Patent ID: 9686356
Date: 2017-06-20
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04L,H04N

Claim:
1. A computer-implemented method performed by a social network engine comprising: receiving, at the social network engine and from a first application instance installed at a first communication device that is associated with a first software container related to a first online user identity, data indicating a request for social network data relating to a second online user identity included in a second software container, wherein each of the first software container and the second software container is an independent server virtualization instance stored at the social network engine that is configured to operate independently of other processes operating on a same processing resource as the independent server virtualization instance, and wherein the request comprises at least (i) a first network address uniquely identifying the first software container, and (ii) a second network address uniquely identifying the second software container; accessing configuration data that specifies pre-determined publish-and-subscribe relationships between the second software container and one or more other software containers, wherein the pre-determined publish-and-subscribe relationships between the second software container and one or more other software containers are specified by data received at the social network engine from a second application instance installed at a second communication device that is associated with the second software container, and wherein the pre-determined publish-and-subscribe relationships indicate one or more software containers that are permitted to receive social network data relating to the second online user identity included in the second software container or one or more software containers that are permitted to transmit social network data relating to online user identities to the second software container; determining that the configuration data specifies a pre-determined publish-and-subscribe relationship between the second software container and the first software container that permits social network data relating to the second online user identity included in the second software container to be transmitted to the first software container; identifying, at a key management module and from a set of encryption key pairs that each correspond to a different pre-determined publish-and-subscribe relationship between software containers, an encryption key pair corresponding to the pre-determined publish-and-subscribe relationship between the second software container and the first software container; providing, from the key management module, (i) a first key of the encryption key pair to the first application instance and (ii) a second key of the encryption key pair to the second application instance; receiving, at the social network engine and from the second application instance, encrypted social network data corresponding to the social network data relating to the second online user identity included in the second software container that has been encrypted using the second key of the encryption key pair; and in response to receiving the encrypted social network data, transmitting the encrypted social network data to the first software container.