Graph-Based Vulnerability Metrics for IoT Configuration Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current solutions for improving the security of complex networked systems, such as IoT systems, fail to effectively manage the complex relationships between configuration parameters of interconnected components, leading to inadequate security measures and misconfigurations that expose vulnerabilities to attackers.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that generates a multi-layer graph to determine vulnerability metrics, calculating the likelihood of exploiting vulnerabilities and their impact on system components, and recommending configuration changes to optimize security while preserving functionality, using a model that accounts for dependencies and attack sequences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If current solutions focus narrowly on tuning configuration parameters of individual system components, then the complexity of managing relationships between components is reduced, but the accuracy of vulnerability assessment deteriorates because dependencies among configuration parameters are not accounted for
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the configuration assessment into individual component levels while using a graph-based model to capture relationships. Each component's configuration parameters are analyzed separately, but the graph structure integrates dependencies across components to provide comprehensive vulnerability assessment without overwhelming complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces configuration parameters as intermediary elements that connect system components in the graph model. These parameters serve as mediators that capture the relationships and dependencies between components, enabling accurate vulnerability assessment while maintaining manageable complexity through structured representation.
2Measurement precision
If a comprehensive graph-based model capturing all configuration relationships is used, then the accuracy of vulnerability assessment is improved, but the computational complexity and analysis difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional flat configuration analysis to a multi-dimensional graph-based model. By representing components, configuration parameters, and vulnerabilities as nodes and relationships as edges in a graph structure, the system adds dimensional organization that captures complex relationships while enabling systematic analysis through graph traversal and pathfinding algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the representation parameters from simple configuration values to a graph-based relational structure. This parameter transformation allows the model to capture dependencies and relationships efficiently, enabling accurate vulnerability assessment while maintaining computational tractability through graph-theoretic methods.
3Ease of operation
If existing metrics are used to assess system susceptibility to attacks, then the assessment process is simple, but the metrics fail to accurately measure the attack surface because they do not account for configuration parameter dependencies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the graph-based model continuously evaluates configuration parameter relationships and updates vulnerability assessments accordingly. The system analyzes attack paths through the graph structure and provides feedback on how configuration changes affect overall system vulnerability, enabling accurate attack surface measurement while maintaining operational simplicity through automated analysis.
Data Source
AI summary
A system is provided for determining vulnerability metrics for graph-based configuration security. During operation, the system generates a multi-layer graph for a system with a plurality of interconnected components. The system determines, based on the multi-layer subgraph, a model for a multi-step attack on the system by: calculating, based on a first set of variables and a first set of tunable parameters, a likelihood of exploiting a vulnerability in the system; and calculating, based on a second set of variables and a second set of tunable parameters, an exposure factor indicating an impact of exploiting a vulnerability on the utility of an associated component. The system determines, based on the model, a set of attack paths that can be used in the multi-step attack and recommends a configuration change in the system, thereby facilitating optimization of system security to mitigate attacks on the system while preserving system functionality.