Blockchain Trust Baseline for MITM-Resistant Access Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies lack effective methods to protect sensitive information from cyber attacks, particularly Man in the Middle (MITM) attacks, and the dissemination of trusted keys or credentials poses a security vulnerability.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using blockchain technology to establish a baseline of trust by monitoring device attributes and disseminating sensitive information or access control among multiple nodes, requiring consensus for access, and employing pruning to manage data size and integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If blockchain technology is used to monitor device attributes and establish a baseline of trust, then network security against MITM attacks is improved, but device complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the trust verification process into distributed nodes across the blockchain network, where each node independently monitors and validates device attributes. This segmentation distributes the computational complexity across multiple participants rather than concentrating it in a single system, thereby improving security through decentralization while managing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing a baseline of trust through monitoring device attributes before actual security threats occur. Device configurations, cryptographic keys, and behavioral patterns are pre-analyzed and stored on the blockchain, enabling rapid detection and response to MITM attacks without requiring complex real-time analysis during security incidents.
2Measurement precision
If device attributes are monitored and stored on blockchain to detect deviations, then detection precision of malicious activity is improved, but data storage requirements and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential device attributes and configuration parameters that are necessary for trust verification, storing them on the blockchain rather than monitoring all possible device data. This selective extraction maintains high detection precision for security-relevant deviations while minimizing data storage requirements and processing overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters by establishing predetermined thresholds and tolerance levels for device attribute variations. Normal fluctuations in device states are accommodated within these parameter ranges, allowing the system to focus computational resources on detecting only significant deviations that indicate potential security threats, thereby reducing processing time while maintaining detection precision.
3Ease of operation
If a single trusted key or credential is used for access control, then ease of operation is improved, but security vulnerability to single-point compromise increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the trusted credential into multiple distributed components stored across different blockchain nodes. Instead of relying on a single centralized key, the system uses segmented cryptographic credentials that require collaboration among multiple nodes for verification, maintaining ease of operation through automated smart contract execution while eliminating the single-point vulnerability of centralized credential storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The blockchain acts as an intermediary layer between device authentication and access control. Rather than devices directly presenting trusted keys to servers (creating a single-point vulnerability), the blockchain intermediary verifies device attributes against the baseline and mediates authentication, distributing the trust model across the decentralized network while maintaining simple access control operations for end users.
Data Source
AI summary
Blockchain technology is used to provide security of electronic systems. The disclosed technology allows for a dynamic bond of trust to be applied to the field of information security without the need for a single point of trust to first be established. The lines of trust between electronic systems or devices is established by distributing information among the systems or devices. This allows for easy identification of commonalities and/or decision making whereby policy(s)/action(s)/monitoring/etc. can be enforced when those commonalities align. Simultaneously, deviations from those commonalities can be identified and policy(s)/action(s)/monitoring/etc. may also be invoked. The use of blockchain technology enables investigative and responsive actions to detect and exploit a potential attacker on a network.