Patent ID: 12200112

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed herein provide a system and method for security key rotation in a cloud computing environment. The system and method includes at least: initiating, by one or more computing devices of the cloud computing environment and at a predetermined interval, a call to a key rotation control module to determine whether to initiate generation of a public-private key pair for a client application. The system and method further includes determining, by the key rotation control module, whether to initiate generation of the public-private key pair for the client application based on: querying a database to obtain a product configuration for the client application, wherein the product configuration includes a key rotation period associated with the client application indicating a frequency at which the public-private key pair for the client application is to be generated; determining whether a difference between a last time a previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application and a current time is greater than the key rotation period; and based on determining the difference between the last time the previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application and the current time is greater than the key rotation period, initiating generation of the public-private key pair. Based on determining to initiate generation of the public-private key pair for the client application, the system and method further includes transmitting, by the one or more computing devices, a control signal from the key rotation control module to a key rotation module requesting generation of the public-private key pair. The key rotation module further generates the public-private key pair and updates the database with a timestamp indicating when the public-private key pair was generated for the client application, the timestamp to replace the last time the previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application. The system and method further includes transmitting, by the one or more computing devices, a private key associated with the public-private key pair to a secure storage location for later retrieval by the client application, and transmitting, by the one or more computing devices, a public key associated with the public-private key pair to a public key service for later retrieval by a client associated with the client application.

The following embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the disclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments are evident based on the present disclosure, and that system, process, or mechanical changes may be made without departing from the scope of an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the following description, numerous specific details are given to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, it will be apparent that the disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In order to avoid obscuring an embodiment of the present disclosure, some well-known circuits, system configurations, architectures, and process steps are not disclosed in detail.

The drawings showing embodiments of the system are semi-diagrammatic, and not to scale. Some of the dimensions are for the clarity of presentation and are shown exaggerated in the drawing figures. Similarly, although the views in the drawings are for ease of description and generally show similar orientations, this depiction in the figures is arbitrary for the most part. Generally, the disclosure may be operated in any orientation.

The term “module” or “unit” referred to herein may include software, hardware, or a combination thereof in an embodiment of the present disclosure in accordance with the context in which the term is used. For example, the software may be machine code, firmware, embedded code, or application software. Also for example, the hardware may be circuitry, a processor, a special purpose computer, an integrated circuit, integrated circuit cores, or a combination thereof. Further, if a module or unit is written in the system or apparatus claims section below, the module or unit is deemed to include hardware circuitry for the purposes and the scope of the system or apparatus claims.

The term “service” or “services” referred to herein can include a collection of modules or units. A collection of modules or units may be arranged, for example, in software or hardware libraries or development kits in an embodiment of the present disclosure in accordance with the context in which the term is used. For example, the software or hardware libraries and development kits may be a suite of data and programming code, for example pre-written code, classes, routines, procedures, scripts, configuration data, or a combination thereof, that may be called directly or through an application programming interface (API) to facilitate the execution of functions of the system.

The modules, units, or services in the following description of the embodiments may be coupled to one another as described or as shown. The coupling may be direct or indirect, without or with intervening items between coupled modules, units, or services. The coupling may be by physical contact or by communication between modules, units, or services.

System Overview and Function

FIG.1shows a system100for security key rotation in a cloud computing environment in an embodiment of the present disclosure. In many embodiments, the system100may be part of a backend computing infrastructure, including a server infrastructure of a company or institution. The backend computing infrastructure may be implemented in a cloud computing environment. The cloud computing environment may be a public or private cloud service. Examples of a public cloud include Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud Solutions, Microsoft Azure Cloud, and Google Cloud, as examples. A private cloud refers to a cloud environment similar to a public cloud with the exception that it is operated solely for a single organization.

The system100is used to implement a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) within the cloud computing environment. Specifically, the system100is used to implement key rotation of a PKI public-private key pair for a client application118of a client120associated with the client application118. The client application118refers to a software application that integrates with the cloud computing environment to provide some functionality. The functionality may be, for example, providing some customer interfacing functionality between the client120and the company or institution, for example, facilitating payments to the company or institution, via the cloud computing environment, using the client application118, in which sensitive financial information such as account numbers and/or passwords are sent back and forth between the client120, the client application118, and the cloud computing environment. Other applications can include identity verification using the client application118, in which sensitive data such as passwords or biometric data used to verify a customer identity are sent back and forth between the client120, the client application118, and the cloud computing environment. The aforementioned are merely exemplary and not meant to be limiting of the functionality of the client application118.

