Network Traffic Hub Intercepts Port Forwarding Requests
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Solution Overview
Problem
Smart appliances are vulnerable to security breaches due to vulnerabilities at the operating system and network layers, and existing anti-virus software is ill-suited for these devices, which lack the computing resources to support it, making it difficult for users to detect malicious behavior.
Innovation Solution
A network traffic hub intercepts requests for port services from smart appliances, sending an authorization request to the user before allowing port forwarding or port triggering, and includes a behavior analysis engine to assess the appliance's vulnerability before approving the request, thereby preventing automatic establishment of port services until user approval is received.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If port forwarding or port triggering is automatically established for smart appliances, then network connectivity and functionality are improved, but security vulnerability increases due to unauthorized access risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary authorization mechanism between the smart appliance and the network router. When a smart appliance requests port forwarding or port triggering, the system intercepts the request and requires user authorization before establishing the port service. This intermediary step prevents automatic establishment of potentially malicious port services while allowing legitimate ones, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and security vulnerability.
2Reliability
If anti-virus software is installed on smart appliances, then malicious code detection capability is improved, but device complexity and resource requirements increase beyond what smart appliances can support
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the security analysis function from the smart appliance itself and places it on an external server or cloud-based system. The smart appliance only needs to transmit its behavior data and receive authorization decisions, while the complex malicious code detection and behavior analysis are performed externally. This extraction allows reliable security detection without increasing the complexity or resource requirements of the smart appliance.
3Device complexity
If users have limited access to smart appliance functionality, then device simplicity is maintained, but ability to detect malicious behavior is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system monitors smart appliance behavior, analyzes it for malicious patterns, and provides authorization decisions back to the user through a simplified interface. Users receive notifications about port service requests with clear approve/deny options, without needing to understand the complex underlying security analysis. This feedback loop maintains device simplicity while enabling effective malicious behavior detection through external analysis.
Data Source
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AI summary
A network traffic hub is configured to receive a request for a port service (i.e., port forwarding or port triggering) from a smart appliance in a local network. The request may be a part of the UPnP protocol, which includes SSDP and IGDP. The request may be transmitted to the network traffic hub directly or the network traffic hub may intercept the request transmitted to a router of the local network. By receiving the request, the network traffic hub prevents automatic establishment of the port service between the smart appliance and the router until an approval or denial of the port sendee is received from, a user. As such, the user is informed of the request and has the ability to approve or deny the port service. Furthermore, the network traffic hub can configure a network to perform a port sendee if the network does not allow for it natively.