Abstract: The invention provides a dynamic rules-based secure data access system that may be used in a variety of applications that include a requirement for controlled secure access to a database. The rules-based access system has several features. One of these is that each user be assigned a role, either as an individual or as part of the group. Access rights may be assigned based on roles, but these can be modified within the system by individual users, that have authority to do so. Further, the data resources that each user is allowed to access, based on his or her role, and the extent of viewing and of data manipulation allowed, is further controlled based on assigned “rights and privileges”.

Abstract: A telecommunications data interface (24) installs in line between a PC keyboard (20) and a PC (10) and transparently transfers data between the keyboard and the PC. The keyboard has a relatively slow manual data rate at which the keyboard data are synchronously transferred into the PC by a clock line (46). Caller ID data bytes extracted from a telephone line (34, 36) are preceded by a tag byte, impressed on a keyboard data line (44), and synchronously transferred into the PC using the same clock line. Keyboard device driver software installed in the PC separates the keyboard data from the caller ID data and transfers both to appropriate locations for processing and storage. The caller ID interface substantially eliminates the data conflicts and interrupt availability problems that are possible in prior RS-232 based caller ID interfaces.