Firewall Password Enforcement via SSL Interception
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Enterprises face security risks due to weak user credentials being used on external sites, as they cannot automatically enforce password complexity constraints or prevent credential duplication across multiple sites, which are outside their control.
Innovation Solution
A firewall-based system intercepts and decrypts SSL sessions to enforce password complexity checks and prevent credential reuse by maintaining a user credentials cache, alerting users to create stronger passwords and blocking access if policies are not met.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a firewall is used to filter network traffic based on rules and policies, then network security is improved, but the ability to enforce password complexity constraints on external site authentication is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system between the firewall and external sites that acts as a mediator. This intermediary intercepts authentication traffic, performs SSL decryption, extracts credential information, and enforces password policies before allowing traffic to pass through the firewall. This resolves the contradiction by adding a specialized mediation layer that enables password enforcement without compromising the firewall's core security filtering function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the security enforcement function into separate modular components: SSL decryption module, credential extraction module, policy evaluation module, and enforcement module. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in a specific task, enabling comprehensive password constraint enforcement while maintaining the firewall's primary network filtering capabilities unchanged.
2Reliability
If SSL encryption is used for external site communications, then communication security is improved, but the ability to monitor and enforce password policies is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the enforcement system as an SSL intermediary that performs man-in-the-middle decryption. It establishes separate SSL connections with the client and the external site, decrypts traffic from the client, enforces password policies on the decrypted credentials, then re-encrypts and forwards the traffic to the external site. This maintains end-to-end encryption security while enabling policy detection and enforcement on the decrypted credentials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs password policy enforcement as a preliminary action before authentication to external sites. The system intercepts credential input, decrypts SSL traffic, extracts username and password, evaluates them against password complexity policies, and blocks or allows authentication based on policy compliance. This preliminary enforcement ensures weak passwords are rejected before they can compromise security, while SSL encryption remains intact for actual communication.
3Reliability
If password complexity constraints are enforced on external sites, then security risks are reduced, but device complexity and implementation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal enforcement module that handles multiple password policies (complexity requirements, length restrictions, character type requirements) through a single integrated system. This module can enforce diverse authentication constraints across different external sites and authentication protocols without requiring separate implementation for each policy type, thereby reducing overall system complexity despite the comprehensive security enforcement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables the firewall system to automatically perform SSL decryption, credential extraction, policy evaluation, and enforcement without manual intervention. The system self-manages the entire password constraint enforcement process, including automatic detection of authentication attempts, automatic policy compliance checking, and automatic blocking or allowing of connections based on policy violations. This automation reduces operational complexity despite the sophisticated security enforcement functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for password constraint enforcement used in external site authentication are disclosed. In some embodiments, password constraint enforcement used in external site authentication includes monitoring encrypted network communications between a client and an external site (e.g., a remote server), in which the encrypted network communications are encrypted using a first protocol (e.g., Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, HTTPS protocol, or another protocol for encrypted network communications); and determining if the client sends a request to create user credentials for an external site authentication. In some embodiments, password constraint enforcement used in external site authentication further includes performing password constraint enforcement used in the external site authentication.