U.S. patent application number 10/987917 was filed with the patent office on 2005-03-24 for online repository for personal information.
Invention is credited to Chaganti, Damayanti, Chaganti, Naren, Chaganti, Sitapathi Rao.
Application Number | 20050065950 10/987917 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33563780 |
Filed Date | 2005-03-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050065950 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chaganti, Naren ; et
al. |
March 24, 2005 |
Online repository for personal information
Abstract
A method and system for securely storing and disbursing a first
party's personal information to authorized requesters is described.
Each information object is assigned a security classification
level. When a second party requests information, based on the
second party's status, an authorized portion of the first party's
personal information is released to the second party. Changes to
the first party's personal information are transmitted to
designated entities. Also described is a method whereby changes are
effective at a future date and information as to when the changes
would be effective may be transmitted to designated entities.
Inventors: |
Chaganti, Naren; (McLean,
VA) ; Chaganti, Sitapathi Rao; (McLean, VA) ;
Chaganti, Damayanti; (McLean, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAW OFFICES OF NAREN CHAGANTI
432 S. CURSON AVE, STE. 12H
LOS ANGELES
CA
90036
US
|
Family ID: |
33563780 |
Appl. No.: |
10/987917 |
Filed: |
November 12, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10987917 |
Nov 12, 2004 |
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09478796 |
Jan 7, 2000 |
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6845448 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 ;
707/999.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 63/0428 20130101;
G06F 19/00 20130101; H04L 67/306 20130101; H04L 63/08 20130101;
H04L 63/105 20130101; H04L 69/329 20130101; G16H 10/60 20180101;
Y10S 707/99939 20130101; G06F 21/6218 20130101; H04L 29/06
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
707/100 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/00 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of selectively disbursing a first party's personal
information, the method comprising the steps of: storing the first
party's information on a server computer, the first party's
personal information comprising a plurality of information objects;
assigning a first classification to a first information object;
assigning a second classification to a second information object;
and assigning a third classification to a third information
object.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: permitting
a second party to access the second information object but not the
first information object.
3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:
designating a first list of persons or entities permitted to access
the second information object but not the first information
object.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: responsive
to a request from a browser program running on a client computer,
permitting selective access to the first party's personal
information.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: receiving
a request via a packet switched network; and permitting selective
access to the first party's information.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of: recording
every access of the first party's information to form an audit
trait.
7. A method of permitting selective access to a first party's
personal information, the method comprising the steps of: storing
the first party's personal information, the first party's personal
information comprising a plurality of information objects;
assigning at least one of a plurality of security levels to each
information object; and transmitting a selected portion of the
first party's personal information to a second party.
8. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of: receiving
a request from a second party, said request from the second party
identifying the first party.
9. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of:
presenting an authorization to access a portion of the first
party's personal information.
10. A method of notifying changes to a first party's personal
information comprising the steps of: changing the first party's
information; designating an entity to receive changed first party's
information; and notifying the designated entity of the changed
first party's information.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein notifying step includes the
step of: transmitting to the designated entity changes to the first
party's information.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein the notifying step includes the
step of: transmitting to the designated entity an indication of a
change to the first party's information.
13. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:
recording an effective date for a change to the first party's
personal information.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention is related in general to electronic
information repositories, and in particular, to a system and method
for gathering, storing and disbursing personal information to
authorized entities via a communication network.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Entities that do businesses on the Internet frequently
request visitors to their sites to fill out forms with demographic
and other information. Web sites such as the New York Times web
site (www.nytimes.com) that provide free access to news, sites such
as the Adobe Corporation web site (www.adobe.com) that provide free
downloadable software, sites that provide free magazine
subscriptions, sites that provide free or paid services such as a
free e-mail account, free Internet access, and similar others, ask
a user to fill out a form that includes a user name, contact
information, and the like. In some cases the forms are so lengthy
that repeated requests for such information causes an annoyance to
a user, who would rather get the information or download the
software than take the time to fill out a lengthy form. The
providers of these forms, however, would like to have as much
information about the user as possible, so that they could obtain a
profile of the type of persons that are interested in their
products or services. It would be useful to both the user and the
provider if the user can store all his information at a single
location and authorize the release of such information to any
person or entity.
[0003] Some other examples of entities that request such personal
information include credit verification agencies acting on behalf
of lenders, utility companies, landlords and the like; and
information gathering entities such as health insurance companies,
doctor's/dentist's offices, consumer or product surveys, and
magazine subscriptions.
[0004] With the ubiquity of the public computer networks, commonly
known as the Internet or the web, a new way of disseminating
personal information has become possible. The meteoric rise of the
Internet has enabled it to become a key application development
plat form. Notwithstanding the availability of these information
networks, there is currently no method whereby a user can enter and
store his personal information at a single location and selectively
authorize it to be distributed to a number of entities. Therefore,
there is a need for such as system and method.
