Cloud Security Vulnerability Detector Using Story Graphs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional validation services and databases, such as MITRE ATT&CK™ Enterprise, fail to effectively identify and report security vulnerabilities in cloud-based environments, particularly cloud-native techniques and kill chains, due to their focus on operating system-based security and inability to adapt to cloud deployments.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a security vulnerability detector that utilizes resource monitoring, artificial intelligence models, and threat intelligence to identify and correlate cloud-based security vulnerabilities, including misconfigurations and API logs, to generate a story graph indicating potential remediation actions and threat intelligence feeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional validation services and databases (MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise) are used, then operating system-based security validation is achieved, but cloud-based security vulnerabilities cannot be effectively identified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments security validation into two distinct components: OS-based validation (using traditional MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise) and cloud-based validation (using cloud-specific indicators, misconfiguration detection, and cloud kill chain identification). This segmentation allows each component to specialize in its domain, resolving the contradiction between maintaining OS validation capabilities and adapting to cloud environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a new dimension to security validation by introducing cloud-specific validation layers beyond traditional OS-based approaches. This includes validating cloud configurations, IAM policies, storage bucket settings, and cloud-native attack vectors, thereby expanding the validation space from two-dimensional (OS-based) to three-dimensional (OS + cloud configurations + cloud services).
2Reliability
If cloud-specific validation is implemented, then cloud-based security vulnerabilities are detected, but validation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal validation framework that handles both OS-based and cloud-based security validation through a single system. The validation service can dynamically select and execute appropriate validation routines based on the target environment, whether it's traditional OS infrastructure or cloud-based infrastructure, thereby managing complexity while maintaining comprehensive coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary validation layer that sits between the validation service and the target infrastructure. This intermediary handles the complexity of cloud-specific validations by abstracting cloud provider-specific details (AWS, Azure, GCP) into standardized validation patterns, reducing the overall system complexity while maintaining reliable cloud security validation.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive cloud validation is performed, then all cloud-based vulnerabilities are identified, but validation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial validation by focusing on the most critical cloud security areas (IAM configurations, storage bucket policies, security group rules, known cloud kill chains) rather than attempting to validate every possible cloud configuration. This selective approach maintains high vulnerability identification completeness for cloud-specific threats while reducing validation time compared to exhaustive validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring validation rules, cloud kill chain patterns, and misconfiguration templates before actual validation execution. This allows the validation service to quickly match observed cloud configurations against known vulnerability patterns without performing complex real-time analysis, thereby reducing validation time while maintaining identification completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to identify and report cloud-based security vulnerabilities. An example apparatus includes memory, instructions, and processor circuitry. The example processor circuitry is to execute the instructions to assess a first security vulnerability associated with an application programming interface (API) of a cloud compute network, the first security vulnerability corresponding to at least one call to the API that deviates from a baseline report, the baseline report based on at least one communication in the cloud compute network, and assess a second security vulnerability associated with identity and access management in the cloud compute network based on an entity in the cloud compute network permitted to access a service provided by the cloud compute network, the second security vulnerability corresponding to an unauthorized request to access at least one of a device of the cloud compute network or the service.