Bot proxy for group communication service

Abstract

Methods, systems, and software are disclosed herein for secured system access by means of a bot proxy for a bot within a group communication service. In an example embodiment, a bot within a selected group of a group communication service may receive a message from a user of the selected group. The bot may transmit, to a bot proxy node within a secured local network, information related to the message that is relevant to executing a selected command. The bot proxy node, in turn, may transmit an application programming interface (API) instruction to perform the selected command to a target server within the secured local network. The bot may send a response message, via the group communication service, to at least one user from the selected group based on a result of the selected command.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 receiving, at a box proxy node within a secured local network, command transmissions from multiple instances of a bot external to the secured local network, each instance of the bot being active in a different group of users of a group communication service, the command transmissions from the multiple instances including an identifier for a respective bot instance to which to transmit a response;   transmitting, from the bot proxy node to a target server within the secured local network, an application programming interface (API) instruction to perform a selected command from the command transmissions;   receiving, at the box proxy node from the target server, a response to the selected command; and   transmitting the response from the box proxy node to a selected instance of the bot based on the identifier associated with the selected command.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein:
 the bot proxy node is a computing device connected to the secured local network and located behind a firewall of the secured local network; 
 the bot proxy node communicates with the multiple instances of the bot via the internet; and 
 the bot proxy node is configured to shield the target server from direct internet access. 
 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the bot proxy node is connected to a plurality of servers within the secured local network; and 
 the method further comprises determining, at the bot proxy node, the target server from the plurality of servers based on the selected command. 
 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein:
 different servers from the plurality of servers are configured to execute different types of commands from the bot; and 
 the bot proxy node determines the target server by matching the selected command with a command processing functionality of the target server. 
 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3  further comprising:
 determining the target server from the plurality of servers based on a processing load at the plurality of servers, to perform load balancing. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising generating, at the bot proxy node, the API instruction based on information received in the selected command. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 performing decryption on the command transmissions at the bot proxy node; and 
 transmitting the API instruction from the bot proxy node to the target server only for command transmissions that were successfully decrypted. 
 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 caching a copy of the response at the bot proxy node; and 
 transmitting the copy of the response from the bot proxy node in reply to a subsequent command transmission without sending the API instruction to the target server. 
 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 receiving, at the selected instance of the bot active in a selected group of users of the group communication service, a message from a user in the selected group, the selected instance of the bot comprising a software application configured to execute commands in response to messages from users of the selected group; 
 transmitting a command transmission from the selected instance of the bot to the bot proxy node; 
 receiving the response at the selected instance of the bot from the bot proxy node; and 
 sending, from the selected instance of the bot via the group communication service, a response message to at least one user of the selected group based on the response. 
 
     
     
         10 . A communication system comprising:
 a first computing device within a secured local network configured to execute a bot proxy node to:
 exchange communications via the internet between the secured local network and a bot executed at a second computing device external to the secured local network,
 wherein the bot is active in a selected group of users in a group communication service; 
 wherein the first computing device is located behind a firewall of the secured local network and configured to shield a target server in the secured local network; 
 
 receive a command transmission from the bot; 
 transmit an application programming interface (API) instruction to the target server to perform a selected command based on the command transmission; and 
 transmit a response from the target server to the bot responsive to the command transmission. 
   
     
     
         11 . The communication system of  claim 10  comprising the bot proxy node further configured to:
 receive command transmissions from multiple instances of the bot, each instance of the bot being active in a different group of users of the group communication service; and 
 command transmissions from the multiple instances include an identifier for a respective bot instance to which to transmit the response. 
 
     
     
         12 . The communication system of  claim 10  further comprising:
 the bot proxy node is connected to a plurality of servers within the secured local network; and 
 the bot proxy node further configured to determine the target server from the plurality of servers based on the command transmission. 
 
     
     
         13 . The communication system of  claim 12  wherein:
 different servers from the plurality of servers are configured to execute different types of commands from the bot; and 
 the bot proxy node is further configured to determine the target server by matching the selected command with a command processing functionality of the target server. 
 
     
     
         14 . The communication system of  claim 12  comprising the bot proxy node further configured to determine the target server from the plurality of servers based on a processing load at the plurality of servers, to perform load balancing. 
     
     
         15 . The communication system of  claim 10  comprising the bot proxy node further configured to:
 perform decryption on the command transmission; and 
 transmit the API instruction to the target server only when the command transmission is successfully decrypted. 
 
     
     
         16 . The communication system of  claim 10  comprising the bot proxy node further configured to:
 cache a copy of the response at the bot proxy node; and 
 transmit the copy of the response in reply to a subsequent command transmission without sending the API instruction to the target server. 
 
     
     
         17 . The communication system of  claim 10  further comprising:
 the second computing device executing the bot, the bot comprising a software application configured to execute commands in response to messages from the users of the selected group, the bot configured to:
 receive a message from a user in the selected group; 
 transmit information related to the message that is relevant to execute the selected command as the command transmission; and 
 sending, from the bot via the group communication service, a response message to at least one user of the selected group based on the response to the selected command from the bot proxy node. 
 
 
     
     
         18 . A method comprising:
 receiving, at a bot proxy node within a secured local network, a command transmission from a bot external to the secured local network,
 wherein the bot proxy node is connected to a plurality of servers within the secured local network configured to execute different types of commands, and 
 wherein the bot is active in a selected group of users in a group communication service; 
   determining, at the bot proxy node, a target server from the plurality of servers based by matching a selected command associated with the command transmission to a command processing functionality of the target server;   transmitting, from the bot proxy node to the target server, an instruction to perform the selected command; and   transmitting, via the bot proxy node, a response to the selected command from the target server to the bot.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising:
 the bot proxy node is a computing device connected to the secured local network and located behind a firewall of the secured local network; 
 the bot proxy node communicates with the bot via the internet; and 
 the bot proxy node is configured to shield the target server from direct internet access. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising:
 receiving, at the bot, a message from a user in the selected group of users, the bot comprising a software application configured to execute commands in response to messages from users of the selected group; 
 transmitting the command transmission from the bot to the bot proxy node based on the message from the user; 
 receiving the response at the bot from the bot proxy node; and 
 sending from the bot via the group communication service, a response message to at least one user of the selected group based on the response.