[0005] Additionally, there is no method whereby the user can update
or make changes to the personal information stored at the single
location--whether it is a single server computer or a collection of
server computers comprising a distributed system--and cause the
changes to be distributed to all persons or entities that need to
be notified. Accordingly, there is a need for such a system and
method.
[0006] Further, there is a need for a system which allows a
classification of information according to a security or other
hierarchical class structure, and provide the classified
information to only those entities that have a need to know or are
authorized by a person who owns the information. Moreover, there is
a need for blocking unauthorized access to such personal
information, while allowing access by authorized persons with
ease.
[0007] Old methods of collecting and disbursing personal credit
information required credit reporting agencies to gather and
disburse information about individuals and companies, and to
disburse this information to entities that request such
information. In general, such disbursement is performed after an
individual authorizes the release of such information. While these
companies gather credit information from several sources, they
often provide incomplete or inaccurate information that is not
verified by the user until a later date. Additionally, routine
form-filling, designating personal preferences such as the user's
likes and dislikes, providing finger-print, retina scan, DNA
sequences and other biometric information for later use, or
responding to a survey or a health questionnaire is not performed
by these credit reporting agencies. These problems with the
existing methods can be alleviated by the presented invention as
described in the following.
SUMMARY
[0008] The present invention is directed toward a method and system
for gathering, storing personal information on a server computer
and releasing such information to authorized requesters. Several
types of information are stored for release to different entities
with appropriate authorization.
[0009] In one aspect, the present invention is directed toward a
method of for automatically disbursing personal information
belonging to a user to a requester that is authorized by the user
by transmitting said personal information from a server computer
operated by a service provider, said server computer coupled to a
database, the method comprising the steps of establishing an
account for the user with the server computer; assigning an
identifier to the user: entering personal information belonging to
the user, said personal information comprising at least one of a
plurality of information objects; assigning at least one of a
plurality of security levels to each information object; storing in
the database the user identifier, the information object and the
security level assigned to the information object; receiving a
request message from the requester, said request message comprising
at least the user identifier; retrieving from the database the
information object pertaining to the user identifier; securely
transmitting the information object to the requester. In a further
aspect, the invention comprises the steps of presenting an
authorization by the requester; and verifying the requester's
authorization.
[0010] Further, any modifications, updates, or changes are
automatically notified to any authorized requesters. The requester
optionally provides information about to whom and where to notify
changes, such as address changes. Such change notification can be
made by sending a notification to an electronic mail box. In a
preferred embodiment, a frequent unauthorized requester of
information can be tagged as "junk" requester, to whom no further
information will be released.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] These and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention will be more readily understood in the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the appended
claims with a reference to the drawings, where like numbers
indicate like parts in the several views shown, and in which:
[0012] FIG. 1 depicts an architecture comprising a server computer
100, a user computer 104 and a requester computer 106
communicatively coupled to a communication network 102;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of steps included in a preferred
embodiment; and
[0014] FIG. 3 is an illustrative web page for a user
enrollment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, a server computer 100 configured in
accordance with the principles of the present invention is
communicatively coupled to a communication network 102 such as the
Internet. Also coupled to the communication network 102 is a user
103 operating a user computer 104 and a requester 105 operating a
requester computer 106.
[0016] The server computer 100 illustratively comprises a
microprocessor such as a Compaq.RTM. Alpha.TM. microprocessor, a
disk drive, a memory such as a semiconductor memory, and runs an
operating system such as Windows-NT.TM. or Linux. The server
computer 100 is additionally equipped with a data communications
device such as a 3-COM.TM. network card to connect to the network
102. In general, the connection to the network 102 can be
established via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or a direct
connection. In a preferred embodiment, the server computer 100 is
connected to the network 102 via a high-speed connection such as
Digital Subscriber Line.
[0017] The server computer 100 is configured to function as a web
server. The web server is typically a general purpose computer such
as the server computer running software to interlace with the
Internet using sockets. Commercial suppliers such as Netscape.RTM.
Corporation of Sunnyvile, Calif. make available such web server
software. Additionally, such web server software can also be
downloaded and configured free of charge from some sources such as
Apache.
[0018] Additional programs such as Common Gateway Interface (CGI)
programs 107 reside on the server computer. The CGI programs 106
provide for communication and interaction between a user computer
104 and the server computer 100 via the network 102. These CGI
programs 107, coupled with data communications software programs,
are configured to receive packets of messages from computers
connected to the network 102, decipher the information in the
packets, and act according to instructions provided in the packets
within the constraints imposed by an administrator managing the
server computer 100.
[0019] In addition to performing the tasks of receiving and sending
packets of data from and to the computers connected to the
Internet, the CGI programs 107 are configured to perform other
tasks such as communicate with a database 108 coupled to the server
computer 100, and extract or store information in the database 108
according to the software instructions provided within the server
computer 100 or in the packets received from the network 102.
Persons skilled in the all can program these CGI programs 107 using
programming tools and languages such as C, C++, Java, Perl and
Shell scripts.
