Automated Policy Normalization for Cross-Platform Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in managing and communicating operational policies across different platforms due to unique vocabularies, syntax, and structures, leading to difficulties in reading, analyzing, and securing policies, which increases the risk of security breaches.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system that automatically processes and normalizes diversely structured operational policies using language processing protocols, allowing for unified policy formats and enabling cross-platform communication and security control through a control application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If each platform uses its own unique vocabulary, syntax, and structure for operational policies, then each platform can be optimized for its specific requirements, but cross-platform reading, analysis, and management of policies becomes extremely difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a mediator component that translates between diverse platform-specific policy formats and a standardized intermediate representation. This mediator enables cross-platform policy management by converting unique vocabularies, syntax, and structures into a common format that can be uniformly analyzed and enforced across different platforms, resolving the contradiction between platform optimization and cross-platform compatibility
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the parameters of policy representation by adapting vocabularies, syntax rules, and structural formats based on the target platform. This parameter transformation allows policies to be expressed in platform-optimized formats while maintaining a consistent underlying meaning, enabling both platform-specific optimization and cross-platform interoperability
2Extent of automation
If policies are analyzed after user behavior or application activity has occurred, then dynamic policy management can be achieved, but security breaches cannot be prevented preemptively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by analyzing operational policies before they are executed or before user activity occurs. The system performs static analysis of policy code files to identify security issues, excessive permissions, and potential vulnerabilities in advance, enabling preemptive security measures rather than reactive responses after breaches occur
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where policy analysis results are continuously fed back into policy generation and modification processes. This feedback mechanism enables automatic refinement of policies based on identified security issues, allowing the system to learn from analysis results and improve policy security preemptively before actual user behavior occurs
3Adaptability or versatility
If code files use unique vocabularies and structures for different systems or applications, then each system can be customized for its specific needs, but automation of management and cross-platform communication becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The mediator component serves as an automated translation layer that converts customized platform-specific policy formats into a standardized representation. This automation enables the system to handle diverse customized formats without manual intervention, resolving the contradiction between system customization and automated management by introducing an automatic translation mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for automatically processing diversely structured operational policies. Techniques include identifying first and second operational policies, determining if the policies use different vocabulary or syntax, applying a language processing protocol to the policies, and normalizing the policies. Other techniques include making available the normalized policies to a computing resource, identifying a set of related rules based on the normalizing, identifying that one of the polices has an unnecessarily high level of privileges, and reducing the level of privileges according to a least-privileges policy.