The client120refers to an entity to which uses client application118. For the purposes of discussion, it is assumed that the client120is a separate entity from the company or institution. This, however, does not have to be the case, and the client120may be a sub-organization, division, or department of the company or institution that implements and/or develops the client application118. Regardless of the organizational status of the client120, it is assumed that the client application118integrates on top of the cloud computing environment.

Continuing with the example, the purpose of the system100is to provide security for sensitive data transmitted between the client120, the client application118, and/or the cloud computing environment. The system100provides this security by implementing a mechanism that rotates a PKI public-private key pair used to encrypt/decrypt the sensitive data. Rotation refers to the generation of a new public-private key pair used to encrypt/decrypt data by the client120and the client application118. In many embodiments, the rotation is done based on a schedule and at a predetermined interval. The predetermined interval may be any unit of time, for example, minutes, hours, days, etc. In many embodiments, once the public-private key pair is rotated, it is transmitted to other components of the system100, for example, a secure storage location112and a public key service module114, and may be sent to other devices or the client120, or retrieved from the same by the client application118and the client120to encrypt/decrypt the sensitive data being transmitted between the client120, the client application118, and the cloud computing environment.

In many embodiments, the system100may be implemented with units, modules, and sub-modules. For example, the system100may include a scheduler module102, a key rotation control module104, and a key rotation module106. In many embodiments, the scheduler module102may be coupled to the key rotation control module104. The key rotation control module104may be coupled to the key rotation module106. The scheduler module102, the key rotation control module104, and the key rotation module106can further be coupled to other components of the system100. For example, in many embodiments, these other components may be a database108, the secure storage location112, and the public key service module114. For example, the key rotation control module104may be coupled to the database108. The key rotation module106can also be coupled to the database108. The key rotation module106can further be coupled to the secure storage location112and can also be coupled to the public key service module114.

In many embodiments, the modules and the other components of the system100can all be implemented within the cloud computing environment. How the system100operates will now be discussed with respect toFIG.1. For the purposes of discussion, and with respect toFIG.1, it will be assumed that the client application118is integrated with the cloud computing environment such that the system100can generate a public-private key pair for the client application118. Integrated refers to the client application118being connected to the cloud computing environment, such that the client application118is able to call on functions of the cloud computing environment, via an API or otherwise, to generate and obtain the public-private key pair.

In many embodiments, the system100can operate by having the scheduler module102initiate a call to the key rotation control module104to determine whether to initiate generation of a public-private key pair for the client application118. In many embodiments, the scheduler module102may be implemented as a service of the cloud computing environment. For example, if the cloud computing environment is AWS, the scheduler module102may be implemented as a service of Amazon CloudWatch. In many embodiments where the cloud computing environment is Google Cloud, the scheduler module102may be implemented as a service of Google Cloud Monitoring. The aforementioned platforms are merely exemplary and not limiting to the cloud computing environment of the system100.

Continuing with the example, in many embodiments, the scheduler module102can initiate the call to the key rotation control module104by, for example, transmitting a signal or parameter, or making a function call via an API to the key rotation control module104to notify the key rotation control module104that it is time to check whether a public-private key pair of the client application118needs to be rotated. In many embodiments, the scheduler module102can initiate the call based on a predetermined interval. As previously indicated, the predetermined interval may be any unit of time, for example, minutes, hours, days, etc. For example, the call may be every five minutes, ten minutes, thirty minutes, etc., depending on the bandwidth of the system100to make such calls to the key rotation control module104. The predetermined interval may be customized by an administrator or a developer of the system100.

In many embodiments, as a result of the call to the key rotation control module104, the key rotation control module104can query the database108, which in many embodiments store a product configuration for the client application118. The key rotation control module104refers to a service of the cloud computing environment or a software code implemented in the cloud computing environment, that allows the determination of whether to initiate generation of the public-private key pair for the client application118. In many embodiments, the key rotation control module104may be implemented as a serverless function of the cloud computing environment.