[0020] In an embodiment of the invention, the database 108
comprises a relational database management system, preferably, but
not necessarily, with software code to enable Java Database
Connectivity. Examples of such products include those marketed by
the Oracle Corporation of Sunnyvale, Calif. It should additionally
be noted that in an alternative embodiment the database 108 is not
needed, or it could comprise software programs executing on the
server computer 100.
[0021] The server computer 100 is configured to receive request
messages from the user computer 104 over the internet in the Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or any
similar protocol used to transfer data, video, voice or a
combination of these media. After analyzing the request messages,
the server computer 100 is configured to transmit in response
messages that include "web pages" that are programmed in Hyper Text
Markup Language (HTML) or a similar language.
[0022] Embedded in these web pages are components such as
documents, scripts, objects, and flames that are configured to
display colorful graphical images on a display device coupled to
the user computer 104. Persons skilled in the alt know how to make
web pages using programming languages or tools such as HTML, Cold
Fusion.TM., Java.RTM., Java Script.TM., Active Server Pages.TM.,
Dynamic HTML, the various markup languages such as Extensible
Markup Language (XML), and similar others.
[0023] The user computer 104 is equipped with suitable devices and
programs to connect to the network 102. In alternative embodiments,
the user computer 104 is other device capable of establishing a
communication in conjunction with other similar or dissimilar
devices over a communication network such as the network 102.
Examples of other commercially available digital interactive
devices that are contemplated to function in place of the user
computer 104 include a telephone, a WebTV.TM. device marketed by
Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., a Palm Pilot.TM. device
marketed by 3-COM Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif., or other
similar device; the device used in conjunction with the Wireless
Web.TM. service from the Sprint Corporation of Westwood, Kans.; or
a Wireless Access Protocol (WAP)-enabled device such as the device
marketed by @Motion.com used in conjunction with Wireless Internet
service provided by companies such as Phone.com and supported by
protocols such as Wireless Markup Language, Mobile Phone Markup
Language. Such compatible wireless handset devices ale manufactured
by Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, and other companies.
[0024] In one embodiment, the user computer 104 is a digital
interactive device such as a personal computer comprising a
processor similar to a Pentium-III.RTM. microprocessor, a display
device such as a flat panel display or a CRT, a memory such as
semiconductor memory, a storage device such as a disk drive, an
input device such as a keyboard, and a pointing device such as a
mouse. In other embodiments, there could be provided a microphone
or other speech input device and a voice or speech recognizer
coupled to the user computer 104, whereupon a user 103 could
provide input to the user computer 104 using spoken word commands.
Currently, several commercial products are available--either
hardware or software or a combination of both--that could be
configured to perform speech or voice recognition of spoken words
to perform several navigational functions with respect to the web.
An example is the product Dragon Dictatc.TM. marketed by Dragon
Systems, Inc. of Newton, Mass. In the following, the word
"selection" includes clicking a mouse or other pointing device
coupled to the user computer 104 at least once; typing at least one
character on a keyboard; allowing for a timer to expire; speaking
at least one voice command into a microphone coupled to the user
computer 104; or touching at least one area on a touch-sensitive
screen and other equivalent methods.
[0025] In the embodiments described below, a user 103 can navigate
the network 102 using either a graphical or a text-based
navigational software. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, the
user computer 104 is configured to navigate the network 102 via a
browser such as Internet Explorer.TM. marketed by Microsoft
Corporation of Redmond, Wash. Opera.TM., available at
www.opera.com, is a browser configured to enable viewing XML
documents. Other browsers such as virtual reality browsers can be
used to obtain a three-dimensional experience of the network 102.
An example of a text-based browser can be found in the software
program Lynx, which is available free of charge.
[0026] The requester computer 106 comprises a processor such as a
Pentium III microprocessor, a memory such as semiconductor memory,
a storage device such as a hard drive, and optionally, a display
device such as a CRT or an LCD display, a communications interface
device such as a network card to enable connection to the network
102 either directly or via an Internet Service Provider. In
alternative embodiments, the requester computer 106 could be a Java
Chip enabled terminal device such as a printer directly coupled to
the Internet using a protocol such as the Internet Printing
Protocol, so that information objects could be directly downloaded
and printed on the printer upon transmission by the server computer
100. Preferably, in such cases, there is equipped in the requester
computer 106 additional software such as a handshake protocol to
ensure a safe delivery of information objects.
[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the invention described herein is
implemented principally on the server computer 100 and the user 103
interacts with the server computer 100 via a browser program
executing on the user computer 104. Similarly, the requester 105
also interacts with the server computer 100 via the requester
computer 106.
