Abstract: A line management apparatus that is configured to provide a technique to secure an anchor line of a marine vessel to the bow thereof in combination when deployed with a bridle. The present invention includes a bottom support member that is planar in manner having a first vertical support member and a second vertical support member extending upwards therefrom and being perpendicular thereto. The line management apparatus includes a first locking member that is pivotally secured to the first vertical support member and wherein a first aperture is generally underneath a portion thereof. A second locking member is pivotally secured to the second vertical support member and is positioned above a second aperture formed in the bottom support member. The line management apparatus is configured to have a portion of a line journaled through the first aperture and second aperture so as to provide load transfer of the line.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product to detect and apply security policy to active client requests within a secure user session begins by applying a first heuristic to a plurality of requests for a particular resource to identify a pattern indicating of an active client. In one embodiment, the heuristic evaluates a frequency of requests for the particular resource across one or more secure user sessions. Later, upon receipt of a new request for the particular resource, a determination is then made whether the new request is consistent with the pattern. If so, an action is taken with respect to a secure session policy.

Abstract: An approach is provided that receives and processes a software change package. The software change package includes changes to an installed software product. Change metadata corresponding to the changes included in the software change package is also received. Support data corresponding to the software change package is also received with the support data includes evaluation data that corresponds to the software change package. The evaluation data being data that was gathered from other customer installations of an upgraded software product that previously installed the software change package. Customer configuration data items are retrieved and the customer configuration data items are analyzed along with the received change metadata and the received support data in order to generating an upgrade risk map.

Abstract: An approach is provided that receives a first role selection from a client device. Each of the roles includes various user accounts provisioned to access various software applications. An authentication challenge is retrieved. The authentication challenge is based upon the role selection that was received from the client device. The authentication challenge is transmitted to the client device. An authentication submission is received from the client device. This authentication submission is authenticated and, if the authentication is successful, then the client device access is granted access to software applications using the provisioned user accounts that were included in the role selection. In addition, audit data of usage of the software applications by the client device is recorded. The audit data includes identification of the provisioned user accounts used to access the software applications using the role selection.

Abstract: An authorization method is implemented in an authorization engine external to an authorization server. The authorization server includes a cache. The external authorization engine comprises an authorization decision engine, and a policy analytics engine. The method begins when the authorization decision engine receives a request for an authorization decision. The request is generated (at the authorization server) following receipt of a client request for which an authorization decision is not then available at the server. The authorization decision engine determines an authorization policy to apply to the client request, applies the policy, and generates an authorization decision. The authorization decision is then provided to the policy analytics engine, which stores previously-generated potential cache directives that may be applied to the authorization decision. Preferably, the cache directives are generated in an off-line manner (e.g.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and computer program product to detect and apply security policy to active client requests within a secure user session begins by applying a first heuristic to a plurality of requests for a particular resource to identify a pattern indicating of an active client. In one embodiment, the heuristic evaluates a frequency of requests for the particular resource across one or more secure user sessions. Later, upon receipt of a new request for the particular resource, a determination is then made whether the new request is consistent with the pattern. If so, an action is taken with respect to a secure session policy.

Abstract: Following development of an application, the application is deployed in a pre-production environment. A user role plays against that application, typically by performing one or more operations as a particular user in a particular group. As the operator role plays, access logs are written, and these logs are then analyzed and consolidated into a set of commands that drive a policy generator. The policy generator creates an optimized security policy that it then deploys to one or more enforcement points. In this manner, the framework enables automated configuration and deployment of one or more security policies.

Abstract: An approach is provided that receives and processes a software change package. The software change package includes changes to an installed software product. Change metadata corresponding to the changes included in the software change package is also received. Support data corresponding to the software change package is also received with the support data includes evaluation data that corresponds to the software change package. The evaluation data being data that was gathered from other customer installations of an upgraded software product that previously installed the software change package. Customer configuration data items are retrieved and the customer configuration data items are analyzed along with the received change metadata and the received support data in order to generating an upgrade risk map.

Abstract: This disclosure describes a method of and system for provisioning of shared account credentials to provide authorized access to shared or delegated accounts. Preferably, an enterprise single sign-on (E-SSO) system is used to manage the shared account or control delegation of account access, and preferably the shared or delegated account credential is not exposed to the end user. The described technique enables temporary delegation of account privileges to a member of a shared role. Using the described approach, an information technology (IT) account may be shared so that a user who needs to perform a shared duty can do so in the context of a shared role and without having control over the account itself. The approach facilitates delegating the use of a single account to one of a member of the shared role.

Abstract: A method for detecting and applying security policy to active client requests within a secure user session begins by applying a first heuristic to a plurality of requests for a particular resource to identify a pattern indicating of an active client. In one embodiment, the heuristic evaluates a frequency of requests for the particular resource across one or more secure user sessions. Later, upon receipt of a new request for the particular resource, a determination is then made whether the new request is consistent with the pattern. If so, an action is taken with respect to a secure session policy. In one embodiment, the action bypasses the secure session policy, which policy is associated with an inactivity time-out that might otherwise have been triggered upon receipt of the new request. In addition, a second heuristic may be applied to determine whether a response proposed to be returned (in response to the new request) is expected by the active client. If so, the response is returned unaltered.

