Password Manager Intermediary for Remote Connection Anomaly Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current security solutions rely on URL-based trustworthiness assessments, which are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks and do not adequately verify the trustworthiness of remote connections, especially when initial access is granted.
Innovation Solution
An intermediary device or system that collects and analyzes connection characteristics from the requesting device and other devices to determine the trustworthiness of a remote connection, using historic and real-time data to identify anomalies and prevent unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If URL-based trustworthiness assessment is used, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to vulnerability to man-in-the-middle attacks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary security system that acts as a mediator between the client device and remote devices. This intermediary collects connection characteristics from multiple sources, analyzes them for anomalies, and determines trustworthiness independently of the URL presented to the user. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining ease of operation (automatic verification) while improving reliability (multi-factor anomaly detection)
Solution Approach 2:
The security system performs preliminary actions by collecting and analyzing connection characteristics before allowing access to remote devices. It proactively identifies potential man-in-the-middle attacks by comparing expected connection characteristics with actual ones, and can prevent connections to suspicious devices before credential transmission occurs, thus improving reliability without affecting ease of operation
2Productivity
If first access to remote destination is used to determine future trust, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates when initial access is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where connection characteristics from each access attempt are collected and stored. The security system continuously monitors these characteristics and uses them to detect anomalies in future connections. This feedback loop allows the system to maintain productivity by remembering trusted destinations while improving reliability by detecting deviations from established connection patterns that indicate compromise
3Device complexity
If password manager checks only URL, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to insufficient server verification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex trust verification process from the password manager application and relocates it to a separate security system. The password manager simply checks URLs as before, maintaining low device complexity, while the dedicated security system handles the sophisticated analysis of connection characteristics, anomaly detection, and trust determination, thereby improving reliability without increasing password manager complexity
Data Source
AI summary
Preventing anomalous connections includes detecting by a programmable device an attempt by a first device to connect to a second device, detecting a first connection anomaly responsive to characteristics of the first device and characteristics of one or more other devices, and prohibiting a connection between the first device and the second device responsive to detecting the first connection anomaly.