I. Gathering, Updating and Storing Personal Information
[0028] Referring to FIG. 2, the steps included in a preferred
embodiment of the invented system are described. During an
initialization step (step 200), in a preferred embodiment, a
Personal Information Repository Service Provider (PIRSP) operates
the server computer 100. In alternative embodiments, there is no
service provider such as the PIRSP; and there are other methods of
providing such service, such as establishing a personal web site
for each user 103, said personal web site comprising information
that can be accessed only by an authorized requester 105 in a
secure manner; establishing a personal database coupled either
directly to the Internet or accessible via the Internet or other
communication network; or retrieving information stored elsewhere
manually or in an automatic fashion.
[0029] Preferably, the PIRSP makes it known to a user 103 that it
provides a trusted information repository service. In preferred and
alternative embodiments, the PIRSP announces that its services ale
available free, or for a fee, and in the latter case, the fee is
calculated based on a per transaction basis, or on a subscription
basis, either from users that store information or from entities
that request such information. Other embodiments comprise direct or
vicarious payment methods for utilizing the services provided by
the PIRSP. These payment methods include an agreement between the
PIRSP and the user 103 to generate additional or alternative
sources of revenue for the PIRSP via advertisements, referrals,
introductions, chain marketing methods and the like.
[0030] In this application, any piece of information, however small
in granularity or however agglomerated, is referred to as an
"information object." Information objects can be implemented in an
object-oriented manner, for example, each tuple or a field could be
implemented as an object, a data structure or in any other manner
known to persons skilled in the art.
Configuring the Database
[0031] In a preferred embodiment, the database 108 is a distributed
database comprising several components (not shown) such as
transaction manager, concurrency controller, memory manager, or a
query optimizer. The database 108 is distributed over a large
geographical area at several nodes, preferably by partitioning the
tables and/or the tuples according to the needs of either the
requesters or of the users in each node. The tables or the tuples
can be partitioned either vertically or horizontally to enable fast
and easy local access. In alternative embodiments, the database 108
is located at a single place.
[0032] In the following, a relational database model comprising
sets of tuples, meta-data definitions for the tuples, and for other
parts of the database organizational schema are described. It
should be noted, however, that while a relational database model is
described in the preferred embodiment, in alternative embodiments
other methods of data definition, which are known to persons
skilled in the art, are used. Preferably, the database 108 is
configured to comprise a set of relations among several pieces of
the user's personal information. These relations are shown in the
following as tables according to the following schema. The schema
for these tables can be designed by persons skilled in the art.
[0033] It should be noted that the user's social security number or
alias can illustratively be used as primary keys to access the
information from the tables. Other methods, such as date of birth,
mother's maiden name, finger print scan, retina scan, or a
combination of these methods can be used in other embodiments. The
types of fields used in the illustration include Number [0-9];
Character [A-Za-z0-9 and other special characters such as ASCII
characters]; and multimedia methods of storage for other types of
data.
1TABLE 1 Name and Address Field Name Field Type Field Length First
Name Character 16 Last Name Character 16 Middle Name/Initial
Character 10 Office Address Character 22 Work Phone Number 10
Mobile Phone Number 10 Social Security Number* Number 9 Mother's
Maiden Name* Character 16
[0034]
2TABLE 2 Identity and Security Identity type Field Type Field
Length Social Security Number* Number 9 Mother's Maiden Name*
Character 16 Password Character 16 Password reminder string
Character 22 E-mail Address Character 22
[0035] The asterisk (*) indicates that the fields could form a
primary key to the table. In a preferred embodiment, each field in
each tuple is assigned a security classification, the details of
which will be discussed below with reference to security.
Referential integrity and Entity integrity of the information
objects stored in these tables is preferably ensured. Tables can be
joined according to well-known techniques such as inner and outer
joins. Views on tables can be formed by combining information
objects from several tables. The tables, once formed are preferably
normalized to make an efficient usage of the space.
[0036] Other tables, the schema for which are not described, are
established to store information such as user's contact information
(comprising home and work address, telephone and facsimile numbers,
address of a nearest relative in case of an emergency, personal web
home page address, personal web bookmarks, design of a portal);
employment-related information (employer name, address, job title,
job classification, salary range, supervisor's name and phone
number, and the like): personal demographic information (sex, age,
date of birth, marital status, spouse information);
property-related information (own/rent home, amount of money in
various bank accounts, ownership of stocks or other securities,
property ownership information, personal property such as car,
boat, private jet, and other details); health related information
(types of medication currently used, surgeries undergone, type of
drugs that tend to cause allergic reactions, smoking/drinking
habits, hospitalization information, status of the several parts of
the body, dental records, eye care information, genetic
information, family medical history, etc); biometric information
(retina scan, samples of speech, finger prints, DNA sequences, and
other information); credit related information (rent/mortgage
payments, landlord/lender's name, address, phone number, credit
card information and the like); personal preferences (movies,
travel, books, frequent flier club memberships, important dates
such as birthdays, anniversary dates, magazine subscriptions, etc);
preferences such as choice of long-distance company, the features
used in one's telephone service such as call waiting, call
forwarding, three-way calling; names of friends and family members;
travel preferences such as preferred airline, class of travel,
whether an aisle or a window seat is preferred, whether a rental
car is required, what size car is required; hotel preferences such
as smoking/non-smoking section, any wake-up call is required, and
if so, at what time, the type of amenities preferred or required at
the hotel; pleasure-related preferences such as tee-time at a golf
course, theater preferences, seat preferences, etc; or preferences
for billing and payment methods (cash, credit/debit card, and the
like). It should be noted that the type of information that can be
stored in these tables can be unlimited. There is no requirement
that all the pieces of information need to be furnished, since a
requester 105 of information will be provided only that which is
made available with the data base 130 or that which is authorized
to be released to the requester 105.
