File Transfer Path Discovery via Correlation Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
In large enterprise networks, complex and interdependent file transfer systems make it difficult for system administrators to identify business content transfer paths and calculate network risks due to poor documentation and complexity, leading to fragile networks and significant financial risks.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses file transfer information to determine business content transfer paths by generating confidence of correlation between file transfers, identifying interdependencies, and calculating business risk per network component, without requiring file reassembly or deep packet inspection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If system administrators manually track file transfer dependencies in complex networks, then they can identify transfer paths, but the complexity and time required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically discovers and maps file transfer dependencies by having file transfer appliances self-report their transfer relationships to a central server. This eliminates the need for manual tracking while maintaining high detection accuracy, as the system uses automated correlation of transfer data to build dependency graphs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements continuous monitoring where file transfer appliances report transfer activities back to the analysis server, which then updates dependency mappings in real-time. This feedback loop enables dynamic discovery of transfer paths without increasing operational complexity for administrators.
2Loss of information
If system administrators implement comprehensive file transfer monitoring, then they can identify business content paths, but computational and storage resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential metadata from file transfers (source, destination, timing, file identifiers) rather than monitoring complete file contents. This selective extraction maintains full transfer path information while dramatically reducing computational and storage requirements by focusing only on dependency-relevant data.
3Reliability
If system administrators document all file transfer relationships, then network stability improves, but documentation and maintenance burden increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains dynamic, automatically updating documentation of file transfer relationships rather than static manual documentation. The dependency maps are continuously refreshed based on observed transfer activities, ensuring network stability information remains current without requiring manual updates or maintenance burden on administrators.
4Measurement precision
If system administrators perform deep packet inspection to identify transfer paths, then detection accuracy improves, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
File transfer appliances pre-tag and categorize transfer data at the source before transmission, embedding identification information in transfer metadata. This preliminary organization of data enables rapid later analysis without requiring time-consuming deep packet inspection, as the essential path information is already structured and ready for correlation.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the invention are directed to a method and system for discovering business content transfer paths in a network using file transfer information, and for calculating business risk per network component in a network. A method according to an embodiment includes: obtaining file transfer information for a plurality of file transfers between a plurality of nodes within a network; generating a confidence of correlation for each pair of file transfers in the plurality of file transfers; determining interdependencies between the plurality of file transfers based on the confidence of correlation for each pair of file transfers; and determining a business content transfer path based on the interdependencies between the plurality of file transfers.