A serverless function refers to anonymous functions of the cloud computing environment that may be initiated or called to perform a task. The benefit of using serverless functions of the cloud computing environment is that the company or institution implementing the system100does not have to implement infrastructure or hardware to perform the task and can rely on the cloud computing environment for doing so. Additionally, this relieves the company or institution of performing the administrative duties of managing the underlying compute resources for implementing the task. This simplifies the architecture and code implementations that the company or institution implements in designing and deploying the system100. For example, in many embodiments where the cloud computing environment is AWS, the key rotation control module104may be implemented in AWS Lambda, where the code or instructions for performing the functions of the key rotation control module104are implemented in AWS Lambda.

Continuing with the example, and as previously mentioned, in many embodiments, based on the call from the scheduler module102, the key rotation control module104can query the database108and access the product configuration for the client application118. In many preferred embodiments, the rotation control module104can perform only read functions when querying the database108.

The product configuration refers to settings associated with the client application118. For the purposes of discussion, it is assumed that any client application118that uses the system100has an accompanying product configuration, which sets forth one or more variables, or parameters that may be stored as table entries in the database108, and which indicates properties of the client application118. In many embodiments, the product configuration may be installed and/or entered into the database as a part of an onboarding process when the client application118is being integrated with the cloud computing environment. Further details regarding the onboarding process and what variables or parameters are included in the product configuration will be discussed further below. For the purposes of discussion with respect toFIG.1, it is assumed that the product configuration includes at least five variables or parameters indicating: (1) how often (i.e., the frequency) the public-private key pair for the client application118is to be rotated (i.e., generated), which is referred to as a key rotation period, (2) for how long the public-private key pair are valid (i.e., the duration for which the public-private key pair is accessible by the client application118and the client120), which is referred to as a key validity period, (3) which machine can access the private key, which is referred to as an access type and access setting, (4) which client can access the public key, which is referred to as a user client id, and (5) key parameters which describe what type of public-private keys should generated. The key rotation period and the key validity period are related, and the value of one depends on the other due to the constraints of the system100. For example, the key rotation period and the key validity period may follow one or more of the predetermined constraints:The key validity period is greater than the key rotation period.The key validity period is equal to or greater than the key rotation period plus an amount of time. In many preferred embodiments, the amount of time is 1800 seconds.The key validity period is equal to or greater than a minimum amount of time. In many preferred embodiments, the minimum amount of time is 7200 seconds.The key validity period is equal to or less than a maximum amount of time. In many preferred embodiments, the maximum amount of time is 15552000 seconds.

In many embodiments, the key rotation control module104, by querying the database108and accessing the product configuration can determine whether to initiate rotation of the public-private key pair for the client application118. This may be done based on determining whether a difference between a last time a previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application118and a current time is greater than the key rotation period. For the purposes of discussion, it is also assumed that the last time a previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application118is known and was saved to the product configuration. It is also assumed that the current time may be obtained by a service of the cloud computing environment. The current time refers to a time at which the scheduler module102makes a call to the key rotation control module104to determine whether to initiate generation of a public-private key pair.

In many embodiments, based on determining that the difference between the last time the previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application118and the current time is greater than the key rotation period, the key rotation control module104can initiate generation of the public-private key pair by, for example, generating and transmitting a control signal to the key rotation module106, requesting rotation of the public-private key pair. In many embodiments, once the key rotation control module104generates and transmits the control signal to the key rotation module106, control is passed to the key rotation module106to generate the public-private key pair. The control signal may be a signal or parameter, or a function call via an API, to the key rotation module106

The key rotation module106, similar to the key rotation control module104, refers to a service of the cloud computing environment or a software code implemented in the cloud computing environment, that allows the generation of the public-private key pair for the client application118. In many embodiments, the key rotation module106may be implemented as a serverless function of the cloud computing environment. The key rotation module106can generate the public-private key pair through any number of known methods for generating public-private key pairs. For example, in many embodiments, the public-private key pair may be Elliptic Curve (EC) keys, RSA keys, or digital signature keys. Thus, the public-private key pair may be generated by having the key rotation module106implement instructions or code to generate EC keys, RSA keys, or digital signature keys. Such instructions and code are known in the art and may be implemented by using open source libraries such as OpenSSL to generate a public-private key pair for EC, RSA, or digital signature keys. An example code to generate the public-private key pair is shown below. The example code generates the public-private key pair using the Java™ programming language using the JDK Security API. This, however, is exemplary and other programming languages can be used:

package org.kodejava.example.security;import java.security.*;import java.util.Base64;public class GenerateKeyPairDemo {public static void main(String[ ] args) {try {KeyPairGenerator keyGen = KeyPairGenerator.getInstance(“DSA”, “SUN”);// Initialize KeyPairGenerator.SecureRandom random = SecureRandom.getInstance(“SHA1PRNG”, “SUN”);keyGen.initialize(1024, random);// Generate Key Pairs, a private key and a public key.KeyPair keyPair = keyGen.generateKeyPair( );PrivateKey privateKey = keyPair.getPrivate( );PublicKey publicKey = keyPair.getPublic( );Base64.Encoder encoder = Base64.getEncoder( );System.out.println(“privateKey: ” + encoder.encodeToString(privateKey.getEncoded( )));System.out.println(“publicKey: ” + encoder.encodeToString(publicKey.getEncoded( )));} catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {e.printStackTrace( );} catch (NoSuchProviderException e) {e.printStackTrace( );}}}

Continuing with the example, in many embodiments, in order to generate the public-private key pair, additional information may be needed. For example, in the case where the public-private key is RSA keys, the additional information includes an RSA key size in bits that needs to be specified. In another example, if the public-private key pair is EC keys, an EC curve to be used needs to be specified. In many embodiments, this additional information may be specified by the developer of the client application118and saved as part of the product configuration, and may be obtained by the key rotation module106from the database108, via querying the database108during the public-private key pair generation process.

In many embodiments, once the key rotation module106rotates (i.e., generates) the keys, the key rotation module106can further update the database108with a timestamp indicating when the public-private key pair was generated for the client application118. The timestamp replaces the previous value or parameter of the product configuration indicating the last time the previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application118. In this way, the system100can determine, in the future, whether a further public-private key pair will need to be generated for the client application118for subsequent iterations of calls to the key rotation control module104by the scheduler module102.

In many embodiments, once the key rotation module106generates the public-private key pair, the key rotation module106can further generate a notification indicating that the public-private key pair has been generated. For example, the key rotation module106can call one or more services of the cloud computing environment to generate a notification to a user, administrator, or developer of the system100, or the client application118. For example, in many embodiments where the system100is implemented in AWS, the key rotation module106can generate a signal notifying a service such as Amazon Simple Notification Service (SNS) to further notify a user, administrator, developer of the system100, or the client application118that the public-private key pair has been generated and that it may be retrieved. In this way, key rotations performed by the system100may be tracked and monitored and allow the components of the system100to take action based on the key rotations.

In many embodiments, once the key rotation module106generates the public-private key pair, the key rotation module106can allow transmitting of the keys generated to the other components of the system100. For example, in many embodiments, the key rotation module106can transmit the private key associated with the public-private key pair to the secure storage location112. In many preferred embodiments, the key rotation module106can interact with the secure storage location112via write-only functions. The key rotation module106can further transmit the public key associated with the public-private key pair to the public key service module114.

The secure storage location112refers to a database or repository that can securely store the private key associated with the public-private key pair. In many embodiments, the secure storage location112may be implemented as an enterprise secret management solution, for example, HashiCorp's Vault, which is an open source solution known in the art, to which the private key is transmitted and stored in a secure location.

The public key service module114refers to a service of the cloud computing environment, or a server integrated into the cloud computing environment, that facilitates the exchange of information, particularly the public keys, between the client120and the cloud computing environment, including data and protocol translations where necessary, to ensure intended information is exchanged between the client120and the cloud computing environment. In many embodiments, the public key is transmitted and stored in a location within the public key service module114.

In many embodiments where the private and public keys are transmitted to the secure storage location112and the public key service module114, the private key and the public key can remain in the respective locations where they are stored on these components until they are ready to be retrieved and/or accessed by the client120and the client application118, to be utilized in encrypting/decrypting sensitive data. Due to the fact that the public-private key pair expires due to their key validity period, they remain accessible by the client120and/or the client application118until the expiration. That is, in order to be utilized to encrypt/decrypt sensitive data, they must be used within their key validity period.