[0037] A requester 105 that requests information also identifies
himself and presents authorization from the user 103. Tables are
also devised to store such requester's identification and
authorization information for storage in the database 108. All
accesses of information are recorded to generate a verifiable audit
trail. Tables to store such audit information are designed in the
database 108, preferably in a secure partition reachable only by
persons with a very high security clearance.
Configuring the Server Computer
[0038] In a preferred embodiment, the server computer 100 is
configured--in addition to being configured as a web server--to
include a number of modules: a user account establishment module
110; a user account management module 112; a personal information
collection module 114; a request reception module 116; an
authorization verification module 118; a security module 120; a
database interface module 130: a statistics module 140; and a
report generation module 150. The server computer 100 preferably
includes a trusted computer base (TCB) comprising a secure kernel,
which includes the security module 120. Most of the security
relevant code is stored in the secure kernel. All security relevant
events are audited, recorded. Further, events that signal any
breach of security are defined and programmed. Upon the occurrence
of such an event, an action, including sending an alarm to a
predefined entity or person, is performed. Preferably, the modules
are implemented as independent memory-resident processes--such as
UNIX.TM. processes--capable of communicating with each other using
inter-process communication facilities such as queues, semaphores,
sockets, pipes, shared memory and the like. These modules can be
programmed by persons skilled in the art using programming
languages and techniques such as C, C++, Java or Enterprise Java
Beans. It should be noted that the number, nature and functionality
of the modules described herein could be differently designed by
other designers, and therefore should not be a limiting factor in
construing the invention.
[0039] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in a preferred embodiment, the
user 103 accesses the PIRSP's web site whereupon the server
computer 100 first establishes a secure connection with the user
computer 104 (step 202).
[0040] The server computer 100 comprises at least one of a
plurality of web pages such as the web page 300, which are
displayed on the user computer 104. When the web page 300 is
displayed, the user 103 is allowed to set up an account with the
PIRSP, by entering his name or other identifier in a first text
field 302, optionally entering a password string in a second text
field 304 and selecting a push button 310 to transmit the web page
300 to the server computer 100 (step 204). In other embodiments,
the user 103 provides information to the PIRSP, which information
comprises a name, a billing address, a contact E-mail address.
[0041] The CGI programs 107 executing on the server computer 100
receive the web page 300, and invoke the user account establishment
module 110 to create a new account for the user 103. This process
includes allocating an account number to the user 103, which
account number is preferably stored in the database 108 (step 206).
In a preferred embodiment, this process of receiving and
transmitting packets of data is performed by the CGI programs 107
during all interactions with the server computer 100. Therefore, in
the following, this description is omitted.
[0042] The user account management module 112 comprises code
configured to record every access of the user's personal
information by the user 103 in the database 108. This establishes
an audit trail for a subsequent use (step 208).
[0043] The user 103 thereafter enters his personal information such
as the kind of information described before, by entering the
information via text or other selections made in web pages
displayed by the server computer 100 (step 210). It should be noted
that since many areas of personal information can be stored by the
user 103, it is not required that all such information be entered
by the user 103 at one time. For example, the user 103 may
initially wish to store his travel preferences and nothing else.
This could be because he contemplates travel and wishes to provide
this information to his travel agent. Later, the user 103 may enter
his medical information and store it in appropriate tables since he
wishes to visit his doctor. In this manner, at various times, the
user 103 may furnish different aspects of personal information,
which will be stored for a future use after it is entered once.
[0044] The user account management module additionally allows the
user 103 to change or to update the user's password, address,
telephone number or any other information. The user can change or
update his personal information any time after the account is
established. Preferably, the user can also provide a list of
entities that should be notified for each change. In one
embodiment, each information object that is changed or updated is
notified to a list of authorized recipients automatically. In
another embodiment, a change or an update is provided to a
requester 105 when a request is made.
[0045] The user account management module 112 optionally allows the
user 103 to select a payment plan for the services rendered by the
PIRSP, block any request if the user 103 is in default of a
payment, obtain credit card or other verification, and the like. In
a preferred embodiment, the payment plans for the user 103 depend
on the number of security classifications the user 103 has chosen,
the number and nature of the information objects stored by the user
103, the number of requests for information received, the number of
accesses or updates made by the user 103 to view and/or change the
information objects, the type of customer service requested, the
number of entities to which any changes are to be notified, the
resources utilized by the user 103, or a combination of these and
similar types of activities.
