1. A method of operating a server device, comprising:
performing operations as follows on a processor:
initiating an outgoing connection to a communication session;
establishing communication with a client device via the communication session;
providing the client device with access to content that is stored at a remote storage location separate from the client device; and
authorizing a modification to the content at the remote storage location via the client device.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving an invitation to join the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection comprises initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session responsive to receiving the invitation to join the communication session.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the invitation comprises a unique identifier that identifies the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session comprises transmitting a unique identifier to a collaboration server that manages the communication session that identifies the communication session.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein authorizing the modification to the content comprises:
requesting a user of the client device display a form of user identification through a video channel of the communication session;
receiving the user identification over the video channel; and
validating an identity of the user based on credentials contained on the user identification.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:
embedding a picture of the user of the client device in the content that is obtained from the user identification.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein validating the identity of the user further comprises:
communicating the credentials to an identity verification entity; and
receiving a validation of the identity of the user from the verification entity.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein authorizing the modification to the content comprises:
presenting a user of the client device with at least one question;
receiving responses from the user of the client device to the at least one question; and
authorizing the modification to the content responsive to the responses received from the user of the client device.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein authorizing the modification to the content comprises:
transmitting a prompt to a user of the client device that provides guidance in performing the modification to the content.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is a document and the modification is an electronic signature.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing communication with the client device comprises establishing communication with a plurality of client devices via the communication session.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein providing the client device with access to the content comprises:
providing the plurality of client devices with access to content that is stored at the remote storage location separate from the plurality of client devices.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the client device is a first one of the plurality of client devices; and
wherein authorizing the modification to the content at the remote storage location via the first one of the plurality of client devices comprises:
authorizing the modification to the content at the remote storage location via the first one of the plurality of client devices while blocking other ones of the plurality of client devices from modifying the content.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
authorizing a modification to the content at the remote storage location via a second one of the plurality of client devices while blocking the other ones of the plurality of client devices from modifying the content.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:
video recording the modification to the content by a user of the first one of the plurality of client devices along with users of the other ones of the plurality of client devices; and
generating a log file with a date and time stamp when the modification to the content occurred.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication session comprises a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) communication session; and
wherein establishing communication with the client device via the communication session comprises establishing communication with the client device using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.
16. A method of operating a client device, comprising:
performing operations as follows on a processor:
initiating an outgoing connection to the communication session;
establishing communication with a server device via the communication session;
receiving from a server device access to content that is stored at a remote storage location;
receiving a user authorization request from the server device;
transmitting information identifying the user to the server device;
receiving authorization to modify the content at the remote storage location; and
modifying the content at the remote storage location.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
receiving an invitation to join the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection comprises initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session responsive to receiving the invitation to join the communication session.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the invitation comprises a unique identifier that identifies the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session comprises transmitting a unique identifier to a collaboration server that manages the communication session that identifies the communication session.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the user authorization request comprises a request for the user to display a form of user identification through a video channel of the communication session; and
wherein the information identifying the user comprises the form of user identification.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein the user authorization request comprises at least one question; and
wherein the information identifying the user comprises responses from the user of the client device to the at least one question.
21. The method of claim 16, wherein the content is a document; and
wherein modifying the content comprises modifying the content with an electronic signature.
22. The method of claim 16, wherein establishing communication with the server device via the communication session comprises establishing communication with the server device using a noVNC browser.
23. The method of claim 16, wherein the communication session comprises a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) communication session; and
wherein establishing communication with the server device via the communication session comprises establishing communication with the server device using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.
24. A server device, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor and comprising computer readable program code embodied in the memory that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising:
initiating an outgoing connection to the communication session;
establishing communication with a client device via the communication session;
providing the client device with access to content that is stored at a remote storage location separate from the client device; and
authorizing a modification to the content at the remote storage location via the client device.
25. The server device of claim 24, wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving an invitation to join the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection comprises initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session responsive to receiving the invitation to join the communication session.
26. The server device of claim 24, wherein the communication session comprises a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) communication session; and
wherein establishing communication with the client device via the communication session comprises establishing communication with the client device using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.