By way of example, the client120and the client application118can utilize the generated public-private key pair in the following manner to encrypt/decrypt sensitive data. In many embodiments, where the client120wants to transmit sensitive data to the client application118so that the client application118can perform some task on the sensitive data and/or to further transmit the sensitive data to the cloud computing environment to perform some task on the sensitive data, the client120can first generate a request to the public key service module114to obtain the public key. In many embodiments, the client120can generate the request by using a public key service API116or other similar interface to generate the request. In many preferred embodiments, the client120can only request the public key associated with the specific client application118as configured as part of the onboarding. In other words, it can only obtain the public keys it has access to from the public key service module114based on the request. The request may be, for example, a function call to the public key service module114, in which a parameter is passed identifying the client application118and requesting that the public key generated for the client application118be sent back to the client120.

In many embodiments, based on receiving the request, the public key service module114can transmit the public key generated to the client120. The module114will only return the public key if the client120is authorized to receive the key associated with the specific client application118as configured as part of the onboarding. Once the client120receives the public key, the client can use the public key to encrypt the sensitive data being transmitted to the client application118and send the public key along with the sensitive data, along with any other accompanying parameters or data to the client application118.

In many embodiments, the client application118can receive the encrypted data and the public key. Once received, the client application118can generate a request to the secure storage location112, by using a secure storage location API110(or other similar interface) to obtain the private key associated with the public key. In many preferred embodiments, the client application118can interact with the secure storage location112via read-only functions. In other words, the client application118can only obtain the private keys via the request. In many embodiments, the request may be a function call to the secure storage location112, in which a parameter is passed identifying the client application118, the client120, or a combination thereof, and requesting that the private key generated for the client application118be sent back to the client application118. Based on receiving the request, the secure storage location112can transmit the private key to the client application118. Once received the client application118can use the private key to decrypt the encrypted data. How public-private key pairs are used to decrypt encrypted data is known in the art and will not be described in detail. For the purposes of discussion, it may be assumed that any number of known techniques may be used. In many embodiments, once decrypted, the client application118can perform its tasked function on the sensitive data and/or transmit the sensitive data to the cloud computing environment to perform tasks on the sensitive data.

In many embodiments of the system100, in addition to having the scheduler module102make calls to the key rotation control module104based on a schedule and at a predetermined interval, the system100can further include a manual override option in which the system100, via an API or an interface, can allow a user of the system100to request the initiation of generation of the public-private key pair for a client application118outside of the scheduled or predetermined interval. The user of the system100may be, for example, an administrator or developer of the system100. The request can take the form of the control signal similar to the control signal transmitted by the key rotation control module104to the key rotation module106. The control signal can trigger the key rotation module106to generate the public-private key pair and bypass the querying of the database108that is performed by the key rotation control module104. In this way, users of the system100can have further control over the key generation process and can generate a public-private key pair in the event a security violation is determined, that can compromise the security of the sensitive data, and limit the impact of any such violation.

It should be noted that the system100described inFIG.1while discussed with respect to a client120and a client application118, is not limited to such an embodiment. This is merely done for ease of description. The system100can further be scaled to support many clients and client applications. For example, in implementations where multiple clients and client applications utilize the system100to generate a public-private key pair, different client and/or client application identifiers, for example different alpha-numeric identifiers, may be generated at the onboarding stage for each of the clients and/or client applications, identifying each client and/or client application, and associated with each of the clients and/or client applications, such that the system100can generate a public-private key pair for each of the clients and/or client applications and use the identifiers to associate each client and/or client application to its public-private key pair when generating and/or transmitting the public-private key.

The modules and services described inFIG.1may be implemented as instructions stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium to be executed by one or more computing units such as a processor, a special purpose computer, an integrated circuit, integrated circuit cores, or a combination thereof. The non-transitory computer readable medium may be implemented with any number of memory units, such as a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, an internal memory, an external memory, or a combination thereof. The non-transitory computer readable medium may be integrated as a part of the system100or installed as a removable portion of the system100.

It has been discovered that the system100described above significantly improves the state of the art from previous systems for encryption key management because it introduces novel architecture for security key rotation in a cloud computing environment. The architecture allows client applications built on a cloud computing environment to utilize PKI technologies without having to implement any of the PKI infrastructure themselves. This significantly improves development time for client applications because it offloads security functions for the client applications to the cloud computing environment, thereby simplifying development and implementation of client applications built for the cloud computing environment.

It has been further discovered that the system100described above significantly improves the state of the art because it implements an encryption key management architecture that may be implemented once and used across many clients and/or client applications. This significantly reduces the costs in implementing encryption systems across multiple clients and client applications because it allows one encryption key management system to be build and utilized by many end users.