[0046] Preferably after user enrollment, the personal information
collection module 114 obtains control of the program execution and
presents the user 103 with at least one of a series of web pages.
These web pages allow the user 103 to provide information to store
in corresponding tables described above. In other embodiments, the
user provides his information in a paper form, which is entered by
the PIRSP into the database 108. Preferably, the user 103 also
provides a security classification for each information object, at
the tuple or at the field level, by selecting a radio button or a
check box for each information object. In a preferred embodiment,
there are a predetermined number of security classifications; in
other embodiments, there could be a numerical value given to each
class of security desired, and the higher the numerical value, the
greater is the security classification. No security classification
may imply that the information can be released freely to the
requester 105, if the user's name is specified.
[0047] After the user 103 fills out the web page forms displayed on
the client computer 100, the web pages are transmitted to the
server computer 100, whereupon the CGI programs 107 receive, parse,
and deliver portions of data to the database interface module 130
which stores portions of data entered by the user 103 as
information objects in the database 108 in appropriate tables. In a
preferred embodiment, the information objects that could be stored
in a plurality of tables are collected from the user 103 in a
single web page form. In other embodiments, each table or each part
of a table can be separately populated with an information object
or several objects retrieved from a single web page. In an
alternative embodiment, the series of web pages can be displayed as
framed or overlapping web pages and the user 103 preferably
navigates from one page to another page by simply clicking on a
predetermined area on a web page.
[0048] Preferably, the user 103 obtains from the server computer
100 at least one key to access his personal information. In one
aspect, the key is provided to an authorized entity to enable
access of the user's personal information stored in the database
108. There could be a number of types of authorization keys
obtainable by the user: a one-time-use-only authorization key, a
multiple use authorization key, a qualified authorization key, and
others. In another aspect, the attributes encoded in the
authorization key allows the release of a specific type of
information from the server computer 100. Preferably, these encoded
attributes of the authorization key--such as, how many times the
authorization can be used to obtain access, what information is
accessible using the authorization, any expiration time on the
password, whether or not the trustworthiness of the requester is a
precondition before releasing the information and the like. In a
preferred embodiment, the user 103 specifies these criteria and
requests a key from the server computer 100. The key is preferably
a string of alphanumeric characters of sufficient length as to
prevent being deciphered easily by unscrupulous persons. In other
embodiments, the authorization key is preferably encrypted,
comprise a spoken word or phrase, a finger print scan, a retina
scan, DNA identification, or other forms of identification. These
keys could be used in a case such as when the user 103 is
unconscious, and an immediate need exists to obtain medical or
other information in order to save the patient.
[0049] In a preferred embodiment, the database interface module 130
comprises code to establish and verify security classification for
each information object stored in the database. Preferably, for
each information object, which could be a field, a row, a column, a
tuple, or an entire table, a security classification is provided,
which is marked on the object. This security classification is
preferably an explicit and well-defined policy enforced by the
security module 120. Individual accesses of each information object
is recorded in the database 108. Each requester is clearly
identified and an explicit audit trail for each access is recorded
in the database 108. In another aspect, the database interface
module 130 operates as a reference monitor as well. The reference
monitor mediates all accesses of requests for information objects.
Other methods of ensuring, security include establishing access
control lists for each level of a multi-level security system, a
system such as the Signed Document Markup Language (SDML); usage of
trusted and known sources such as well-known companies as the
requesters, public key encryption, third-party authentication, and
other similar techniques.
[0050] In a preferred embodiment, potential requesters are also
enrolled by the PIRSP in a similar manner as described for the user
103 (step 214). The server computer 100 establishes accounts for
potential requesters, allocates identifiers, authenticates their
trustworthiness and enables them to establish a payment/billing
plan for accessing information objects stored by the user 103. In
one embodiment, where there are a number of users, statistical
information, rather than individual pieces of information objects
are offered for sale to potential requesters. In other embodiments,
the potential requesters do not establish accounts with the PIRSP,
and will pay as they go for each access of information as described
below.
[0051] In an embodiment, the user 103 provides his identifier and a
secure password, to a requester 105. This could be done, for
example, when the user 103 decides to provide a travel agent or a
tailor that his personal travel preferences or style and
measurements can be obtained from the server computer 100 operated
by the PIRSP. In one embodiment, the requester's web page (not
shown) comprises an area, selecting which the user 103 can specify
that his information can be obtained from the PIRSP's web site.
Preferably, the user 103 provides his identifier, a specific
authorization--for example to fetch the travel preferences or the
medical history and nothing else--and requests the requester 105 to
obtain his personal information from the PIRSP. The requester
computer 106 is configured to receive this authorization over a
secure channel, and to initiate a request to the PIRSP for the
user's personal information.
