OS Command Monitoring for Log Tampering Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high availability environments, malicious users often attempt to modify or delete log files to cover their tracks, compromising the integrity of system logs and making it difficult to detect attacks and maintain security.
Innovation Solution
A system is implemented that monitors and identifies activities indicative of log tampering, such as navigating to log folders or modifying log files, and applies predefined security actions to prevent tampering, including background copying and renaming logs to maintain integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If log files are monitored and security actions are performed to prevent tampering, then log integrity is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary actions by monitoring commands before they can tamper with log files and performing security actions proactively. The system intercepts commands at the operating system level, determines if they are indicative of tampering, and prevents execution before damage occurs. This includes backing up log files and applying multi-factor authentication or external validation in advance of potential tampering events.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary security layer between command reception and log file access. This intermediary component monitors commands, determines tampering intent, and mediates between legitimate operations and security threats. The intermediary performs validation checks and coordinates security actions without requiring fundamental changes to the underlying operating system or application logic.
2Measurement precision
If security monitoring and validation are implemented, then detection precision is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by implementing multi-factor authentication and external validation only when commands are determined to be indicative of tampering, rather than for all commands. The system monitors all commands but applies enhanced security measures selectively based on suspicious activity detection. This approach maintains high detection precision while minimizing unnecessary processing overhead for legitimate operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the security monitoring system continuously analyzes command patterns, learns from detected tampering attempts, and adjusts its detection precision accordingly. The system provides feedback loops that refine command evaluation criteria based on observed behavior, improving detection accuracy over time while optimizing processing efficiency through adaptive threshold adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method includes: monitoring an operating system of a server that serves content to client computing devices, wherein the server maintains log files; determining, based on the monitoring, whether commands received at the operating system are indicative of tampering with one or more of the log files; responsive to determining the commands are indicative of tampering with one or more of the log files, performing a predefined security action; and responsive to determining the commands of the user are not indicative of tampering with one or more of the log files, sending the commands to a kernel of the operating system for execution.