Deceptive Authentication Token for Malicious Session Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional application authentication methods fail to detect malicious session requests effectively, as they only authenticate or deny sessions based on valid credentials, unable to differentiate between genuine and unauthorized access attempts, such as those using common or out-of-date passwords.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of enhanced authentication tokens that indicate whether a session request is malicious, allowing a proxy to establish a clone session instead of an actual application session, which appears legitimate to the attacker, enabling monitoring of their activity while protecting the user's data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional authentication methods are used, then the system is simple to operate, but it cannot detect malicious session requests
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is segmented into multiple components: traditional credential verification, enhanced token generation with malicious indicators, and proxy-based session management. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simple authentication operations while adding detection capabilities through separate modular components.
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediary proxy is introduced between the authentication system and the application. This proxy receives session requests, evaluates enhanced authentication tokens for malicious indicators, and determines whether to establish real or clone sessions. The intermediary enables detection without complicating the core authentication mechanism.
2Reliability
If enhanced authentication tokens with malicious indicators are implemented, then malicious requests can be detected, but the authentication system becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary evaluation of authentication tokens to identify malicious indicators before session establishment. Enhanced tokens are generated with embedded malicious indicators during the authentication phase, allowing the proxy to make quick determination decisions without adding complexity to the token structure itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The authentication token structure is enhanced by adding a malicious indicator parameter. This parameter change allows the system to convey additional information about session legitimacy without fundamentally changing the authentication protocol or token format, maintaining compatibility while improving detection capability.
3Reliability
If clone sessions are established for malicious requests, then user data is protected, but the system must manage multiple session types
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating entirely new session management mechanisms, the system creates clone sessions that copy the structure and behavior of real sessions. These clone sessions mirror legitimate user interactions while using fake data, allowing the system to protect user data by preventing access to real data while maintaining familiar session management patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The system inverts the traditional approach by establishing clone sessions for malicious requests rather than blocking them outright. Instead of preventing malicious access, the system allows it to proceed in a controlled environment with inverted reality (fake data), thereby protecting user data while maintaining simple session management logic.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer media for securing software applications are provided herein. Through an enhanced authentication token, an application session request can be deceptively authenticated. When a malicious session request is detected, an enhanced authentication token can be generated that appears to successfully authenticate the session but contains information indicating that the session is malicious. The attacker believes that the session has been authenticated, but the information in the token indicating that the session is malicious causes an application clone session to be established instead of an actual application session. The clone session appears to be an actual application session but protects the valid user's account by including fake data instead of the user's actual data.