Patent WO-2012071552-A2 (WO)
Title: System and method for access control and identity management
Inventor: HENDERSON CHARLES E
IPC: H04L9/32
Filed: 2011-11-23
Abstract: In a computer environment, a mechanism for the flow of access by means of derivation is provided. Typically, access rights granted with respect to an access point flow (or derive from) an access provider to an access recipient. Typically, the access provider is a function and the access recipient is a function. The access point may be any object, such as files or functions, to which the access recipient is granted access rights by the access provider. Access is typically represented by a relationship object referencing the access provider function, the access recipient function, and the access point object, and a set of access rights. There are typically different types of access, including read access, right access, and membership access. Therefore, the membership access relationship is typically represented as a subtype of the general/abstract access relationship. Membership is the idea that a first function can gain access to a second function, so that the first function becomes the member of the second function. The membership access relationship (MAR1) maps the access provider role to a function A, maps the access recipient to function B, and maps the access point to function C, wherein, function A is a function doing the membership inviting and therefore providing access (as the access provider), function B is the function being invited and therefore receiving access (as the access recipient), and function C (the access point) is the function into which function B is obtaining membership. When a membership access relationship (MAR1) is created, typically a new associated persona function is generated, representing the new identity created for the access recipient function (function B) while serving as a member of the access point function (function C). Because the persona (persona 1) is typically a function, additional rights may be granted to or granted by persona 1, such as rights granted by persona 1 (as the access provider in a new access relationship) or rights granted to persona 1 (as the access recipient in a new access relationship). After a persona (persona 1) is created, it may itself be invited by a function 3 to become a member in another function (function 4), thereby creating another membership access relationship (MAR2) in which MAR2's access recipient is persona 1, MAR2's access provider is function 3, and MAR's access point is function 4. A second persona (persona 2) is then typically automatically created representing the new membership access (MAR2). Persona 2 is then said to derive from persona 1, since persona 2 is based on persona 1. In this way, identity derivation is provided so that persona1 has a derived persona 2 (and persona 2 derives from persona 1). Persona 1 may have a plurality of derived personas, including persona 2, persona 3, and persona 4. Since these derived personas are based on the persona 1, if persona 1 is deleted, persona 2, persona 3, and persona 4 (the derived personas) may also be deleted. So, a new technique is provided by which a function may be invited to participate in a plurality of other functions, wherein each membership "invite" is expressed by a new membership access relationship and each such membership access relationship results in the creation of a new and associated persona. When a persona function is invited to be a member in another function, that in turn generates a membership and a second persona that is derived from the first persona, resulting in identity derivation.