Communication Watermark for Exfiltration Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing security measures are ineffective in distinguishing legitimate voice or video calls from malicious ones disguised as such, leading to potential security breaches through 'exfiltration' where sensitive information is extracted using legitimate protocols, making it difficult to detect unauthorized data transfer.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a watermark into voice or video communication sessions that is not readily observable during the session but can be verified later, allowing only legitimate sessions to continue and identifying potential security breaches by monitoring for the watermark's presence.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If voice or video communication sessions are allowed without verification, then ease of operation is improved, but security reliability deteriorates due to inability to distinguish legitimate calls from malicious exfiltration attempts
Solution Approach 1:
A watermark is embedded into legitimate voice or video communication sessions before they proceed, allowing verification of legitimacy without affecting user experience. The watermark is inserted in advance into the communication stream, enabling subsequent detection to distinguish authorized sessions from malicious exfiltration attempts.
2Reliability
If security monitoring is implemented to detect exfiltration, then security reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional monitoring and verification mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
A watermark acts as an intermediary mechanism embedded within the communication stream itself, rather than requiring complex external monitoring systems. The watermark is a simple data element that can be detected through straightforward verification, reducing the complexity of security infrastructure while maintaining high reliability.
3Reliability
If watermarks are embedded in communication sessions, then security reliability is improved, but loss of information increases due to modification of communication data
Solution Approach 1:
The watermark modifies only specific local portions of the communication data stream rather than altering the entire communication. The watermark is embedded in a localized manner within the voice or video stream, preserving the overall quality and integrity of the communication while adding verification capability.
Data Source
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AI summary
A legitimate voice or video communication application modifies data in a communication session to produce a watermark. The watermark is a piece of information that is part of a communication session that is not readily observable, but can be verified later on. The purpose of a watermark is to verify that the communication session is a legitimate communication session and does not pose a security breach. The video or audio communication session is monitored for a watermark. In response to determining that the communication session contains the watermark, the communication session is allowed continue. In response to determining that the communication session does not contain the watermark, the communication session is identified as a potential security breach. If the communication session is identified as a potential security breach, the communication session can be dropped and a user can be notified of the potential security breach.