Layered Authentication Filtering for Overload-Resistant Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing authentication mechanisms in remote computing environments are resource-intensive and vulnerable to attacks that overwhelm the system, preventing legitimate users from accessing resources.
Innovation Solution
Implement a layered authentication process with an initial, lightweight external authentication service to filter out invalid requests, followed by a more robust internal authentication service, reducing the load on the internal service and thwarting attackers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If robust authentication mechanisms are used to ensure secure access, then security is improved, but resource consumption increases and system vulnerability to overwhelming attacks worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is divided into multiple layers: an external authentication service that performs initial filtering of authentication requests, and an internal authentication service that handles only the filtered requests. This segmentation allows the system to maintain robust authentication security while distributing resource consumption across multiple services, preventing any single service from being overwhelmed.
Solution Approach 2:
The external authentication service acts as an intermediary between attackers and the internal authentication service. It filters out invalid requests before they reach the internal service, thereby protecting the internal service from resource exhaustion while maintaining the security of the overall authentication mechanism.
2Reliability
If robust authentication mechanisms are used to ensure secure access, then security is improved, but authentication processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication process is segmented into two stages: initial filtering by the external authentication service (fast, low-resource operation) and thorough authentication by the internal service (slower, resource-intensive operation). This segmentation reduces the average processing time by quickly eliminating invalid requests before they undergo lengthy authentication procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The external authentication service performs preliminary filtering of authentication requests before they reach the internal service. This preliminary action eliminates invalid requests early in the process, preventing them from consuming time and resources in the more time-consuming internal authentication process.
3Device complexity
If a single authentication service handles all requests, then device complexity is minimized, but system availability worsens under attack conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication system is segmented into external and internal services with distinct roles. The external service handles request filtering while the internal service handles authenticated operations. This segmentation improves system availability during attacks by preventing single-point failure, while the modular design keeps complexity manageable through clear separation of concerns.
Data Source
AI summary
A layered authentication process can use a first authentication layer to filter out invalid requests. The first layer can perform a lightweight authentication to determine requests that do not meet certain authentication criteria. This can include, for example, denying requests that have invalid credentials or that are received from unapproved locations or sources, or that lack the proper format. Requests that pass the initial authentication can be directed to a more robust authentication service that is capable for performing a full authentication of the request. Such an approach prevents various invalid requests from being delivered to the robust authentication service, thereby preventing the robust authentication service from being overwhelmed by a large number of requests, such as may correspond to a coordinated attack on the service.