It has been further discovered that the system100described above significantly improves the state of the art because it implements an encryption key management architecture that significantly limits the impact of data breaches for cloud based applications, in which sensitive data is compromised, because it limits access to the sensitive data for a limited period of time due to the public-private keys being frequently rotated so that public-private key pairs need to be obtained frequently to access the sensitive data.

Onboarding Process for Client Applications

FIG.2shows an example system200for initializing a product configuration of a client application in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system200may be used as part of the onboarding process mentioned with respect toFIG.1, in which the client application118is integrated into the cloud computing environment. For the purposes ofFIG.2, it is assumed that system200performs the initialization of the product configuration prior to the system100being used to generate a public-private key pair for a client application118.

In many embodiments, system200may be implemented with modules and sub-modules. For example, in many embodiments, the system200can include an initialization module202. The initialization module202can be coupled to one or more of the other components of the cloud computing environment, for example, the secure storage location112or the database108, and allow at least part of the integration of the client application118into the cloud environment.

In many embodiments, the initialization module202can allow this integration by allowing an owner of client application118to interface with the cloud computing environment to set one or more parameters or variables for the product configuration for the client application118, so public-private keys can be generated for the system100. In many embodiments, not all the parameters or variables for the product configuration need to be provided by the owner of client application118, and may be further generated and written to the product configuration by the other components of the system200, for example, the secure storage location112in conjunction with an onboarding API204, or by an administrator or developer of the system200.

In many embodiments, the initialization module202can include, for example, an onboarding API204that allows the owner of client application118and/or other components of the system200to input the parameters or variables. The parameters or variables to be input have no set schema and may be customized by an administrator or developer of the system200. Typical parameters or variables are listed in Table 1 along with a brief description of what they represent:

TABLE 1ParameterorVariableTypeDescriptionproduct_idstringThis parameter can identify the client application 118 and maybe specified by the client application 118.public_key_product_idstringThis parameter may be used to request public keys from thepublic key service module 114. It may be used to map multipleclients 120 to public keys of a client application 118.owner_client_idstringThis parameter can identify a particular client application 118.lockbox_idstringThis parameter can identify a secure location of the securestorage location 112, where the private key is stored. Thisparameter may be specified by the secure storage location 112and written to the product configuration by the secure storagelocation 112 once the client application 112 is integrated intothe cloud computing environment.key_typestringThis parameter can specify the type of public-private key pairto be created. For example, it can specify EC keys or RSAkeys.key_usestringThis parameter can specify the use case of the public-privatekey pair. For example, it can specify whether the key pair isused to encrypt/decrypt data or to be used as a digitalsignature.curvestringIn a variety of embodiments where EC keys are to begenerated, this parameter can specify the EC curve to use togenerate the EC keys.algorithmstringThis parameter can specify what algorithm is used to generatethe key pair. For example, this can specify any number ofAsymmetric-key algorithms or Symmetric-key algorithmsthat are available in generating the public-private key pair.This parameter can change based on the ‘key_type’ and‘key_use’ parameters.key_sizenumberIn many embodiments where RSA keys are generated, thisparameter can specify the RSA key size in bits. In manypreferred embodiments, the value of this parameter may belarger than 2048 and divisible by 8. This field may only berequired when ‘key_type’ parameter is set to ‘RSA’.key_validity_periodnumberThis parameter can specify the period of time for which a keypair is valid after rotation.key_rotation_periodnumberThis parameter can specify the period of time after which akey must be rotated.last_refreshed_timestringThis parameter can specify the timestamp at which the keywas last rotated, as an integer value of milliseconds. Inpreferred embodiments, the value of this parameter defaults to0 when the client application 118 is initially integrated into thecloud computing environment.access_typestringIn many embodiments, where the secure storage location 112is implemented as an enterprise secret management solution,this parameter may be used to specify the access type used toaccess the secrets used to secure the private key. Allowedvalues can include, for example, ‘Kubernetes’, ‘EC2’, and‘IAM’.access_settingsstringThis parameter can specify the access settings whichcorrespond to the specified ‘access_type’.user_client_idsstringThis parameter can specify a list of clients, for example client120, which will have access to read a public key from thepublic key service module 114.create_tsstringThis parameter can specify a time at which the clientapplication 118 was created, as an integer value ofmilliseconds. The current time populates this field at the timethe client application 118 is integrated into the cloudcomputing environment.update_tsstringThis parameter can specify the time at which the clientapplication 118 was last modified (i.e., has its code modified),as an integer value of milliseconds. The current time populatesthis field at whenever an update is made to the clientapplication 118 in the cloud computing environment.delete_tsstringThis parameter can specify the time at which the clientapplication 118 is deleted from or de-integrated from the cloudcomputing environment, as an integer value of milliseconds.The current timestamp populates this field at deletion time,otherwise the value defaults to 0 at the time the clientapplication 118 is integrated into the cloud computingenvironment.

