Distributed Network Security System with Threshold-Based Warning Counting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current anti-virus systems rely on central authorities for virus identification and response, leading to delays in protecting against rapidly spreading computer viruses and spam, as they require administrative action to update and distribute signatures, which can result in significant disruption before protection is implemented.
Innovation Solution
A collaborative computer security system that distributes the responsibility of malicious data identification to individual users, allowing them to detect and warn peers or a central server, with a message counting system to trigger security actions when a threshold is reached, enabling rapid response and protection without relying on central authorities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a centralized anti-virus system is used with administrative authorities updating virus signatures, then the system structure is simple and centralized control is maintained, but the response time to new viruses is delayed and disruption occurs before protection is implemented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized anti-virus system into distributed peer nodes that each independently monitor and detect viruses. Instead of relying on a central authority to discover and distribute virus signatures, each peer computer autonomously contributes to virus detection, enabling parallel processing and dramatically faster response times when new threats emerge.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the detection capabilities of multiple individual users into a collective security system. By merging the monitoring efforts of numerous peers through a distributed network, the system achieves enhanced detection speed and reliability that surpasses what any single centralized system could accomplish alone.
2Productivity
If individual users independently detect and report viruses in a distributed system, then the response speed to new threats is improved, but the system complexity increases and coordination challenges arise
Solution Approach 1:
Each peer node in the distributed system autonomously performs virus detection and automatically reports findings to other peers without requiring centralized coordination. The system leverages the self-organizing capabilities of distributed networks, where nodes independently contribute to collective security while maintaining operational simplicity at the individual node level.
3Reliability
If traditional centralized systems wait for administrative action to update virus databases, then system reliability is maintained through controlled updates, but the duration of protection gap increases allowing viruses to spread
Solution Approach 1:
The distributed peer system continuously monitors and detects viruses in real-time, performing preliminary detection actions before centralized systems would traditionally identify and respond to threats. This ongoing distributed surveillance eliminates the protection gap by maintaining constant vigilance across the network, immediately identifying and reporting new viruses as they emerge.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer security system for use in a network environment comprising at least a plurality of user computers arranged to communicate over a network, the system comprising a warning message exchange system operable to allow the communication from the user computers of warning messages relating to suspect data identified as a possible security threat; a message counting system operable to maintain a count for every particular piece or set of suspect data based on the number of warning messages communicated relating thereto; and network security means operable to act against any particular piece or set of suspect data for which the count maintained therefor exceeds at least one threshold value.