Object Based Vulnerability Model for Residual Security Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current system vulnerability modeling techniques are inadequate in systematically identifying residual vulnerabilities and assessing countermeasure effectiveness, as they rely on attack-centric approaches that require frequent updates and lack zero-day protection.
Innovation Solution
The Object Based Vulnerability (OBV) Model decomposes information systems into functional objects, annotates actions and interactions, captures trust scores, and applies preventive and reactive countermeasures to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, providing a comprehensive and objective assessment of system resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If attack-centric vulnerability modeling is used, then system vulnerabilities can be identified, but the model requires frequent updates and lacks zero-day protection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional attack-centric approach by implementing a defense-centric vulnerability model. Instead of modeling vulnerabilities based on known attacks, the system models the system's defensive capabilities and identifies gaps in protection. This inversion allows the model to proactively identify vulnerabilities including zero-day threats without requiring frequent updates to attack databases, as the defense model remains relatively stable while systematically revealing protective gaps.
2Measurement precision
If comprehensive system modeling is performed to identify all vulnerabilities, then complete vulnerability assessment is achieved, but the complexity of the modeling process increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the comprehensive system modeling process into distinct modular components: system component identification, vulnerability factor identification, interaction modeling, and countermeasure effectiveness assessment. Each module handles a specific aspect of vulnerability analysis independently, allowing comprehensive assessment without overwhelming complexity. The segmented approach enables systematic processing of large systems by breaking them into manageable analytical units that can be processed and integrated systematically.
3Reliability
If multiple countermeasures are applied to protect against interactions, then system security is improved, but the complexity of managing countermeasures increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universal countermeasure templates that can be applied across multiple interaction types and system components. Rather than designing and managing unique countermeasures for each specific vulnerability, the system uses multi-functional countermeasure patterns that address classes of threats systematically. This universality reduces management complexity by allowing the same countermeasure framework to protect against diverse interaction types while maintaining comprehensive security coverage through systematic application.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for implementing an object based vulnerability model includes identifying each component in an information system and annotating such component in a database; decomposing each component into major functional objects and annotating each object in a database; identifying actions an attacker could take to modify a behavior of the functional objects in the information system and annotating such actions in a database; capturing a trust score and a trustworthiness score for each object and annotating the trust score and the trustworthiness score in the database; assessing each action on the structure, state, and inputs of each functional object to determine if an interaction exists and annotating the interaction existence in the database; and applying preventive and reactive countermeasures accordingly.