Automatic policy generation based on role entitlements and identity attributes
View Patent ↗Policies defining the entitlements to be assigned to a new identity joining a role are automatically generated. An automatic policy assigns a new identity the entitlements commonly owned by a predetermined number of identities in the role, which may be all of the role identities. A conditional policy recommends that a new identity be assigned the non-commonly-owned entitlements associated with the role identity whose non-entitlement attributes most closely match the non-entitlement attributes of the new identity. This may be automatically determined by iterating through a vector that maps the non-commonly-owned entitlements with the non-entitlement attributes of each role identity, comparing the non-entitlement attributes of the new identity to find the closest match. The non-commonly-owned entitlements of that identity are then recommended to be assigned to the new identity, upon approval.
1. A method of automatically generating a policy for a role, said role comprising a plurality of identities of individuals, each identity having attributes that include entitlements and non-entitlement attributes, comprising:
automatically obtaining a list of attributes possessed by a predetermined number of the identities in said role;
automatically extracting from said list of attributes a list of entitlements common to all of said predetermined number of the identities in said role; and
automatically forming a policy for said role that said list of entitlements will be given to an identity subsequently added to said role.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined number of the identities in said role is the total number of identities in said role.
3. A method of assigning entitlements to a new identity upon joining a role, comprising:
providing a role comprising a plurality of identities of individuals, the identities having attributes that include entitlements and non-entitlement attributes;
automatically generating a policy for said role based on said entitlements; and
when a new identity having attributes is subsequently added to said role, applying said policy to said new identity.
4. The method of claim 3 wherein said policy comprises an automatic policy.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein said automatic policy comprises assigning to said new identity a set of entitlements possessed by a predetermined number of the identities in said role.
6. The method of claim 4 wherein said predetermined number of the identities in said role is the total number of identities in said role.
7. The method of claim 3 wherein said policy comprises a conditional policy.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein said conditional policy comprises recommending that said new identity be assigned the entitlements possessed by the role identity most closely matching said new identity.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the role identity most closely matching said new identity is the role identity whose non-entitlement attributes most closely match the non-entitlement attributes of said new identity.