27. A computer program product for operating a server device, comprising:
a tangible computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code embodied in the medium that when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising:
initiating an outgoing connection to the communication session;
establishing communication with a client device via the communication session;
providing the client device with access to content that is stored at a remote storage location separate from the client device; and
authorizing a modification to the content at the remote storage location via the client device.
28. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving an invitation to join the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection comprises initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session responsive to receiving the invitation to join the communication session.
29. The computer program product of claim 27, wherein the communication session comprises a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) communication session; and
wherein establishing communication with the client device via the communication session comprises establishing communication with the client device using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.
30. A client device, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor and comprising computer readable program code embodied in the memory that when executed by the processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising:
initiating an outgoing connection to the communication session;
establishing communication with a server device via the communication session;
receiving from a server device access to content that is stored at a remote storage location;
receiving a user authorization request from the server device;
transmitting information identifying the user to the server device;
receiving authorization to modify the content at the remote storage location; and
modifying the content at the remote storage location.
31. The client device of claim 30, wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving an invitation to join the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection comprises initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session responsive to receiving the invitation to join the communication session.
32. The client device of claim 30, wherein the communication session comprises a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) communication session; and
wherein establishing communication with the server device via the communication session comprises establishing communication with the server device using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.
33. A computer program product for operating a client device, comprising:
a tangible computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code embodied in the medium that when executed by a processor causes the processor to perform operations comprising:
initiating an outgoing connection to the communication session;
establishing communication with a server device via the communication session;
receiving from a server device access to content that is stored at a remote storage location;
receiving a user authorization request from the server device;
transmitting information identifying the user to the server device;
receiving authorization to modify the content at the remote storage location; and
modifying the content at the remote storage location.
34. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the operations further comprise:
receiving an invitation to join the communication session; and
wherein initiating the outgoing connection comprises initiating the outgoing connection to the communication session responsive to receiving the invitation to join the communication session.
35. The computer program product of claim 33, wherein the communication session comprises a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) communication session; and
wherein establishing communication with the server device via the communication session comprises establishing communication with the server device using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.
36. A computer system, comprising:
an agent server;
a collaboration server that is configured to establish a communication session between the agent server and a plurality of plurality of client devices;
a Virtual Network Computing (VNC) bridge server that is configured to provide each of the agent server and the plurality of client devices access to desktops of other ones of the agent server and the plurality of client devices to view content that is stored at a remote storage location separate from the plurality of client devices; and
a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) that is configured to provide one of the plurality of client devices with modification access to the content at the remote storage location while blocking other ones of the plurality of client devices from modifying the content responsive to a modification authorization from the agent server.
37. The computer system of claim 36, wherein the communication session is established over an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) communication network using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) signaling.
38. The computer system of claim 37, wherein the IMS network comprises a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
39. The computer system of claim 36, wherein the collaboration server is configured to establish the communication session between the agent server and the plurality of client devices without using static identifiers for the agent server and the plurality of client devices.
40. The computer system of claim 36, wherein the collaboration server is further configured to establish the communication session using a Back-to-Back User Agent (B2BUA) server.
41. The computer system of claim 36, wherein the VNC bridge server is further configured to use secure websockets to provide each of the agent server and the plurality of client devices access to the desktops of the other ones of the agent server and the plurality of client devices.
42. The computer system of claim 36, wherein each of the plurality of client devices is an IP device.
43. The computer system of claim 36, wherein the agent server is further configured to video record the modification to the content by a user of the first one of the plurality of client devices along with users of the other ones of the plurality of client devices, and generate a log file with a date and time stamp when the modification to the content occurred.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for obscuring use of a Lawfully Authorized Electronic Surveillance (LAES) header included within Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) messaging used to support a session associated with packet-based voice andor real-time multimedia applications, the method comprising:
determining a validity function to be used in processing a field included in the LAES header for the purposes of assessing whether the session is to be placed under surveillance, the validity function generating a first result if the session is to be placed under surveillance and a second result if the session is not to be placed under surveillance; and
selecting a first value for the field being processed with the validity function so as to cause the validity function to generate the first result if surveillance is desired and to generate the second result if surveillance is not desired, thereby obfuscating whether the session is to be placed under surveillance.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the field to be processed with the validity function to be a billing-correlation-ID (BCID) field.
