Neighborhood Graph Security Scoring for Enterprise Network Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network monitoring systems lack a comprehensive and visual representation of security status among network nodes, making it inefficient and inconvenient for system operators to identify security issues in enterprise networks.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for generating a neighborhood graph in an enterprise network that represents multi-hop connections between nodes, determining security scores for each node, and updating the graph with these scores to provide a visual representation of node securities relative to each other, with optional filtering based on threshold scores and alerting for new connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If network monitoring systems provide comprehensive security status data for all nodes, then security assessment completeness is improved, but system complexity and difficulty of visualization increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the enterprise network into neighborhood graphs centered around specific nodes, dividing the comprehensive network into manageable local views. Each neighborhood graph shows only relevant connections (within N hops) from a central node, making complex security data tractable and visualizable while maintaining assessment completeness through multiple neighborhood perspectives
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms flat security score data into a multi-dimensional visual representation by creating neighborhood graphs that display nodes spatially arranged by their hop distance from a central node. Security scores are visually encoded through color coding and sizing, adding visual dimensions to the data representation
2Measurement precision
If network monitoring systems display detailed security information for all nodes, then security issue identification accuracy is improved, but ease of operation and analysis efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by customizing the visual representation based on the central node's characteristics and security concerns. Each neighborhood graph is tailored to show relevant security information for that specific node and its neighbors, with filtering capabilities that adapt to local security contexts rather than displaying uniform information for all nodes
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color changes to encode security scores, with different colors representing different security risk levels. This visual encoding allows operators to quickly identify security issues across multiple nodes without reading numerical values, dramatically improving analysis efficiency while maintaining identification accuracy
3Quantity of substance
If the system generates visual representations for the entire network, then comprehensive security overview is improved, but processing time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial action by generating neighborhood graphs only for selected central nodes rather than all nodes simultaneously. Users can choose to generate visual representations for specific nodes of interest or high-risk nodes, reducing processing time and resource consumption while still achieving comprehensive coverage through iterative generation across multiple nodes
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer-readable media for determine a neighborhood graph can include the following processes. A neighborhood graph system generates a neighborhood graph for a plurality of nodes in an enterprise network, the neighborhood graph representing a multi-hop connections between any two nodes of the plurality of nodes. A security score service determines a security score for each of the plurality of nodes to yield a plurality of scores. The neighborhood graph system updates the neighborhood graph of the plurality of nodes using the plurality of scores to provide a visual representation of securities of the plurality of nodes relative to each other.