The aforementioned parameters or values listed in Table 1 are not meant to be limiting. Other parameters may be configured by an administrator or developer of the system200. In many embodiments, once the product configuration parameters are initialized, the product configuration may be saved to and stored on the database108. The product configuration can then be used by the system100ofFIG.1to generate the public-private key pair for a client application118.

Methods of Operation

FIG.3shows an example method300of operating the system in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method300includes, initiating, at a predetermined interval, a call to a key rotation control module104to determine whether to initiate generation of a public-private key pair for a client application118, as shown in302. The method300further includes, determining, by the key rotation control module104, whether to initiate generation of the public-private key pair for the client application118, as shown in304. Based on determining to initiate generation of the public-private key pair for the client application118, the method300further includes transmitting a control signal from the key rotation control module104to a key rotation module106requesting generation of the public-private key pair, as shown in306. The method300further includes, generating, by the key rotation module106, the public-private key pair, as shown in308. The method further includes, updating, by the key rotation module106, the database108with a timestamp indicating when the public-private key pair was generated for the client application118, the timestamp to replace a last time the previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application118, as shown in310. The method300further includes, transmitting a private key associated with the public-private key pair to a secure storage location112for later retrieval by the client application118, as shown in312. The method300further includes, transmitting a public key associated with the public-private key pair to a public key service module114for later retrieval by a client120, as shown in314.

FIG.4shows an example method400of determining whether to initiate generation of a public-private key pair for the client application118in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method400includes, querying a database108to obtain a product configuration for the client application118, wherein the product configuration includes a key rotation period associated with the client application118indicating a frequency at which the public-private key pair for the client application118is to be generated, as shown in402. The method400further includes, determining whether a difference between a last time a previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application118and a current time is greater than the key rotation period, as shown in404. Based on determining the difference between the last time the previous public-private key pair was generated for the client application118and the current time is greater than the key rotation period, the method400further includes, initiating generation of the public-private key pair, as shown in406.

The operations of methods300and400are performed, for example, by system100, in accordance with embodiments described above.

Components of the System

FIG.5shows an example architecture500of the components implementing systems100and200in embodiments of the present disclosure. In many embodiments, the components may include a control unit502, a storage unit506, a communication unit516, and a user interface512. The control unit502may include a control interface504. The control unit502may execute a software510to provide some or all of the intelligence of systems100and200. The control unit502may be implemented in a number of different ways. For example, the control unit502may be a processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an embedded processor, a microprocessor, a hardware control logic, a hardware finite state machine (FSM), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a combination thereof.

The control interface504may be used for communication between the control unit502and other functional units or devices of systems100and200. The control interface504may also be used for communication that is external to the functional units or devices of systems100and200. The control interface504may receive information from the functional units or devices of systems100and200, or from remote devices520, or may transmit information to the functional units or devices of systems100and200, or to remote devices520. The remote devices520refer to units or devices external to systems100and200.

The control interface504may be implemented in different ways and may include different implementations depending on which functional units or devices of systems100and200or remote devices520are being interfaced with the control unit502. For example, the control interface504may be implemented with a pressure sensor, an inertial sensor, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS), optical circuitry, waveguides, wireless circuitry, wireline circuitry to attach to a bus, an application programming interface, or a combination thereof. The control interface504may be connected to a communication infrastructure522, such as a bus, to interface with the functional units or devices of systems100and200or remote devices520.

