user among the plurality of users, wherein sensitivity levels associated with data elements of the first data set correspond to an equal or lesser sensitivity level as the sensitivity level associated with the first user;

detecting, by the processor, a trigger event corresponding to a second user;

generating, by the processor, a modified form of the first data set comprising data elements having a sensitivity level corresponding to a lowest common sensitivity level of the first user and the second user, and excluding data elements having a sensitivity level higher than the sensitivity level of the second user; and

providing, by the processor, access to the modified form of the first data set by the second user.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the access provided to the second user includes access via a screen sharing protocol.

14. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the access provided to the second user includes access via a file sharing protocol.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the shared collaborative space includes a document editing platform.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the collaborative space includes a directory of documents.

17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the shared collaborative space is a social network.