Content Hardening Wrapper Unit for Network Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Networked computer systems are vulnerable to directed attacks, particularly through network fingerprinting and banner grabbing techniques, which exploit configuration information in protocol headers and application banners, leading to potential exposure of sensitive data and inability of conventional security measures to prevent such attacks.
Innovation Solution
A Content Hardening Wrapper Unit (CHWU) is introduced, which scans outgoing data for revealing content elements and replaces them with randomly chosen replacement elements, reducing the transmission of configuration information that could be used by attackers for network fingerprinting or banner grabbing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional security measures (firewalls, anti-virus software, intruder detection systems) are implemented, then mass attacks are partially stopped, but directed attacks can still penetrate through unmodified protocol headers and banners
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by scanning outgoing data packets for revealing content elements before they are transmitted. The Content Hardening Wrapper Unit intercepts packets at the application layer, identifies configuration information in protocol headers and banners, and replaces it with dummy data before the packets leave the system, preventing directed attacks from gathering system intelligence
Solution Approach 2:
The Content Hardening Wrapper Unit acts as an intermediary between the application layer and the network layer. It sits in the data path and modifies outgoing packets by replacing revealing content elements with dummy data, thereby mediating between the need to maintain communication functionality and the need to prevent information leakage to attackers
2Ease of operation
If protocol header fields contain detailed configuration information, then communication applications can display useful banners, but attackers can use this information for network fingerprinting and banner grabbing
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by selectively modifying only the revealing content elements within protocol headers and banners while leaving the rest of the packet structure intact. The Content Hardening Wrapper Unit identifies specific fields containing configuration information and replaces only those portions with dummy data, maintaining communication functionality while removing security vulnerabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters by replacing revealing content elements (such as operating system version, software type, protocol details) with dummy data that has different values but maintains the same structural format. This preserves the packet's communication function while altering the information content to prevent fingerprinting
Data Source
AI summary
An attacker is prevented from obtaining information about the configuration of a computer system. Each of one or more revealing content elements that may be found in outgoing data transmitted by the computer system and that are capable of being used by the attacker to obtain the information about the configuration of the computer system is associated with one or more respective replacement content elements. Outgoing data to be transmitted by the computer system are then scanned for these one or more revealing content elements. A revealing content element found in the outgoing data is replaced by a replacement content element from the one or more replacement content elements associated with that revealing content element. This is done before the outgoing data is transmitted.