Cybersecurity System with Peer Group Netflow Supplementation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cybersecurity strategies are inadequate in detecting and responding to sophisticated network attacks, as they focus more on prevention than detection and response, leading to delayed identification and removal of indicators of compromise.
Innovation Solution
A cybersecurity monitoring system that determines a peer group identifier for users and supplements netflow records with this identifier, enabling timely risk reporting and risk scoring through behavioral analysis of network activity, facilitating quicker incident response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If cybersecurity strategies focus more on prevention than detection and response, then security measures can be established in advance, but detection and response to attacks are delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-defining peer groups based on expected network activity behavior patterns before attacks occur. These peer group definitions are stored and ready for immediate comparison when network traffic is monitored, enabling rapid detection without requiring complex analysis during incident response
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously comparing actual network activity against predefined peer group behavior patterns and providing real-time alerts when deviations are detected. This feedback mechanism enables immediate response to anomalies while maintaining the preventive framework
2Measurement precision
If netflow records are supplemented with peer group identifiers and user identifiers, then detection accuracy is improved, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments network traffic analysis by organizing users into peer groups with similar expected behavior patterns. This segmentation allows the system to compare traffic against predefined group patterns rather than analyzing each user individually, improving detection accuracy while managing complexity through categorization
Solution Approach 2:
Peer group identifiers serve as intermediaries between raw netflow data and security analysis. By supplementing netflow records with peer group identifiers, the system enables efficient pattern matching without requiring direct complex analysis of individual user behavior, thus improving detection while managing processing complexity
3Speed
If authentication events are correlated with netflow data in real-time, then incident detection is accelerated, but system resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by pre-processing authentication events to extract and store peer group identifiers before netflow data arrives. This preparation enables rapid correlation during real-time monitoring without requiring intensive processing resources when incidents are detected
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies of authentication data in the form of peer group identifiers that can be rapidly matched against netflow records. This copying approach enables fast real-time correlation while consuming minimal resources, as the system matches identifiers rather than processing complete authentication event data
Data Source
AI summary
A computing device determines a peer group identifier and supplements netflow records with the peer group identifier. An authentication event block object is received that was sent to a first source window. The authentication event block object includes a user identifier, an IP address, and a peer group identifier. Members of the peer group are identified based on an expected network activity behavior. The user identifier and the peer group identifier are stored in association with the IP address in a cache. A netflow event block object sent to the first source window is received that includes a netflow packet IP address. Netflow data is parsed from the netflow event block object into a netflow record. When the stored IP address matches the netflow packet IP address, the netflow record is supplemented with the user identifier and the peer group identifier. The supplemented netflow record is output to summary data.