Patent ID: 7380120

Claim:
A system for providing access control management to electronic data, wherein the electronic data is structured in a format that provides restricted access to the electronic data therein, comprising: a module configured to generate a header comprising a plurality of sets of encrypted security information corresponding to respective one of a plurality of groups of users, wherein the encrypted security information comprises a file key and access rules to control the restricted access to the electronic data and configured to generate an encrypted data portion encrypted with a plurality of file keys, each of the file keys corresponding to each of the sets, wherein the header is associated with the encrypted data portion to generate a secured file; a module configured to obtain a respective one of the file keys associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of groups and to decrypt the set of the plurality of sets of encrypted security information associated with the respective one of the groups to allow access by the respective one of the groups according to the access rules; a module configured to retrieve the respective one of the file keys from a memory store if the secured file is newly generated and the secured file is being stored in a storage place; and a module configured to delete the one or more file keys from a memory store as soon as the newly generated secured file is stored in the storage place.