Flow Control Socket Permissions for Industrial Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current industrial automation systems lack the ability to selectively and efficiently manage operations on sockets within a flow control environment, leading to inadequate control over admissible and inadmissible operations, particularly in distributed systems.
Innovation Solution
The system classifies flow control components based on configuration information and memory maps to create permissions profiles for socket access, generating tokens that define specific resource access guidelines, allowing for selective and dynamic protection of APIs and operations, and manages these securely through an orchestration system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If socket access is granted to flow control components in a container virtualization environment, then operational flexibility and resource access are improved, but security control and operational granularity are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments socket access permissions into fine-grained operation types (read, write, connect, bind, listen, etc.) and assigns them individually to flow control components through security-critical resource specifications. This allows precise control over which operations each component can perform on sockets, resolving the contradiction between flexible access and security control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different permission levels and operation types to different flow control components based on their specific security requirements and functional needs. Each component receives a tailored set of permissions rather than a blanket grant or denial, enabling localized security policies that maintain both flexibility and control.
2Reliability
If socket access is restricted to individual operations, then security control is improved, but system complexity and permission management overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables flow control components to self-declare their security-critical resource requirements through specification files or configuration data. The system automatically processes these declarations and assigns appropriate permissions without requiring manual intervention for each component, reducing management overhead while maintaining fine-grained security control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent requires security-critical resource specifications to be defined in advance during component deployment or configuration. This preliminary action allows the system to pre-configure appropriate socket permissions before the components begin operation, simplifying runtime permission management and reducing operational complexity.
3Reliability
If fine-grained socket operation control is implemented, then security and operational control are improved, but system overhead and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs security-critical resource classification and permission assignment during component deployment or initialization before the components become operational. This preliminary action ensures that permission verification is already complete when components need to access sockets, minimizing runtime overhead and processing delays.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates and stores security-critical resource specifications and permission configurations as reusable templates or configuration files. These can be copied and applied to multiple components with similar requirements, avoiding redundant permission verification processes and reducing overall system overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
Method and system for providing control applications for industrial automation devices, wherein in order to provide control applications, which are each provided via flow control components, the flow control components are each classified, based on configuration information, or referenced memory maps, with respect to access to at least one socket of a flow control environment when their execution is started, where a classification for each of the flow control components is used to create or reference a permissions profile for socket access, an individual token, associated with a permissions profile, for the socket access is created for each flow control component and transferred to the respective flow control component, and where the tokens and/or the permissions profiles each have an application-specific resource access guideline combined with therewith which is transmitted to a control component for application, which control component opens the respective socket.