Least-Privilege Policy System for Network Identity Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current approaches for implementing cloud privilege assignments are not user-friendly and pose security risks, often resulting in organizations granting excessive permissions that can lead to lateral movement and privilege escalation, with privileges not being adequately revoked when no longer needed.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for automatically developing and enforcing least-privilege policies in a network environment by analyzing identity activity to create and enforce tailored permission profiles, excluding unnecessary permissions, and providing incentives for administrators to manage permissions effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If simple permission policies are used to grant entities more permissions, then ease of operation is improved, but security is worsened due to lateral movement and privilege escalation risks
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically analyzes identity activity patterns and generates least-privilege profiles without requiring manual administrator intervention. The automated policy generation process extracts actual usage patterns from activity data and translates them into secure permission assignments, eliminating the need for administrators to manually create overly permissive policies while maintaining operational ease.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors identity activity and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust permission assignments. Activity data from identities interacting with network resources is analyzed to generate updated least-privilege profiles, creating a closed-loop system that adapts permissions based on actual usage patterns rather than static administrative decisions.
2Ease of operation
If privileges are granted to an identity and never revoked, then ease of operation is improved, but security is worsened due to unnecessary privileges remaining
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of identity activity patterns to predict which privileges will be needed in the future. By analyzing historical activity data and identifying usage patterns, the system proactively adjusts permissions before security issues arise, rather than reacting to problems after they occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The permission management system transitions from static, permanent privileges to dynamic, continuously adjusted permissions. The least-privilege profiles are automatically updated based on changing activity patterns, allowing the system to adapt privileges over time rather than maintaining fixed permission assignments indefinitely.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If automated least-privilege profiles are generated based on activity analysis, then security is improved by minimizing attack surfaces, but device complexity increases due to automated policy development and enforcement
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary layer between identity activity and permission enforcement. Activity data is collected and analyzed by an automated policy development component that generates least-privilege profiles as an intermediate representation. These profiles then serve as the basis for actual permission enforcement, separating the complexity of activity analysis from the simplicity of permission application.
4Ease of operation
If permissions are granted broadly to groups, then ease of operation is improved, but security is worsened due to excessive permissions enabling privilege escalation
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different permission levels to different identities based on their specific activity patterns and needs. Rather than applying uniform broad permissions to all group members, the system generates customized least-privilege profiles for each identity based on their actual usage patterns, creating local quality differences in permission assignments while maintaining operational ease through automation.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques include identifying permission polices corresponding to a plurality of identities in a network environment, the permission polices specifying what types of actions the plurality of identities are permitted to take with respect to particular network resources; analyzing information describing activity associated with a first identity from the plurality of identities in the network environment; and automatically developing, based on the analysis of the information, a least-privilege profile for the first identity, the least-privilege profile including permissions corresponding to the particular actions with respect to the particular network resources and excluding permissions that do not correspond to the particular actions with respect to the particular network resources.