User administration tool
View Patent ↗A tool for administering users of a security system is provided. The security system includes a storage component stored on a computer readable medium, a centrally located graphical user interface stored on a computer readable medium, and an engine stored on a computer readable medium. The storage component maintains roles data that includes an authorization component and an application component, wherein the application component includes at least one role defined by a third party application. The centrally located graphical user interface manages the application component and the authorization component. The engine communicates with the storage component via a security system application programming interface, uses the authorization component to determine whether to grant access to the third party application, and communicates the application component to the third party application which uses the application component to determine a level of access within the third party application.
1. A tool for administering users of a security system, the tool comprising:
a storage component, stored on a computer readable storage medium, that maintains roles data that includes an authorization component and an application component, wherein the application component includes at least one role defined by a third party application;
a centrally located graphical user interface, stored on a computer readable storage medium, that manages the application component and the authorization component; and
a centrally located engine, stored on a computer readable storage medium, that communicates with the storage component via a security system application programming interface, uses the authorization component in determining whether to grant access to the third party application, and communicates the application component to the third party application, wherein the third party application uses the at least one role defined by the third party application and included in the application component in determining a level of access within the third party application itself,
wherein the roles data further includes a resource component associated with a system resource such that the centrally located graphical user interface associates a role with the system resource to limit access to the system resource except by a user having the role.
2. The tool of claim 1 , wherein the system resource is a universal resource locator.
3. A method for administering users of a security system to provide secure access to a system, comprising:
communicating, by a centrally located engine stored on a computer readable storage medium, with a data store maintaining user profiles via a security application program interface;
managing the user profiles including assigning user roles to the user profiles via a web based graphical user interface stored on a computer readable storage medium;
assigning privileges to the user roles;
providing third party applications;
defining application roles by the third party applications;
assigning the application roles to the user profiles via the web based graphical user interface;
permitting, by the centrally located engine, users to access the third party applications based on the privileges of the user roles associated with the users;
communicating to the third party applications, by the centrally located engine, the application roles assigned to the user profiles of the permitted users;
determining, by the third party applications themselves, levels of access by the users to portions of the third party applications based on the application roles communicated to the third party applications; and
accessing the third party applications by the users based on the levels of access determined by the third party applications,
wherein at least one of the user roles includes a resource component associated with a system resource, such that the web based graphical user interface associates the at least one of the user roles with the system resource to limit access to the system resource except by a user having the at least one of the user roles.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
identifying a system resource to limit access to by the users;
creating a new role associated with the system resource;
assigning the system resource to the new role; and
assigning the new role to the users to provide access to the system resource.
5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
updating, by a first user via the web based graphical user interface, privileges associated with a second user while the second user accesses a first view of the web based graphical user interface;
requesting access by the second user;
verifying the updated privileges associated with the second user; and
providing a second view of the web based graphical user interface for the second user based on the updated privileges associated with the second user.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first and second users are further defined as a first and second administrator users.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the first view of the web based graphical user interface provides at least a first security component operable by users, and wherein the first security component is absent from the second view of the web based graphical user interface.