Phishing Site Detection Using Style Sheet Copy Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in identifying phishing sites at scale, as it is impractical to scan every web page on the internet and determining which pages to scan, leading to potential security vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
A computing server detects style sheet elements in unverified web pages using a browser extension, checking for copies of verified web page elements to identify potential phishing sites and take security actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If entities scan every web page to detect phishing sites, then detection completeness is improved, but scalability and operational feasibility deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and analyzes only the style sheet elements from web pages rather than scanning the entire page content. By focusing on this specific subset of code that controls visual appearance, the system achieves phishing detection without the computational burden of analyzing every element on every page, thus maintaining scalability while improving detection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality analysis by examining only the style sheet portions of web pages that are most indicative of phishing attempts. Instead of uniform scanning of all page elements, the system concentrates resources on analyzing CSS code characteristics, which provides efficient and effective phishing identification without wasted computational effort on non-critical page elements.
2Reliability
If entities implement comprehensive phishing detection techniques, then user security is improved, but system complexity and implementation burden worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent simplifies the detection system by extracting and analyzing only style sheet elements rather than implementing comprehensive analysis of all web page components. This selective approach reduces system complexity while maintaining effective phishing detection capabilities, as style sheets contain distinctive visual characteristics that are sufficient for identification without requiring complex multi-faceted analysis.
3Productivity
If entities know which web pages to scan, then detection efficiency is improved, but information availability and decision-making capability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the system to automatically identify and analyze style sheet elements from any accessed web page without requiring pre-provided guidance on which pages to scan. The detection mechanism serves itself by autonomously extracting and evaluating style sheet characteristics from the current page context, eliminating the need for external intervention or pre-programmed page lists while maintaining high detection efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments are related to determining if an unverified web page is a phishing site of a verified web page. In one or more embodiments, a computing server detects a style sheet element of an unverified web page accessed by a user using a web browser extension. The computing server checks if the detected style sheet element contains a copy of a part of a style sheet element present in the verified web page. If the style sheet element of the unverified web page contains a copy of the part of a style sheet element of the verified web page, indicating that the unverified web page is a phishing site, the computing server takes a security action. In some embodiments, the computing server may check if the unverified web page is a known web page.