Indirect File Protection via Application Dependency Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data protection methods focus primarily on user files, neglecting indirectly related files that are crucial for user activity, leading to inefficiencies in storage, processing, and network bandwidth usage, and lack effective security measures beyond backup.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that identifies and protects indirectly related files by determining the application accessing a user file, analyzing required program files, assessing threat likelihood, and performing targeted data protection actions, utilizing a machine learning algorithm and server-based usage information to prioritize protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all files associated with an application are backed up to ensure complete data protection, then data protection reliability is improved, but storage space and network bandwidth requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential indirect files that are actually required for accessing user files, rather than backing up all application files. The system identifies and selects only those indirect files that have a direct impact on user file accessibility, thereby reducing the quantity of files to be stored while maintaining adequate protection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the file protection strategy into direct files (user files) and indirect files (application files), then applies different protection levels to each segment. Indirect files are protected only when necessary, based on their actual dependency relationship with user files, rather than applying uniform protection to all files.
2Reliability
If all files associated with an application are backed up to ensure complete data protection, then data protection reliability is improved, but network bandwidth consumption increases during upload
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the necessary indirect files for backup to the cloud, filtering out unnecessary application files. This selective extraction reduces the total data volume transmitted over the network while still maintaining the reliability of protecting essential files that users need to access.
3Quantity of substance
If manual file selection for backup is used to reduce storage costs, then storage space is reduced, but indirectly used files may be missed and data protection becomes incomplete
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically identifying and selecting indirect files that are required for accessing user files. Instead of relying on manual user selection, the system autonomously analyzes file dependencies and determines which indirect files should be protected, ensuring completeness without requiring user intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from analyzing application execution and file access patterns to automatically determine which indirect files are necessary for protection. This feedback mechanism ensures that the backup selection is dynamic and adaptive to actual usage patterns, maintaining both storage efficiency and protection completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are systems and method for protecting files indirectly related to user activity. In one exemplary aspect, a method may comprise identifying, on a computing device, a file that is directly accessed by a user of the computing device. The method may comprise determining an application that provides access to the file. The method may comprise identifying a plurality of program files that the application utilizes during execution. For each respective program file of the plurality of program files, the method may comprise determining whether the respective program file is required by the application to provide access to the file and in response to determining that the respective program file is required, determining a type of threat that can target the respective program file. The method may further comprise performing a data protection action on the respective program file based on the type of threat.