Conflict resolution for keychain syncing

• US 9,479,583 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2015
• Issued: 10/25/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Brouwer, Michael, De Atley, Dallas B., Adler, Mitchell D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Armouche, Hadi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shayanfar, Ali
• Application Number:
  US14/746,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20160044101A1
• Time in Patent Office: 491 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/275 Synchronous replication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6263 during internet communication, e.g. revealing personal data from cookies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/24 Key scheduling, i.e. generating round keys or sub-keys for block encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/062 for key distribution, e.g. centrally by trusted party cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for key distribution involving a central third party H04L9/0819
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/104 Peer-to-peer [P2P] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0816 Key establishment, i.e. cryptographic processes or cryptographic protocols whereby a shared secret becomes available to two or more parties, for subsequent use

Abstract

Some embodiments provide a program that synchronizes a keychain stored on a device with a set of other devices. The keychain includes a set of keychain items. The program receives (1) a list of keychain items for updating the keychain stored on the device and (2) data representing the keychain items specified in the list of keychain items. For each keychain item in the list of keychain items, the program updates the keychain stored on the device with the data that represents the keychain item.

Claims

1. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing a program which when executed by at least one processing unit of a first device in a set of peer devices synchronizes a keychain stored on the first device with a set of keychains stored on other devices in the set of peer devices, each keychain comprising a set of keychain items, the set of peer devices communicatively coupled to one another in a peer-to-peer network through a set of network storage devices, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving a notification from the set of network storage devices that a second device in the set of peer devices has stored, at a time when the first device has been offline, a first keychain item in the set of network storage devices for retrieval by the first device;

retrieving, from the set of network storage devices, the first keychain item for updating the keychain stored on the first device;

determining whether a first unique identifier associated with the first keychain item matches a second unique identifier associated with a second keychain item in the keychain stored on the first device; and

resolving, when the second unique identifier is determined to match the first unique identifier, a conflict between the first and second keychain items and updating the second keychain item based on resolution of the conflict.

2. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for adding the first keychain item to the keychain stored on the first device when the second unique identifier is determined to not match a unique identifier of any keychain item in the keychain stored in the first device.

3. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for resolving the conflict comprises sets of instruction for:

identifying conflict resolution metadata associated with the first keychain item and conflict resolution metadata associated with the second keychain item;

determining, based on the conflict resolution metadata, whether a first conflict resolver associated with the first keychain item conflicts with a second conflict resolver associated with the second keychain item; and

using, when the first and second conflict resolvers are determined to not conflict, the second conflict resolver to resolve the conflict between the first and second keychain items.

4. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the set of instructions for resolving the conflict comprises sets of instructions for:

determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item; and

setting, when the first keychain item is determined as more recent, a value of the second keychain item to a value of first keychain item as the resolution to the conflict.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the set of instructions for determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item comprises a set of instructions for determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item based on timestamps associated with the first keychain item and the second keychain item.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 4, wherein the set of instructions for resolving the conflict further comprises a set of instructions for leaving a value of the second keychain item stored on the first device unchanged, when the first keychain item is not determined as more recent then the second keychain item.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the peer-to-peer network is implemented as an overlay network configured according to a star topology, wherein the set of network storage devices is a center of said star topology.

8. A method of synchronizing a keychain stored on a first device in a set of peer devices with a set of keychains stored on other devices in the set of peer devices, each keychain comprising a set of keychain items, the set of peer devices communicatively coupled to one another in a peer-to-peer network through a set of network storage devices, the method comprising:

receiving a notification from the set of network storage devices that a second device in the set of peer devices has stored, at a time when the first device has been offline, a first keychain item in the set of network storage devices for retrieval by the first device;

retrieving, from the set of network storage devices, the first keychain item for updating the keychain stored on the first device;

determining whether a first unique identifier associated with the first keychain item matches a second unique identifier associated with a second keychain item in the keychain stored on the first device; and

resolving, when the second unique identifier is determined to match the first unique identifier, a conflict between the first and second keychain items and updating the second keychain item based on resolution of the conflict.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising adding the first keychain item to the keychain stored on the first device when the second unique identifier is determined to not match a unique identifier of any keychain item in the keychain stored in the first device.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein resolving the conflict comprises:

identifying conflict resolution metadata associated with the first keychain item and conflict resolution metadata associated with the second keychain item;

determining, based on the conflict resolution metadata, whether a first conflict resolver associated with the first keychain item conflicts with a second conflict resolver associated with the second keychain item; and

using, when the first and second conflict resolvers are determined to not conflict, the second conflict resolver to resolve the conflict between the first and second keychain items.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein resolving the conflict comprises:

determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item;

setting, when the first keychain item is determined as more recent, a value of the second keychain item to a value of first keychain item as the resolution to the conflict.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item comprises determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item based on timestamps associated with the first keychain item and the second keychain item.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein resolving the conflict further comprises leaving a value of the second keychain item stored on the first device unchanged, when the first keychain item is not determined as more recent then the second keychain item.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the peer-to-peer network is implemented as an overlay network configured according to a star topology, wherein the set of network storage devices is a center of said star topology.

15. A first device, comprising:

a set of physical processing units for executing sets of instructions; and

a non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program which when executed by at least one of the physical processing units synchronizes a keychain stored on the first device with a set of keychains stored on other devices in a set of peer devices, each keychain comprising a set of keychain items, the set of peer devices communicatively coupled to one another in a peer-to-peer network through a set of network storage devices, the program comprising sets of instructions for;

receiving a notification from the set of network storage devices that a second device in the set of peer devices has stored, at a time when the first device has been offline, a first keychain item in the set of network storage devices for retrieval by the first device;

retrieving, from the set of network storage devices, the first keychain item for updating the keychain stored on the first device;

determining whether a first unique identifier associated with the first keychain item matches a second unique identifier associated with a second keychain item in the keychain stored on the first device; and

resolving, when the second unique identifier is determined to match the first unique identifier, a conflict between the first and second keychain items and updating the second keychain item based on resolution of the conflict.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the program further comprises a set of instructions for adding the first keychain item to the keychain stored on the first device when the second unique identifier is determined to not match a unique identifier of any keychain item in the keychain stored in the first device.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions for resolving the conflict comprises sets of instruction for:

identifying conflict resolution metadata associated with the first keychain item and conflict resolution metadata associated with the second keychain item;

determining, based on the conflict resolution metadata, whether a first conflict resolver associated with the first keychain item conflicts with a second conflict resolver associated with the second keychain item; and

using, when the first and second conflict resolvers are determined to not conflict, the second conflict resolver to resolve the conflict between the first and second keychain items.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the set of instructions for resolving the conflict comprises sets of instructions for:

determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item;

setting, when the first keychain item is determined as more recent, a value of the second keychain item to a value of first keychain item as the resolution to the conflict.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein the set of instructions for determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item comprises a set of instructions for determining whether the first keychain item is more recent than the second keychain item based on timestamps associated with the first keychain item and the second keychain item.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein the set of instructions for resolving the conflict further comprises a set of instructions for leaving a value of the second keychain item stored on the first device unchanged, when the first keychain item is not determined as more recent then the second keychain item.