[0052] In an alternative embodiment, the requester 105 requests the
user 103 manually to fill out a form. This may happen in cases
where the user 103 visits a doctor's office, or attempts to
establish an appointment with the doctor's office. The doctor's
office, which could be enrolled with the PIRSP, may request that
the user 103 provide personal information via the PIRSP. The user
103 provides the requester 105 his identifier and authorization to
obtain the information from the PIRSP.
II. Securely Disbursing Personal Information
[0053] In one embodiment, the PIRSP publicly discloses the database
schema, so that any requester 105 can specify the type of
information by naming the table and the fields that they want. In
other embodiments, the actual database schema are kept secret, but
the nature of information that is made available, for access by a
requester is announced to potential requesters.
[0054] The requester 105 preferably establishes a secure connection
with the server computer 100 and presents the user's identifier and
authorization to the server computer 100 (step 216). Preferably,
this process includes the following steps. First, a session with an
encrypted Secure Socket Layer connection is established between the
requester computer 106 and the server computer 100. Second, the
requester 105 transmits at least one packet of data to the server
computer 100, said packet of data comprising its identification,
its electronic address (either dotted decimal form or other forms),
any processor identifier of the requester computer 106. The server
computer 100 receives these data and records them in the database
108 along with the time and date when the request is made. Third,
the requester computer 106 is configured to present the user's
identifier and authorization to the server computer. Alternatively,
the requester 105 sends a secure electronic mail (E-mail) to the
server computer 100, which E-mail comprises a user identifier, a
user-provided authorization key or password, and a request in the
form of a database query.
[0055] In an alternative embodiment, the requester 105 can be the
same as the user 103, such as in case the user 103 wishes to store
information for himself, e.g., personal or business phone numbers,
E-mail addresses, and other similar information typically stored in
a person's wallet, frequent flier numbers, passwords to debit
cards, preferences and the like. In this case, an authorization is
not required for the user 103 to view information objects stored by
him.
[0056] Preferably, after authenticating the requester 105, and if
the requester 105 is determined to be a genuine entity, a security
level is assigned to the requester's request (step 218). The
security module 120 verifies the security classification for each
field or information object requested before releasing it to the
requester 105. Preferably, an information object is released to the
requester only if the requester's security classification is at
least that of the information object requested. Otherwise, the
request is discarded and the attempt by the requester 105 is
recorded as a failed request.
[0057] In a preferred embodiment, a requester that makes a
predetermined number of unauthorized or failed requests is tagged
as "junk" requester. The junk requester's identification
information is stored in the database 108. A further request from
this junk requester is ignored or an alarm message is generated to
take an appropriate action (step 220).
[0058] The security module 120 preferably performs authentication
and verification by assigning a numerical value to the requester
105. Any authorization from the user 103 presented by the requester
105 is also assigned a numerical value. Further, each information
object that the requester 105 wishes to access from the server
computer 100 is also assigned a numerical value. Preferably, these
numerical values represent a corresponding security level for each
entity or item to which the value is assigned. In alternative
embodiments, numerical values representing security levels are also
assigned to the requester's computer 104, the network 102 from
which the request arrived at the server computer 100 and other
participating entities. The security module 120 thereafter examines
the security levels of each entity included in the data transfer
process (transaction) to determine the overall security level for
the transaction. In a preferred embodiment, any requested
information is released to a requester only if the security level
of the requester 105 is at least that of all information objects
requested. In other embodiments, only those information objects
that are at or below the security level of the requester 105 are
released to the requester.
[0059] In a preferred embodiment, the requester 105 formulates a
query, in a readily executable form, preferably in a language such
as the Structured Query Language. In other embodiments, the query
by the requester 105 is a listing of the information objects
requested. The database interface module 130 then executes at least
one of a series of queries to extract the information sought by the
requester 105 (step 222). The query optimizer included in the
database 108 optimally retrieves the stored information after
verifying the security level of the request, with the security
level designated by the user 103 for an information object.
[0060] Several alternative methods of accessing information are
used by the security module 120 and the database interface module
130. In one method, the database interface module 130 retrieves an
information object if the security level of that information object
is at or below the security level for the request and that of the
authorization. In another embodiment, a data base view is
automatically defined to extract all individually classified
information objects, and in this case, it the security level of an
information object is above the security level for the request, a
blank entry is returned. Alternatively, the database interface
module 130 may insert an indication instead of a blank entry, which
indication specifies that either the information is not available,
or it is available for a requester with a higher security level,
and the like.
[0061] In another embodiment, the user 103 requests the PIRSP to
disburse information to the requester 103 using an electronic means
(step 224). In this case, the user is authenticated and the
information objects are downloaded or transmitted to the requester
105, preferably via secure E-mail, file transfer protocol, after
establishing a circuit-switched connection, facsimile, U.S. mail or
any other method.
