Network Security Policy Compatibility Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing security policies in computer networks often struggle to balance security and usability, leading to restrictive settings that hinder software functionality or inadequate security that allows breaches, and require ad hoc adjustments by skilled technicians, which is inefficient and prone to errors as systems become complex.
Innovation Solution
A method that conducts an impact assessment using automated tools like the Erudine Behaviour Engine to determine the effect of security policies on applications, allowing for adjustments to security policies and communications requirements to ensure compatibility and usability, thereby predicting and mitigating potential issues before introducing new applications into the network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If security policies are made more restrictive to improve security, then security breaches are reduced, but software application functionality is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary impact assessment before deploying security policies or applications. By simulating the network environment and evaluating potential security impacts in advance, the system identifies suitable security policies that maintain both security and functionality, preventing the need for restrictive post-deployment adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary assessment layer between security policy enforcement and application operation. This intermediary evaluates the compatibility between security policies and application requirements, selecting policies that satisfy both security constraints and functional needs, thus resolving the contradiction without requiring extreme restrictiveness.
2Ease of operation
If security policies are made less restrictive to improve usability, then software functionality is enhanced, but security breaches become more likely
Solution Approach 1:
By conducting preliminary impact assessments, the system determines the maximum permissive security policies that still maintain adequate security protection. This allows the system to adopt less restrictive policies confidently, knowing that security risks have been evaluated and controlled in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts security policy parameters based on impact assessment results. Instead of using fixed restrictive or permissive policies, the system optimizes policy parameters to achieve the least restrictive configuration that still satisfies security requirements, thereby improving usability without compromising security.
3Ease of operation
If ad hoc adjustments are made by skilled technicians to resolve security-functionality conflicts, then specific issues are addressed, but efficiency decreases and errors increase as systems become complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically conducting impact assessments and determining suitable security policies without requiring skilled technicians. The automated evaluation process analyzes security impacts, application requirements, and policy compatibility, replacing manual ad hoc adjustments with systematic automated decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical process of manual technician analysis and adjustment with an automated computational assessment engine. This substitution eliminates human error, increases efficiency, and scales effectively as system complexity grows, maintaining high productivity regardless of system size.
4Reliability
If comprehensive security assessments are conducted for every new application, then security compatibility is ensured, but time and resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs partial assessments by focusing on the most critical security impact factors rather than conducting exhaustive analyses of every possible scenario. This selective assessment approach identifies the most relevant security considerations, ensuring adequate security compatibility evaluation while significantly reducing assessment time and resource consumption.
Data Source
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AI summary
A system comprises: a representation of a network; a communications requirements file for an application to be executed by a node of said network; and a security policy file defining a security policy for said node of said network. Said files are processed to determine whether said security policy and said communication requirements are compatible.