Dynamic Attack Surface Risk Scoring for Alert Prioritization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network security assessment methods rely on static representations and manual analysis, failing to provide actionable insights into evolving attack surfaces, leading to overwhelming alerts and difficulty in prioritizing risks and discerning business impact.
Innovation Solution
A system that dynamically evaluates the attack surface by identifying vulnerabilities, assigning incident risk scores, and providing a granular security rating that evolves over time, incorporating expert-driven risk factors and asset criticality, to facilitate effective risk prioritization and remediation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing solutions provide comprehensive security alerts, then security coverage is improved, but alert volume becomes overwhelming and difficult to prioritize
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monolithic alert system into multiple hierarchical levels: individual asset risk scores, incident risk scores, and aggregate security ratings. This segmentation allows security teams to analyze risks at different granularities and prioritize effectively without being overwhelmed by a single mass of alerts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms security assessment from qualitative manual analysis to quantitative automated scoring using multiple parameters (asset criticality, vulnerability severity, exploitability factors). This parameter-based approach enables automated prioritization and reduces the cognitive burden on security analysts.
2Measurement precision
If manual analysis methods are used, then detailed security assessment is possible, but productivity and response time deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-assessment of security posture by continuously collecting data from multiple sources, calculating risk scores, and generating security ratings without requiring manual intervention. This automation maintains detailed assessment capabilities while dramatically improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements continuous feedback loops where security metrics are automatically measured, analyzed, and used to update risk scores and security ratings in real-time. This feedback mechanism enables both precise measurement and rapid response to changing security conditions.
3Device complexity
If static security representations are used, then system simplicity is maintained, but adaptability to evolving threats deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from static security assessments to dynamic continuous monitoring. Security ratings and risk scores are updated in real-time as new information becomes available, enabling the system to adapt to evolving threats while maintaining a structured framework through standardized calculation methodologies.
4Loss of information
If comprehensive vulnerability data is collected, then security awareness is improved, but difficulty in discerning business impact increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by weighting different vulnerability characteristics differently based on their relevance to business impact. Asset criticality scores and incident risk scores prioritize information that directly correlates with business impact, allowing comprehensive data collection while maintaining clear visibility into what matters most for business decision-making.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, system, and device for identifying network incident risk. The method includes (i) determining a set of incident scores for a set of incidents on a network, (ii) generating a security rating for an attack surface for the network, wherein the security rating is an aggregation of the incident risk scores associated with a subset of risks on the network, and (iii) providing the security rating.