[0062] Preferably, the requester 105 is forbidden from reselling or
retransmitting the information, or using it beyond an expiration
date set either by the user 103 or by the PIRSP. Preferably, to
ensure this, information objects are copyrighted or otherwise
contractually protected. Further, this could be a selling point to
users, since the PIRSP not only guarantees the safety of the stored
information, but in addition controls how this information is
used.
[0063] In one embodiment, the requester 105 is charged a fee for
receiving the information objects, on a per object basis, or on a
subscription basis or for receiving statistical reports. The PIRSP
may provide an incentive to the user 103 by paying the user 103 a
portion of the fee to the user 103. In another embodiment, a
requester may receive statistical report such as "how many male
golf players between the ages 22 and 55 in the zip code 20006 are
interested in trading stocks?" The statistics module 140 and report
generation module 150 make appropriate queries in the database 108
and obtain the information. Preferably such statistical information
is not considered secure, unless it has a tendency to reveal too
much about the private habits of the user 103. Thus, so long as
information is aggregated and can remain anonymous, it will be
released to potential requesters to assist marketing of
products/services.
[0064] The user 103 may change or update his personal information.
Examples of changes could be address or telephone number changes,
and the like. Some changes are effective at a future date. Some
information is updated either by the user 103 or by a third party
(not shown). An example of such updated information is medical
information. When the user 103 makes the changes, he makes these by
accessing the server computer 100 web site and entering his
information as described above. The user 103 elects or designates
any requesters or recipients of change notifications. The server
computer 100 automatically retrieves the information objects that
changed and notifies the designated requesters or recipients via
secure E-mail, or other methods indicated above (step 226). In
alternative embodiments, notification messages are left in mail
boxes located on the server computer 100 and owned by requesters.
Each change notification is recorded in the database 108 for audit
trail purposes.
[0065] In a preferred embodiment, every time an information object
is accessed, an entry is made into the database 108 and a secure
audit trail established (step 228). This audit trail is preferably
designed to track the activities of the PIRSP as well as the
activities of the user 103 and the requester 105. This ensures that
a clear audit is preserved to determine and prevent any misuse of
personal information. Preferably such audit trail is established by
programming in the secure kernel included in the server computer
100. All activities are stored in a specially partitioned area of
the database 108 and are read-only after written by any
process.
[0066] The foregoing describes a method and a system for obtaining,
storing and automatically disbursing personal information over a
communications network. Though reference is made only to a single
instance of each of the client and the server computers, it should
be noted that the invention can be practiced using an architecture
comprising a plurality of client computers (not shown) and/or a
plurality of server computers (not shown). Additionally, though
reference is made only to a single processor computer, the server
or the client computer could comprise a distributed, parallel
computing environment, either including a single-processor or a
multiple-processor architecture, whether symmetric or asymmetric.
In alternative embodiments, the user 103 operating the user
computer 104 is thought to interact with the server computer 100
using a model such as that facilitated by the Java Bean, the
Enterprise Java Bean or other similar technologies such as Remote
Method Invocation, Distributed Component Object Model. Sessions
could be implemented by using stateful or stateless Enterprise Java
Beans and the like. The database 108 can be accessed via session or
other kinds of beans, either a single instance of them or via
numerous instances managed by another object layer. In alternative
embodiments, the invention described herein can be implemented in
part on the server computer 100 and in part on the user computer
104, in part as a servlet, as a downloaded JavaScript.TM. program,
as a plug-in program, as an applet, or any combinations thereof. In
alternative embodiments, the server computer 100 is located behind
a fire-wall, and may store a cookie, download a Dynamic HTML
script, a JavaScript program or a plug-in program to the user
computer 104 to achieve a portion of the functionality described
herein. In one embodiment, no software is deposited on the user
computer 104 other than the HTML page displayed on a browser. The
word "network" comprises any heterogenous or homogenous collection
of computer networks, public or private or a combination of both,
which network includes intelligent or "passive" elements; either
wholly or partly, and further includes routers, bridges and other
transport mechanisms; executing a single protocol or a combination
of a plurality of data communication protocols; effecting
communication (transmission and/or reception) of information, which
information comprises voice, video, data, and/or text or any
combinations thereof; using either in-band or out-of-band methods.
The word "database" is assumed to comprise a flat file, an area in
memory, an index file, a relational database, a sequential or a
random access data storage and retrieval method operating in
conjunction with any type of device, a distributed database or a
single database, and could further comprise a relational database,
hierarchical, sequential, random access or any other type of
database, with or without a transaction manager, concurrency
controller, memory manager, or a query optimizer. Further, the
steps described herein are illustrative and not limiting, and the
order of the steps described could be altered. Moreover, some of
the steps could be collapsed into a single step, while some other
steps are superfluous or optional and are described only to
elaborate the principles of the invention. Persons skilled in the
art may make modifications, rearrangements and adjustments to the
disclosed preferred embodiments without undue experimentation or
without significantly departing from the spirit and scope of the
appended claims, which claims should be construed to include all
these modifications, rearrangements, adjustments, and
departures.
* * * * *
References