Graphical Security Protocol for Threat Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cybersecurity systems face challenges in detecting and mitigating threats due to the complexity and noise in enterprise networks, where adversaries often hide using legitimate mechanisms, making it difficult to track their activities and progress.
Innovation Solution
A graphical security protocol that uses searchable and manipulatable intrusion pathways to link tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of cybersecurity threats, enabling detection and mitigation by providing a common language across threat intelligence teams and filling gaps in understanding adversary behavior through graphical representations and analytical tools like ATT&CK matrices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional cybersecurity monitoring methods are used, then system resource usage is low, but threat detection capability is insufficient due to network complexity and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a graphical security protocol as an intermediary layer between network traffic and threat detection analysis. This protocol translates complex network communications into standardized graphical representations (nodes and edges), making adversary activities visible and analyzable without requiring direct inspection of raw network data. The graphical protocol acts as a mediator that simplifies the detection process while maintaining comprehensive threat visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms traditional linear network traffic analysis into a multi-dimensional graphical space where adversary behaviors are represented as interconnected nodes and pathways. By mapping TTPs onto a graphical canvas with spatial relationships, the system adds dimensional context to threat detection, enabling analysts to visualize attack sequences, identify patterns, and understand adversary intent through spatial arrangement rather than sequential log analysis.
2Reliability
If comprehensive network monitoring is implemented to detect all adversary activities, then threat detection coverage improves, but false positives increase due to legitimate mechanisms being used by adversaries
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning specific visual characteristics to different types of nodes and edges in the graphical representation. Each node type (representing different TTP categories) and edge type (representing different relationship strengths) has distinct visual properties. This allows analysts to quickly identify and filter relevant threat signals from background noise by focusing on locally differentiated visual cues rather than analyzing uniform data streams.
Solution Approach 2:
The graphical security protocol utilizes color coding to represent different threat levels, node types, and relationship characteristics. By visually encoding threat intelligence data through color variations, the system enables rapid discrimination between legitimate traffic patterns and malicious activities, reducing false positives while maintaining comprehensive monitoring coverage.
3Loss of information
If detailed analysis of all TTPs is performed to understand adversary behavior, then threat understanding improves, but response time decreases due to analysis complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-defining and storing graphical representations of known TTPs and their relationships in a library of threat intelligence data. When analyzing network traffic, the system compares observed patterns against this pre-prepared knowledge base, enabling rapid matching and identification of adversary behaviors without performing exhaustive analysis from scratch. This preliminary structuring of threat intelligence accelerates response time while maintaining detailed understanding.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments adversary behavior analysis into discrete, manageable components represented as individual nodes and edges in the graphical model. Each node represents a specific TTP element that can be independently analyzed and understood. This segmentation allows analysts to focus on specific segments of adversary behavior rather than attempting to analyze entire attack campaigns simultaneously, reducing cognitive load and improving response efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods are provided for graphically defining a real-world cybersecurity protocol of an entity. The graphical platform includes searchable, manipulatable, graphs mapping cybersecurity threats. Manipulating nodes and relationships within the graphs translates into real-time modification of a cybersecurity protocol in effect for the entity. An ability to map known cybersecurity threats and analyze them (even according to known frameworks) may streamline and integrate efforts of cybersecurity defense teams. Graphical representation of a security protocol facilitates proactive threat hunting as well as expediting incident response activities by providing evidence-based pathways to inform impact analysis and source event analysis.