Endpoint Credential Interceptor for Breach Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems fail to provide real-time monitoring and alerting for breached security credentials used by users on server-based endpoints, leading to potential misuse of compromised credentials.
Innovation Solution
A software component intercepts outgoing network traffic on client devices or servers, compares credential data with a list of compromised endpoints, and triggers an alert mechanism to prompt users to change their credentials if a match is found.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional alert mechanisms (email, text message) are used to notify users of credential breaches, then users can be informed about compromised credentials, but users may ignore or not read those alerts resulting in continued misuse of breached credentials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary alert mechanism that intercepts credential inputs at the point of use (web browser, mobile device) and displays contextual alerts directly within the user interface. This intermediary layer presents breach information at the moment the user attempts to use credentials, making the notification impossible to ignore and providing immediate actionable context.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by proactively monitoring and checking credentials against breach databases before the user completes their authentication or data entry. The alert mechanism prepares and displays breach warnings in advance, giving users time to change credentials before proceeding with potentially compromised login attempts.
2Reliability
If real-time monitoring of credential transmissions is implemented, then breached credentials can be detected immediately, but system complexity and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential credential elements (username, password hashes, token identifiers) from complete credential transmissions for comparison against breach databases. By extracting and monitoring only these critical components rather than entire credential sets, the system achieves real-time detection while minimizing computational overhead and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies or representations of credentials (such as hashed values, truncated identifiers, or breach database keys) for monitoring purposes. These copies enable rapid comparison against known breached credentials without requiring full analysis of original credential data, reducing computational resources while maintaining detection effectiveness.
3Reliability
If comprehensive credential monitoring is performed across all transmissions, then all breached credentials are detected, but processing time and system performance degrade
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial monitoring by focusing computational resources on high-risk credential transmissions (login attempts, password changes, sensitive data submissions) rather than uniformly monitoring all credential-related traffic. This selective approach maintains comprehensive coverage of critical security events while preserving system processing speed and performance for non-critical operations.
Data Source
AI summary
Real-time monitoring and alerting of breached security credentials for server-based endpoints is described herein. In various embodiments, a software component (that intercepts outgoing network traffic from a computing device) or a server-based breach monitoring component may receive a request for endpoint data. Credential data may be included in the request. The endpoint and/or the credential data may be compared to credential data linked to a list of compromised endpoints. An alert may be generated for the client device when both a match is detected with credential data of a breach object on the list of compromised endpoints and the breach time field of the breach object is after a previous credentials change for the endpoint. Access to the endpoint may be blocked and/or a change password mechanism may also be displayed to change the user credentials prior to revisiting the endpoint.