Email Artifact Dashboard for Safe Malware Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for detecting and preventing malware in email messages are inefficient, cumbersome, and potentially dangerous, requiring administrators to manually analyze multiple tools and secure servers, which can lead to errors and exposure to malware.
Innovation Solution
An email security system that automatically identifies and disables malicious artifacts in email messages, presenting them in a centralized Artifact Dashboard for safe analysis, eliminating the need for manual interaction with potentially harmful content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If administrators manually analyze email messages using multiple tools and secure servers, then malware detection capability is improved, but system complexity and exposure to malware increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple analysis tools and secure server functionalities into a single integrated email security system. The system unifies artifact extraction, sandbox execution, and malware detection capabilities in one interface, eliminating the need for administrators to manually coordinate multiple separate tools while maintaining comprehensive detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary secure sandbox environment that mediates between the email message and the analysis tools. Artifacts are extracted and executed in this isolated intermediate environment, allowing safe analysis without direct exposure to the administrator's system, thus reducing complexity while maintaining reliability.
2Measurement precision
If administrators manually interact with potentially harmful content, then analysis accuracy is improved, but exposure to malware increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a secure sandbox as an intermediary layer between the administrator and potentially harmful email artifacts. The sandbox isolates executable code and attachments in a controlled environment, enabling administrators to safely extract and analyze artifacts without direct exposure to malware, thus maintaining analysis accuracy while eliminating harmful exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the email message into its constituent artifacts (attachments, executable code, links) and processes each in isolation within the sandbox environment. This segmentation allows precise analysis of individual components while containing any potential malware within the isolated sandbox, preventing exposure to the administrator's system.
3Reliability
If multiple tools and secure servers are used for analysis, then detection thoroughness is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple analysis tools and secure server functionalities into a single unified interface. The system automatically performs artifact extraction, sandbox execution, and malware detection without requiring administrators to manually operate separate tools, thereby maintaining thorough detection while significantly improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements automated self-service capabilities that perform the entire analysis process without manual intervention. The email security system automatically extracts artifacts, executes them in the sandbox, and generates detection results, eliminating the need for administrators to manually coordinate multiple tools while maintaining comprehensive detection thoroughness.
4Adaptability or versatility
If manual analysis processes are used, then flexibility in investigation is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated self-service processing that handles routine analysis tasks without manual intervention. The automated extraction, sandbox execution, and detection processes significantly increase productivity while maintaining investigative flexibility through configurable analysis parameters and the ability to intervene when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides dynamic adaptability by allowing administrators to configure analysis parameters and intervention levels based on specific investigation needs. The automated system can operate in different modes ranging from fully automatic to manually-guided, maintaining flexibility while significantly increasing productivity compared to purely manual processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes, in response to receiving an email message, detecting one or more artifacts within an email message, wherein each of the artifacts is associated with a payload; for each artifact, generating, a descriptor object representing the artifact that does not include the payload, so that the processor is prevented from accessing the payload via the descriptor object; and at least one payload button based on the payload associated with the artifact for causing the payload to be transmitted to an external system for analysis of the payload; and presenting an artifact dashboard in a graphical user interface (GUI) rendered on a display of the email security system, the artifact dashboard displaying, for each artifact, the descriptor object representing the artifact and the at least one payload button based on the payload associated with the artifact.