Protecting user identity at a cloud using a distributed user identity system

• US 9,104,858 B1
• Filed: 05/03/2012
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Sundaram, Sharada, Koeten, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Rahim, Monjour
• Application Number:
  US13/463,618
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 726/3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/00 Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/50 Monitoring users, programs or devices to maintain the integrity of platforms, e.g. of processors, firmware or operating systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/604 Tools and structures for managing or administering access control systems
• 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 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5061 Partitioning or combining of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0815 providing single-sign-on or federations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/32 including means for verifying the identity or authority of a user of the system or for message authentication, e.g. authorization, entity authentication, data integrity or data verification, non-repudiation, key authentication or verification of credentials

Abstract

A computing system assigns an anonymous cloud account to a user in response to a determination that identity information of the user is validated for a request to access a cloud. The anonymous cloud account does not reveal an identity of the user to the cloud. The computing system creates mapping data that associates the user with the anonymous cloud account. The cloud does not have access to the mapping data. The computing system facilitates user access to the cloud based on the anonymous cloud account. The cloud generates cloud access pattern data for the anonymous cloud account without determining the identity of the user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

assigning, by a server computer system, an anonymous cloud account to a user in response to a determination that identity information of the user is validated for a user request to access a cloud, wherein the anonymous cloud account does not reveal an identity of the user to the cloud;

creating mapping data associating the user with the anonymous cloud account, wherein the mapping data is not made available to the cloud;

facilitating user access to the cloud based on the anonymous cloud account;

receiving, by the server computer system, cloud access pattern data associated with the anonymous cloud account from the cloud, wherein the cloud access pattern data is generated by the cloud for the anonymous cloud account without the cloud determining the identity of the user; and

correlating the cloud access pattern data with the mapping data to identify the user that accessed cloud content specified in the cloud access pattern data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the anonymous cloud account comprises an anonymous cloud account identifier that does not reveal the identity of the user to the cloud and further comprising:

providing the anonymous cloud account identifier to the cloud, wherein cloud access pattern data using the anonymous cloud account identifier is generated by the cloud.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud access pattern data is a cloud access pattern database table and the mapping data is a mapping database table.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein correlating the cloud access pattern data with the mapping data comprises:

joining fields of a cloud access pattern database table and a mapping database table.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cloud access pattern data comprises an anonymous cloud account identifier, an access start time indicator, an access end time indicator, and content identifiers of cloud content that is being accessed using the anonymous cloud account.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping data comprises a user identifier, an access start time indicator, an access end time indicator, and an anonymous cloud account identifier of the anonymous cloud account that is assigned to the user.

7. A system comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled with the memory to;

assign an anonymous cloud account to a user in response to a determination that identity information of the user is validated for a user request to access a cloud, wherein the anonymous cloud account does not reveal an identity of the user to the cloud;

create mapping data associating the user with the anonymous cloud account, wherein the mapping data is not made available to the cloud;

facilitate user access to the cloud based on the anonymous cloud account;

receive cloud access pattern data associated with the anonymous cloud account from the cloud, wherein the cloud access pattern data is generated by the cloud for anonymous cloud account without the cloud determining the identity of the user; and

correlate the cloud access pattern data with the mapping data to identify the user that accessed cloud content specified in the cloud access pattern data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the anonymous cloud account comprises an anonymous cloud account identifier that does not reveal the identity of the user to the cloud and the processor is further configured to:

provide the anonymous cloud account identifier to the cloud, wherein cloud access pattern data using the anonymous cloud account identifier is generated by the cloud.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the cloud access pattern data is a cloud access pattern database table and the mapping data is a mapping database table, and the processor is configured to correlate the cloud access pattern data with the mapping data by joining fields of the cloud access pattern database table and the mapping database table.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the cloud access pattern data comprises an anonymous cloud account identifier, an access start time indicator, an access end time indicator, and content identifiers of cloud content that is being accessed using the anonymous cloud account.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the mapping data comprises a user identifier, an access start time indicator, an access end time indicator, and an anonymous cloud account identifier of the anonymous cloud account that is assigned to the user.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

assigning, by the processor, an anonymous cloud account to a user in response to a determination that identity information of the user is validated for a user request to access a cloud, wherein the anonymous cloud account does not reveal an identity of the user to the cloud;

creating mapping data associating the user with the anonymous cloud account, wherein the mapping data is not made available to the cloud;

facilitating user access to the cloud based on the anonymous cloud account;

receiving, by the processor, cloud access pattern data associated with the anonymous cloud account from the cloud, wherein the cloud access pattern data is generated for the anonymous cloud account without the cloud determining the identity of the user; and

correlating the cloud access pattern data with the mapping data to identify the user that accessed cloud content specified in the cloud access pattern data.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the anonymous cloud account comprises an anonymous cloud account identifier that does not reveal the identity of the user to the cloud and the method further comprises:

providing the anonymous cloud account identifier to the cloud, wherein cloud access pattern data using the anonymous cloud account identifier is generated by the cloud.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the cloud access pattern data is a cloud access pattern database table and the mapping data is a mapping database table.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein correlating the cloud access pattern data with the mapping data comprises:

joining fields of the cloud access pattern database table and the mapping database table.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the cloud access pattern data comprises an anonymous cloud account identifier, an access start time indicator, an access end time indicator, and content identifiers of cloud content that is being accessed using the anonymous cloud account.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the mapping data comprises a user identifier, an access start time indicator, an access end time indicator, and an anonymous cloud account identifier of the anonymous cloud account that is assigned to the user.