Abstract: An approach is provided to gather items of usage data that pertain a number of instrumented software modules that are included in a software offering. The usage data is gathered from a number of customer installations of the software offering. Usage statistics are computed for the software modules and are used to determine support levels for the instrumented software modules. In another aspect, an approach is provided that detects execution of the software modules included in a software offering. Usage statistics are recorded in a local data store. One of the usage statistics is a module identifier that the software module that was executed. In addition, the usage statistics track the number of times each of the software modules was executed. The usage statistics are periodically transmitting a computer network to a software provider that develops and maintains the software offering.

Abstract: An approach is provided that receives a first role selection from a client device. Each of the roles includes various user accounts provisioned to access various software applications. An authentication challenge is retrieved. The authentication challenge is based upon the role selection that was received from the client device. The authentication challenge is transmitted to the client device. An authentication submission is received from the client device. This authentication submission is authenticated and, if the authentication is successful, then the client device access is granted access to software applications using the provisioned user accounts that were included in the role selection. In addition, audit data of usage of the software applications by the client device is recorded. The audit data includes identification of the provisioned user accounts used to access the software applications using the role selection.

Abstract: An approach is provided that receives a first role selection from a client device. Each of the roles includes various user accounts provisioned to access various software applications. An authentication challenge is retrieved. The authentication challenge is based upon the role selection that was received from the client device. The authentication challenge is transmitted to the client device. An authentication submission is received from the client device. This authentication submission is authenticated and, if the authentication is successful, then the client device access is granted access to software applications using the provisioned user accounts that were included in the role selection. In addition, audit data of usage of the software applications by the client device is recorded. The audit data includes identification of the provisioned user accounts used to access the software applications using the role selection.

Abstract: An authorization method is implemented in an authorization engine external to an authorization server. The authorization server includes a cache. The external authorization engine comprises an authorization decision engine, and a policy analytics engine. The method begins when the authorization decision engine receives a request for an authorization decision. The request is generated (at the authorization server) following receipt of a client request for which an authorization decision is not then available at the server. The authorization decision engine determines an authorization policy to apply to the client request, applies the policy, and generates an authorization decision. The authorization decision is then provided to the policy analytics engine, which stores previously-generated potential cache directives that may be applied to the authorization decision. Preferably, the cache directives are generated in an off-line manner (e.g.

Abstract: A method for detecting and applying security policy to active client requests within a secure user session begins by applying a first heuristic to a plurality of requests for a particular resource to identify a pattern indicating of an active client. In one embodiment, the heuristic evaluates a frequency of requests for the particular resource across one or more secure user sessions. Later, upon receipt of a new request for the particular resource, a determination is then made whether the new request is consistent with the pattern. If so, an action is taken with respect to a secure session policy. In one embodiment, the action bypasses the secure session policy, which policy is associated with an inactivity time-out that might otherwise have been triggered upon receipt of the new request. In addition, a second heuristic may be applied to determine whether a response proposed to be returned (in response to the new request) is expected by the active client. If so, the response is returned unaltered.

Abstract: One embodiment provides a computer-implemented method for transaction authorization within a security service. The computer-implemented method intercepts a request by a security service, wherein a transaction identifier is cached to form a cached transaction identifier, and requests the requester to authenticate to form an authentication request. The computer-implemented method further determines whether the requester was authenticated, and responsive to a determination the requester was authenticated, receives authentication information, including an associated transaction identifier. The request is intercepted and the cached transaction identifier inserted.

Abstract: This disclosure describes a method of and system for provisioning of shared account credentials to provide authorized access to shared or delegated accounts. Preferably, an enterprise single sign-on (E-SSO) system is used to manage the shared account or control delegation of account access, and preferably the shared or delegated account credential is not exposed to the end user. The described technique enables temporary delegation of account privileges to a member of a shared role. Using the described approach, an information technology (IT) account may be shared so that a user who needs to perform a shared duty can do so in the context of a shared role and without having control over the account itself. The approach facilitates delegating the use of a single account to one of a member of the shared role.

Abstract: An approach is provided that receives a first role selection from a client device. Each of the roles includes various user accounts provisioned to access various software applications. An authentication challenge is retrieved. The authentication challenge is based upon the role selection that was received from the client device. The authentication challenge is transmitted to the client device. An authentication submission is received from the client device. This authentication submission is authenticated and, if the authentication is successful, then the client device access is granted access to software applications using the provisioned user accounts that were included in the role selection. In addition, audit data of usage of the software applications by the client device is recorded. The audit data includes identification of the provisioned user accounts used to access the software applications using the role selection.

Abstract: An embodiment provides a computer implemented method for social profile assessment. The computer implemented method receives a request from a first user for an assessment, and sends questionnaires to a set of assessors for the first user. Upon receiving questionnaires from the set of assessors to form completed questionnaires, the computer implemented method generates an unadjusted social style assessment for the first user. Upon receiving a request from a second user for the social style assessment of the first user, the computer implemented method determines whether there are common assessors between the first user and the second user, and responsive to a determination that there are common assessors between the first user and the second user, generates an adjusted social style assessment for the first user, and returns the adjusted social style assessment for the first user to the second user.

Abstract: Following development of an application, the application is deployed in a pre-production environment. A user role plays against that application, typically by performing one or more operations as a particular user in a particular group. As the operator role plays, access logs are written, and these logs are then analyzed and consolidated into a set of commands that drive a policy generator. The policy generator creates an optimized security policy that it then deploys to one or more enforcement points. In this manner, the framework enables automated configuration and deployment of one or more security policies.