Cloud Security Graph Analysis for Escalation Path Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cybersecurity solutions fail to detect and prevent escalation paths in cloud environments, which are complex and have numerous vulnerable points, leading to undetected lateral movement and unauthorized privilege escalations across interconnected cloud objects.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that analyze a security graph representing cloud objects and their connections, using risk factors and reachability parameters to identify and mark escalation paths, without requiring installation of agents in the cloud environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If existing security solutions focus on single network objects or layers, then device complexity is reduced, but detection precision of escalation paths deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cloud environment into discrete cloud objects (computational objects, storage objects, network objects, etc.) and represents their relationships as a graph structure. This segmentation allows the security system to analyze individual objects while maintaining awareness of their interconnections, enabling precise detection of escalation paths without requiring a monolithic complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from analyzing single network objects to a multi-dimensional graph representation where cloud objects and their relationships are visualized as nodes and edges. This dimensional change from scalar to graph-based analysis enables the system to detect escalation paths across multiple layers and objects simultaneously, improving detection precision while maintaining manageable complexity through structured representation.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive analysis of all cloud objects is performed, then detection precision improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-building the security graph representation of the cloud environment, pre-identifying cloud objects and their relationships before actual security analysis is needed. This preliminary structuring of data enables rapid querying and analysis during security events, as the foundation work of mapping cloud objects and connections has already been completed, reducing processing time during critical detection phases.
3Reliability
If agents or services are installed within cloud objects for detection, then detection capability improves, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary security graph layer that mediates between the cloud environment and the security analysis system. Instead of installing agents directly in cloud objects, the system creates a separate graph representation that captures cloud object relationships and security attributes. This intermediary layer enables comprehensive detection capabilities while maintaining ease of operation, as the security analysis occurs in the graph layer rather than requiring modifications to individual cloud objects.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for detecting escalation paths in a cloud environment is provided. The method includes accessing a security graph representing cloud objects and their connections in the cloud environment; analyzing each cloud object to detect an escalation hop from a current cloud object to a next cloud object, wherein the analysis is based, in part, on a plurality of risk factors and reachability parameters determined for each cloud object; and marking the security graph with each identified escalation path in the security graph, wherein an escalation path is a collection of escalation hops from a source cloud object to a destination cloud object.