Patent ID: 8510335

Claim:
A method for controlling access to a database, said method comprising: receiving, from a user at a security system external to the database, a request for a data post in the database, the database comprising a plurality of data posts, each data post comprising data post content, a security field identifying a security level associated with the data post, and a validation field comprising a validation value associated with the data post, wherein the validation value associated with the data post comprises an encrypted string generated based on the data post content and the security level of the data post; determining that the user is authorized to access the requested data post based on the security level associated with the data post and a clearance level associated with the user; validating, by the security system external to the database, the requested data post using the validation value associated with the requested data post, wherein the validating comprises receiving the data post content, the security level of the requested data post, and the validation value associated with the requested data post at the security system, decrypting the validation value of the requested data post using the data post content and the security level of the requested data post, and determining whether the decrypted validation value matches the data post content and the security level of the requested data post; validating, by the security system external to the database, the user using a validation value associated with the user, wherein the validation value associated with the user comprises an encrypted string generated based on the user's identity and the clearance level associated with the user, wherein the validating comprises receiving the user's identity, the clearance level, and the validation value associated with the user at the security system, decrypting the validation value associated with the user using the user's identity and the clearance level, and determining whether the decrypted validation value matches the user's identity and the clearance level; and responsive to the validation of the requested data post and the user, providing the user with access to the data post.