DOM Hash Verification for Unauthorized Webpage Change Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing webpages are susceptible to unauthorized changes during user sessions, which can be exploited by social engineering attacks to deceive users, necessitating a need for systems to monitor and alert users of such changes.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a hash verification process on webpages to generate and compare hash values for value fields, alerting users and entities of unauthorized changes, while allowing authorized changes to update stored hash values.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If hash verification is implemented to detect unauthorized changes, then webpage integrity and security are improved, but device complexity and processing requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewebpage integrityVSAvoidverification process complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by generating and storing hash values of the webpage source code before any potential unauthorized changes occur. This baseline hash is created once when the page is first loaded or after authorized updates, and then used for subsequent comparison checks to detect unauthorized modifications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a cryptographic copy (hash value) of the webpage's source code and stores it for later comparison. This hash copy represents the integrity state of the page without modifying the actual page content, allowing for efficient detection of changes without reprocessing the entire page.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Difficulty of detecting and measuring

If continuous monitoring of source code changes is performed, then detection capability is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvechange detection capabilityVSAvoidprocessing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Difficulty of detecting and measuringVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs periodic action by checking for unauthorized changes at specific intervals or triggers (such as page load, refresh, or after authorized updates) rather than continuously monitoring in real-time. This periodic verification reduces computational overhead while maintaining effective detection capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces complex continuous monitoring mechanisms with a simpler hash comparison mechanism. Instead of continuously analyzing the entire source code for changes, the system only compares hash values (digital fingerprints) of the source code, which is computationally much lighter and faster.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Measurement precision

If hash values are generated and stored for all value fields, then measurement precision of integrity is improved, but storage requirements and data overhead increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveintegrity measurement precisionVSAvoiddata storage requirement

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential integrity information (hash values) from the complete source code and stores only these condensed representations. By taking out only the critical integrity data rather than storing the entire source code or all detailed change information, the system achieves precise integrity measurement with minimal storage overhead.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS12625964B2Document object model (DOM) integrity check using hash verification

Publication Date: 2026.05.12 BANK OF AMERICA CORP

AI summary

Webpage integrity is monitored using hash verification. A hash verification process is implemented to detect unauthorized changes to value field(s) in a webpage's source code and, while the user is conducting an active web session on the webpage, an alert, which may be communicated via the webpage, is generated and communicated to a user in response to determining that there was an unauthorized change.