Edge Endpoint Onboarding With Vulnerability-Based Configuration Blocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Information Handling Systems (IHSs) are vulnerable to known vulnerabilities due to inconsistent configurations and updates, which can be exploited by malicious actors, leading to security and functional issues, despite administrators being unaware of these vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a remote access controller in IHSs that executes vulnerability management service instructions to detect and block onboarding to an edge orchestrator if hardware configurations exhibit known vulnerabilities, using catalogs of known vulnerabilities and factory-provisioned identity certificates for authentication and validation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If administrators configure hardware and software updates on server IHSs, then functionality and performance are improved, but known vulnerabilities are introduced due to inconsistent protocols and procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary vulnerability assessment during the onboarding process before the IHS is fully deployed. The remote access controller detects and evaluates hardware configurations against vulnerability catalogs in advance, preventing vulnerable configurations from being deployed to production environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous feedback loops where vulnerability assessments are performed during onboarding, and results are used to block or remediate vulnerable configurations. The edge orchestrator receives feedback about vulnerability status and automatically prevents deployment of IHSs with known vulnerabilities.
2Reliability
If comprehensive vulnerability assessments are performed during onboarding, then security is improved, but onboarding time and process complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Vulnerability catalogs are pre-populated with known vulnerabilities before the onboarding process begins. The remote access controller has access to pre-configured vulnerability data, allowing for rapid assessment without requiring time-consuming scans or analysis during the actual onboarding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-assessment of vulnerability status during onboarding without requiring manual administrator intervention. The remote access controller automatically evaluates hardware configurations against the vulnerability catalog and makes deployment decisions, eliminating the need for manual security reviews.
Data Source
AI summary
Vulnerability proofing of an edge compute endpoint while onboarding to an edge orchestrator includes detecting onboarding of and Information Handling System (IHS) as the edge compute endpoint to the edge orchestrator that includes vulnerability management service instructions. The onboarding includes configuring for (a) hardware component(s) of the IHS. Execution of the vulnerability management service instructions results in accessing (a) catalog(s) specifying known vulnerabilities of hardware components of the IHS, determining whether any of the configuring of the configuration(s) for the hardware component(s) are identified as vulnerable in the catalog(s), and blocking of the onboarding of the IHS as the edge compute endpoint to the edge orchestrator until the configuring of the hardware component(s) is modified to include no configuring of the hardware component(s) with vulnerabilities identified in the catalog(s).