The storage unit506may store the software510. For illustrative purposes, the storage unit506is shown as a single element, although it is understood that the storage unit506may be a distribution of storage elements. Also for illustrative purposes, the storage unit506is shown as a single hierarchy storage system, although it is understood that the storage unit506may be in a different configuration. For example, the storage unit506may be formed with different storage technologies forming a memory hierarchical system including different levels of caching, main memory, rotating media, or off-line storage. The storage unit506may be a volatile memory, a nonvolatile memory, an internal memory, an external memory, or a combination thereof. For example, the storage unit506may be a nonvolatile storage such as nonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM), Flash memory, disk storage, or a volatile storage such as static random access memory (SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

The storage unit506may include a storage interface508. The storage interface508may be used for communication between the storage unit506and other functional units or devices of systems100and200. The storage interface508may also be used for communication that is external to systems100and200. The storage interface508may receive information from the other functional units or devices of systems100and200or from remote devices520, or may transmit information to the other functional units or devices of systems100and200or to remote devices520. The storage interface508may include different implementations depending on which functional units or devices of systems100and200or remote devices520are being interfaced with the storage unit506. The storage interface508may be implemented with technologies and techniques similar to the implementation of the control interface504.

The communication unit516may allow communication to devices, components, modules, or units of systems100and200or to remote devices520. For example, the communication unit516may permit the system100to communicate between its components such as the scheduler module102, the key rotation control module104, the key rotation module106, the database108, the secure storage location112, and the public key service module114. The communication unit516may further permit the devices of systems100and200to communicate with remote devices520such as an attachment, a peripheral device, or a combination thereof through a communication path524, such as a wireless or wired network.

The communication path524may span and represent a variety of networks and network topologies. For example, the communication path524may be a part of a network and include wireless communication, wired communication, optical communication, ultrasonic communication, or a combination thereof. For example, satellite communication, cellular communication, Bluetooth, Infrared Data Association standard (IrDA), wireless fidelity (WiFi), and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) are examples of wireless communication that may be included in the communication path524. Cable, Ethernet, digital subscriber line (DSL), fiber optic lines, fiber to the home (FTTH), and plain old telephone service (POTS) are examples of wired communication that may be included in the communication path524. Further, the communication path524may traverse a number of network topologies and distances. For example, the communication path524may include direct connection, personal area network (PAN), local area network (LAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), or a combination thereof.

The communication unit516may also function as a communication hub allowing systems100and200to function as part of the communication path524and not be limited to be an end point or terminal unit to the communication path524. The communication unit516may include active and passive components, such as microelectronics or an antenna, for interaction with the communication path524.

The communication unit516may include a communication interface518. The communication interface518may be used for communication between the communication unit516and other functional units or devices of systems100and200or to remote devices520. The communication interface518may receive information from the other functional units or devices of systems100and200, or from remote devices520, or may transmit information to the other functional units or devices of the system100or to remote devices520. The communication interface518may include different implementations depending on which functional units or devices are being interfaced with the communication unit516. The communication interface518may be implemented with technologies and techniques similar to the implementation of the control interface504.

The user interface512may present information generated by systems100and200. In many embodiments, the user interface512allows a user of systems100and200to interface with the devices of systems100and200or remote devices520. The user interface512may include an input device and an output device. Examples of the input device of the user interface512may include a keypad, buttons, switches, touchpads, soft-keys, a keyboard, a mouse, or any combination thereof to provide data and communication inputs. Examples of the output device may include a display interface514. The control unit502may operate the user interface512to present information generated by systems100and200. The control unit502may also execute the software510to present information generated by systems100and200, or to control other functional units of systems100and200. The display interface514may be any graphical user interface such as a display, a projector, a video screen, or any combination thereof.

The above detailed description and embodiments of the disclosed systems100and200are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed systems100and200to the precise form disclosed above. While specific examples for systems100and200are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the disclosed systems100and200, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes and methods are presented in a given order, alternative implementations may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having processes or methods, in a different order, and some processes or methods may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, or modified to provide alternative or sub-combinations. Each of these processes or methods may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or methods are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed or implemented in parallel, or may be performed at different times.

The resulting methods300and400, and systems100and200are cost-effective, highly versatile, and accurate, and may be implemented by adapting components for ready, efficient, and economical manufacturing, application, and utilization. Another important aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure is that it valuably supports and services the historical trend of reducing costs, simplifying systems, and/or increasing performance.

These and other valuable aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure consequently further the state of the technology to at least the next level. While the disclosed embodiments have been described as the best mode of implementing systems100and200, it is to be understood that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the descriptions herein. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the included claims. All matters set forth herein or shown in the accompanying drawings are to be interpreted in an illustrative and non-limiting sense. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their equivalents.