Network Device Identification via Response Fingerprinting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network scanning methods fail to accurately identify devices across different time points due to IP address changes, leading to multiple counting and inaccurate management of device information.
Innovation Solution
An identification device that collects response information through network scanning, accumulates and compares responses from different scanning times, calculates the degree of similarity between response contents, and identifies identical devices based on this similarity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If network scanning is performed to discover devices, then device discovery speed is improved, but device identification accuracy deteriorates when IP addresses change
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a fingerprint copy of each device's response characteristics and stores it in a database. When scanning, instead of relying on IP addresses, the system compares the current response fingerprint against stored fingerprints to identify devices. This copying approach allows accurate device recognition regardless of IP address changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the identification parameter from IP address to response fingerprint characteristics. By extracting and comparing specific parameters from device responses (such as banner information, protocol versions, and other identifying features), the system achieves accurate device identification that is independent of IP address assignments.
2Adaptability or versatility
If devices are counted based on IP address changes, then scanning coverage is improved, but device counting accuracy deteriorates due to multiple counts
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates and stores fingerprint copies of devices in a database. When a device changes IP addresses, the scanning system recognizes it through fingerprint matching rather than IP address tracking, preventing multiple counts of the same device while maintaining comprehensive scanning coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where device response characteristics are continuously monitored and stored. This feedback loop allows the system to learn device fingerprints over time and use this information to accurately track and count devices without duplication, even when they change network positions.
Data Source
AI summary
An identification device includes processing circuitry configured to collect response information of a device by performing network scanning on a target network address group, accumulate the response information collected, compare pieces of response information having different scanning times with each other among pieces of the response information accumulated and calculate a degree of similarity between contents of responses, and identify that devices that transmit most similar pieces of response information are identical, based on the degree of similarity calculated.