Network Route Test Injection for Security Visibility Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for assessing the effectiveness of a service path in a networked computing environment are limited, as they often rely on outside-perspective monitoring that does not provide a reliable measure of actual system performance, particularly for data security appliances that need to identify and process malicious data.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a method where a computing device generates and injects test data into network routes upstream from visibility points, verifying its identification and processing at each point, and potentially modifying it to simulate security actions, to comprehensively assess system effectiveness and identify any issues.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If outside-perspective monitoring is used to assess system effectiveness, then monitoring coverage is broad, but measurement reliability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces test data as an intermediary element that flows through the service path to be processed by visibility points. This test data acts as a mediator between the monitoring system and the actual data processing operations, enabling reliable measurement of system effectiveness without requiring complex external monitoring infrastructure. The test data carries identifiable characteristics that allow verification of processing at each visibility point.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates test data that copies the essential characteristics of actual data traffic but includes unique identifiers for tracking. This copied data follows the same processing path as real data, allowing the monitoring system to assess effectiveness by observing how the test data is handled, replicated, and identified at various visibility points without interfering with normal operations.
2Reliability
If test data is injected into each network route to verify identification at visibility points, then system effectiveness measurement is comprehensive, but testing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the testing process into discrete segments corresponding to individual network routes and visibility points. Test data is injected separately into each route and tracked through specific visibility points, allowing systematic verification of each component's effectiveness. This segmented approach enables comprehensive assessment while maintaining manageable testing complexity through modular verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary actions by injecting test data with unique identifiers into network routes before actual data processing occurs. This advance placement of test data allows the system to pre-establish tracking mechanisms and verify processing sequences, ensuring reliable effectiveness measurement without requiring complex real-time analysis during normal operations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If visibility points process and potentially block test data to simulate security actions, then system realism is improved, but data loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters of test data by including unique identifiers and tracking information that distinguish test data from actual data. These parameter changes allow visibility points to process test data through security operations (including blocking actions) while maintaining the ability to track and verify processing outcomes. The modified parameters enable comprehensive security response simulation without permanent data loss, as the identifiers persist through processing.
Data Source
AI summary
In an example, a computer-implemented method includes generating test data that is configured to be identified as data of interest at one or more visibility points in a network having a plurality of network routes. The method also includes injecting the test data into each network route of the plurality of network routes at a location upstream from the one or more visibility points, and determining, for each network route through which the test data travels, whether the test data is identified at the one or more visibility points. The method also includes outputting, for each network route through which the test data travels, data that indicates whether the test data is identified at the one or more visibility points as data of interest.