Secure device sharing

• US 8,078,990 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2006
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Hassan, Ahmed E., Wilson, John F., Martin, Daryl Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Flynn, Nathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Almamun, Abdullah
• Application Number:
  US11/344,072
• Publication Number:
  US 20070180492A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,141 Days
• Field of Search: 726/2, 726/28, 718/108
• US Class Current: 715/804
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/31 User authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2105 Dual mode as a secondary aspect

Abstract

A device and method for placing the device in a locked state having an associated set of permitted tasks so as to permit the device owner to share the device with others but maintain security over aspects of the device. A task change request is evaluated to determine whether the requested task is permitted and, if so, the requested task is allowed; if not, then an authorization process is invoked to prompt the user to input authorization data. Upon verification of the authorization data, the device may be unlocked and the requested change implemented. The permitted tasks may designate specific applications, specific operations or functions within applications or at the operating system level, one or more currently open windows, and other levels of granularity.

Claims

1. A method of securing an electronic device, the device having an operating system, a task changer and a plurality of running tasks in a background, the method comprising:

receiving a lock request to lock the device;

setting a lock indicator in response to the lock request;

associating permitted task information with the lock indicator of the device;

receiving a request to activate a selected task from the plurality of running tasks in the background; and

reading said permitted task information and determining whether said selected task is permitted based upon said permitted task information and, if so, activating said selected task from the background to a foreground.

2. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein, if said determining determines that said selected task is not permitted, then invoking an authorization process to receive verification input, verifying said verification input, and, if verified, activating said selected task.

3. The method claimed in claim 1, further including calling a task change application programming interface (API) without an authorization argument, and generating a call failure in response to said task change API if said device is identified as being in a locked state, and wherein said verifying includes calling said task change API with said verification input as said authorization argument, and validating said verification input.

4. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said task change API includes a task argument, said task argument indicating said selected task.

5. The method claimed in claim 3, wherein said task change API is selected from a group consisting of an active window change API, a window resizing API, a window minimizing API, a window launch API, and an application launch API.

6. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said associating includes designating a user profile, said user profile being associated with said permitted task information.

7. The method claimed in claim 6, wherein said designating said user profile includes selecting said user profile from a plurality of user profiles, each of said user profiles having associated permitted task information.

8. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said associating said permitted task information with said lock indicator includes selecting one or more tasks from a list of available tasks.

9. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said permitted task information includes information identifying permitted tasks engageable while said device is locked.

10. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein said determining is performed at an operating system level.

11. An electronic device, the device having a locked state and an unlocked state, the device comprising:

a main body housing a user input device, a display, memory, and a processor operatively coupled to said user input device, said display and said memory;

an operating system running on said processor for managing input and output through said user input device and said display and providing a platform for operation of application programs, wherein said operating system is configured to receive a request to change to a selected task from a plurality of running tasks in a background;

a locking component for receiving a lock request to lock the device, setting a lock indicator, and associating permitted task information with the lock indicator of the device; and

a task request component for identifying that the device is in the locked state based on the lock indicator and for determining whether said selected task is permitted based upon the permitted task information and, if so, activating said selected task from the background to a foreground.

12. The electronic device claimed in claim 11, wherein said locking component is configured to invoke an authorization process to receive input if said task request component determines that said selected task is not permitted, verify said input, and, if verified, activate said selected task.

13. The electronic device claimed in claim 11, wherein said task request component includes a process control layer for receiving said called task change API and, if the device is in the locked state, determining whether said permitted task information includes said selected task and, if not, sending said locking component a failure message in response to the task change API.

14. The electronic device claimed in claim 13, wherein said locking component is configured to launch an authorization process to receive input and call a further task change API, wherein said further task change API includes said input as an argument, and wherein said process control layer verifies said argument and passes said further task change API to said operating system for implementation if said argument is verified.

15. The electronic device claimed in claim 13, wherein said task change API is selected from a group consisting of an active window change API, a window resizing API, a window minimizing API, a window launch API, and an application launch API.

16. The electronic device claimed in claim 11, wherein said memory stores a plurality of user profiles, each user profile having an associated set of permitted tasks, and wherein said locking component is configured to associate the locked state with said permitted task information in response to selection of one of said user profiles.

17. The electronic device claimed in claim 11, wherein said locking component includes a component for receiving a selection of one or more tasks from a list of available tasks as permitted or impermissible tasks, and wherein said permitted task information comprises said selected tasks.

18. The electronic device claimed in claim 11, wherein said task request component is implemented within said operating system.

19. A computer program product for securing an electronic device, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium having recorded thereon computer-executable instructions, said electronic device having an operating system, a task changer and a plurality of running tasks in a background, said computer-executable instructions comprising:

computer-executable instructions for receiving a lock request to lock the device;

computer-executable instructions for setting a lock indicator in response to the lock request;

computer-executable instructions for associating permitted task information with the lock indicator of the device,

computer-executable instructions for receiving a request to activate a selected task from the plurality of running tasks in the background; and

computer-executable instructions for reading said permitted task information and determining whether said selected task is permitted based upon said permitted task information and, if so, activating said selected task from the background to a foreground.

20. The computer program product claimed in claim 19, wherein, if said computer-executable instructions for determining determine that said selected task is not permitted, then further computer-executable instructions invoke an authorization process to receive a verification input, verify said verification input, and, if verified, activate said selected task.

21. The computer program product claimed in claim 19, further including computer-executable instructions for calling a task change application programming interface (API) without an authorization argument, and computer-executable instructions for generating a call failure in response to said task change API if said device is identified as being in a locked state, and wherein said computer-executable instructions for verifying include computer-executable instructions for calling said task change API with said verification input as said authorization argument, and validating said verification input.

22. The computer program product claimed in claim 21, wherein said task change API includes a task argument, said task argument indicating said selected task.

23. The computer program product claimed in claim 21, wherein said task change API is selected from a group consisting of an active window change API, a window resizing API, a window minimizing API, a window launch API, and an application launch API.

24. The computer program product claimed in claim 19, wherein said computer-executable instructions for associating include computer-executable instructions for designating a user profile, said user profile being associated with said permitted task information.

25. The computer program product claimed in claim 24, wherein said computer-executable instructions for designating said user profile include computer-executable instructions for selecting said user profile from a plurality of user profiles, each of said user profiles having associated permitted task information.

26. The computer program product claimed in claim 19, wherein said computer-executable instructions for associating said permitted task information with said lock indicator include computer-executable instructions for selecting one or more tasks from a list of available tasks.

27. The computer program product claimed in claim 19, wherein said permitted task information includes information identifying permitted tasks engageable while said device is locked.

28. The computer program product claimed in claim 19, wherein said computer-executable instructions for determining is implemented at an operating system level.