Interstitial Telemetry for Web Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Web and mobile applications face significant challenges in distinguishing between legitimate human traffic and malicious automation, with existing solutions like CAPTCHA becoming ineffective against sophisticated scraping attacks, leading to increased user friction and operational costs.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an interstitial page with instrumentation code that collects telemetry data from client devices, performing threat analysis to differentiate between human and automated requests, and issuing an interstitial cookie to allow legitimate requests without further analysis, thereby reducing user friction and enhancing security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If CAPTCHA challenges are presented to stop unwanted scraping, then security against automated attacks is improved, but user friction increases and legitimate traffic is impeded
Solution Approach 1:
An interstitial page is introduced as an intermediary component between the user and the main content. This interstitial page contains instrumentation code that collects telemetry data and performs threat analysis, acting as a mediator that filters malicious traffic while allowing legitimate traffic to pass through with minimal friction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically analyzing telemetry data collected from client devices to determine whether traffic is malicious or legitimate. The threat analysis is performed autonomously without requiring human intervention or manual CAPTCHA solving, enabling the system to distinguish between bot and human traffic automatically.
2Measurement precision
If sophisticated automation detection tools are implemented, then ability to distinguish malicious traffic is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical CAPTCHA challenges with an automated telemetry-based detection system. Instead of requiring users to solve puzzles, the system substitutes this with automated collection and analysis of telemetry data from client devices, using algorithms to distinguish malicious from legitimate traffic without human intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The interstitial page serves multiple functions: it collects telemetry data, performs threat analysis, determines whether traffic is malicious, and manages the user experience flow. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate systems into a single versatile component.
3Reliability
If traditional scraping blocking methods are used, then protection against data theft is improved, but legitimate business data access is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different levels of scrutiny to different types of traffic based on their characteristics. Legitimate business traffic that passes threat analysis receives interstitial cookies that enable seamless access, while malicious scraping traffic is blocked. This localized quality control allows the system to protect against data theft while maintaining adaptability for legitimate business needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A method non-transitory computer readable medium, device and system that receives one of one or more requests from a client to a web server system. An interstitial page is served to the client and comprises instrumentation code that, when executed at the client, collects telemetry data. The telemetry data is received and a threat analysis is performed on the telemetry data collected in association with the one of the requests. A determination is made on when, based on the performing the threat analysis, that the one of the requests is from a potential attacker. When the determination indicates the one of the requests is not from the potential attacker then the one of the requests is allowed.