Information security systems and methods

Abstract

Systems and methods for governing derived electronic resources are provided. In one embodiment, a digital resource is associated with one or more rules and a set of one or more computations, wherein the rules correspond to one or more conditions for accessing the digital resource and the computations operate upon the digital resource in order to provide a specific view of the digital resource that differs from the digital resource.

1 .- 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A method for governing the use of a digital resource, the method comprising:
 receiving one or more programs associated with at least one user, wherein the one or more programs are configured to operate upon the digital resource when executed to generate a derived digital resource by performing at least one computation on information contained in the digital resource;   associating one or more rules with the digital resource, wherein the rules correspond to one or more conditions for accessing the digital resource;   cryptographically associating the one or more programs with the digital resource; and   receiving a request to generate the derived digital resource from a system associated with the at least one user;   executing the one or more programs to generate the derived digital resource based on the digital resource, wherein the at least one computation comprises a computation that obscures at least a portion of the digital resource when executed to the generate the derived digital resource such that the digital resource contains information that is not included in the generated derived digital resource, and wherein executing the one or more programs comprises enforcing the one or more conditions for accessing the digital resource in connection with execution of the one or more programs; and   transmitting the derived digital resource to the system associated with the at least one user.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the computation that obscures the at least a portion of the digital resource comprises a hashing computation. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the computation that obscures that at least a portion of the digital resource comprises a computation that performs a mathematical transformation on the at least a portion of the digital resource. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the mathematical transformation comprises transforming the at a least a portion of the digital resource to a specified resolution. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the computation that obscures the at least a portion of the digital resource obscures the at least a portion of the digital resource based in part on obfuscation information. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the obfuscation information comprises randomly generated information. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the obfuscation information comprises pseudorandomly generated information. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the at least one program is associated with a set of users rather than an individual user. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the set of users is specified by explicitly listing the users for whom the at least one program applies. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein the set of users is specified by providing an attribute common to the set of users, such that the at least one program is required for any user to whom said attribute applies. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein the generated derived resource is dependent upon at least one of the at least one user, a set of users, and another principal to whom the at least one program applies. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 receiving a new set of programs configured to operate upon the digital resource; and   receiving a request for associating the new set of programs with the digital resource.   
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 38 , further comprising:
 approving the request for associating the new set of programs with the digital resource.   
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein cryptographically associating the one or more programs with the digital resource comprises generating a digitally signed document consisting of the pairing of a unique representation of the digital resource and a unique representation of the one or more programs to be associated with the digital resource. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the representation of the digital resource is the result of applying a one-way function. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the one-way function comprises the SHA-1 hash function. 
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 40 , wherein the representation of the digital resource is a unique identifier associated with the digital resource. 
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 43 , wherein the unique identifier associated with the digital resource is assigned by a trusted third party.