3. The method claim 2 further comprising selecting the value for the BCID field using a random number generator.
4. The method of claim 3 further comprising:
assessing a first random number generated using the random number generator with the validity function, the first random number resulting in the validity function generating the first result;
assessing a second random number generated using the random number generator with the validity function, the second random number resulting in the validity function generating the second result; and
selecting the first random number as the first value for the BCID field if surveillance is desired and selecting the second random number as the first value for the BCID field if surveillance is not desired.
5. The method claim 4 further comprising including the first or second random number within the BCID field of an SIP invite used to originate the session.
6. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the field to be processed with the validity function to be an IP address:port of delivery function field.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the field to be processed with the validity function to be an IP address:port of content function field.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the field to be processed with the validity function to be a call content channel identifier (CCID) field.
9. The method claim 1 further comprising determining the validity function to be an exclusive-or function where a mask is XOR’d with the field, resulting in the first or second result depending on the first value and a second value selected for the mask.
10. The method claim 6 further comprising determining the second value for the mask to vary over time such that selection of the first value is based at least in part on the mask active proximate in time to origination of the session.
11. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the first result if the validity function generates an odd number and to be the second result if the validity function generates an even number.
12. A method for obscuring use of a Lawfully Authorized Electronic Surveillance (LAES) headers included within Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) invites, the method comprising:
determining a first plurality of SIP invites associated with SIP sessions requiring surveillance;
determining a second plurality of SIP invites associated with SIP sessions not requiring surveillance; and
including LAES headers within each of the first and second plurality of SIP invites, including determining values for one or more fields included within the LAES headers of the first plurality of SIP invites such that when processed with a validity function the associated SIP session is determined to require surveillance and determining values for one or more fields included within the LAES headers of the second plurality of SIP invites such that when processed with the validity function the associated SIP sessions are determined to not require surveillance.
13. The method claim 12 further comprising selecting the values for a billing-correlation-ID (BCID) field included within each LAES header, the BCID field being at least one of the one or more fields processed with the validity function to determine whether the associated session requires or does not require surveillance.
14. The method of claim 12 further comprising determining sessions to require surveillance if the validity function generates a first result for the corresponding LAES header and to not require surveillance if the validity function generates a second result for the corresponding LAES header.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising generating the values for the field being processed with the validity function using a random number generator.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising, in the event a first random number generated with the random number generator for one of the LAES headers of the first plurality of SIP invites produces the second result, generating additional random numbers using the random number generator until the corresponding LAES header produces the first result.
17. The method claim 14 further comprising determining the validity function to be an exclusive-or function where a mask is XOR’d with one or more of the one or more fields to produce one of an odd number and an even number, the first result being determined if the odd number is produced and the second result being determined if the even number is produced.
18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having a plurality of instructions operable with a processor of a call management server (CMS) or a call session control function (CSCF) to facilitate surveilling session initiation protocol (SIP) sessions, the instructions being sufficient for:
determining a first Lawfully Authorized Electronic Surveillance (LAES) header included within a first SIP invite associated with a first SIP session;
processing at least a first portion of the first LAES header with a validity function to produce a first result; and
determining surveillance of the first SIP session to be required if the first result is of a first type and determining surveillance of the first SIP session to be unnecessary if the first result is of a second type.
19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 further comprising instructions sufficient for:
implementing surveillance of the first SIP session after determining the first result to be of the first type;
determining a second LAES header included within a second SIP invite associated with a second SIP session;
processing at least a second portion of the second LAES header with the validity function to produce a second result;
determining surveillance of the second SIP session to be required if the second result is of the first type and determining surveillance of the second SIP session to be unnecessary if the second result is of the second type; and
preventing surveillance of the second SIP session after determining the second result to be of the second type.
20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein the first portion corresponds with a billing-correlation-ID (BCID) field included within the first LAES header and the validity function includes XOR’ing the BCID with a mask to produce the first result.