Decoy Environment Payload Detonation for Cyber Attack Disruption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cyber security approaches are ineffective in preventing malicious attacks as they can be easily circumvented by attackers, particularly due to the ability of malicious payloads to provide callback communications that are not noticed by system monitoring, allowing attackers to gain entry and conduct surveillance or data corruption.
Innovation Solution
A networked local computer system with a security controller and a decoy environment that isolates operations from the rest of the system, where received payloads are repeatedly 'detonated' to generate decoy callback communications, flooding the attacker with non-useful data and increasing the cost of the attack, making it difficult to distinguish authentic from decoy responses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional security methods (blacklisting, anti-viral scans) are used to protect the system, then security coverage is provided, but attackers can easily circumvent these methods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful callback mechanism used by attackers into a beneficial tool for generating decoy responses. By detonating payloads in a decoy environment, the system generates multiple fake callback communications that flood the attacker, transforming the attacker's own callback strategy against them and significantly increasing attack cost while maintaining security effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a decoy environment as an intermediary layer between the payload and the actual system. This intermediate environment allows safe detonation of payloads and generation of decoy callbacks without risking the actual system, effectively mediating between security protection and attack disruption
2Object-generated harmful factors
If payloads are detonated multiple times in a decoy environment to generate decoy callbacks, then attack disruption is achieved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the system into distinct components: a front end for receiving payloads, a decoy environment for safe detonation, and a callback generation mechanism. This segmentation allows the complex payload detonation process to be isolated in a controlled environment, managing system complexity while achieving effective attack disruption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a copy of the payload in the decoy environment for detonation, rather than executing it directly in the main system. This copying approach allows multiple detonations to generate decoy callbacks without compromising the actual system, reducing the complexity risk while maintaining security
3Loss of energy
If decoy callbacks are generated to flood the attacker, then the cost of attack increases, but distinguishing authentic from decoy responses becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making decoy callbacks distinct in specific characteristics (such as source IP addresses, timing patterns, or metadata) while maintaining overall callback structure. This allows the system to generate sufficient decoy traffic to increase attack cost while preserving the ability to distinguish authentic callbacks through localized quality differences
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and method for disrupting cyber attacks. In accordance with some embodiments, the apparatus includes a network accessible device having a processor and memory, and a security system associated with the network accessible device. The security system has a security controller, a front end and a decoy environment operationally isolated from the memory of the network accessible device. The security controller is adapted to, responsive to receipt of a payload from an outside source potentially having a malicious component from an attacking party, apply a security operation to the payload comprising at least a selected one of an anti-viral scan, a blacklisting scan or a whitelisting scan. The security controller is further adapted to load the received payload into a memory of the decoy environment and detonate the loaded payload a plurality of times in succession.