Private File Link Detection for Web Publication Exposure
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing use of cloud storage and enterprise applications poses a risk of unauthorized access to private file links, as these links can be compromised and published on the World Wide Web, compromising data security.
Innovation Solution
A computing device is configured to perform web searches for portions of private file links using a search engine, generate a report if the links are found, and take remedial actions such as deactivating or generating new links to prevent unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If cloud storage and enterprise applications are used to enable file sharing via links, then accessibility and convenience of file sharing is improved, but security risk of unauthorized access increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary web searches using portions of private file links as query strings before unauthorized access can occur. By proactively searching for the presence of these links on the World Wide Web, the system detects potential compromises in advance and can take remedial actions such as notifying users or deactivating the links, thus preventing unauthorized access while maintaining the ease of file sharing through cloud storage links
2Reliability
If web searches are performed to detect published private links, then security detection capability is improved, but system complexity and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the necessary portion of private file links (the query string) to use as search terms in web searches. By taking out only the essential identifying portion of the link rather than searching with the entire link or requiring full link validation, the system achieves effective security detection with reduced complexity and resource consumption, as the extracted portion is sufficient to detect whether the link has been published on the web
Data Source
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AI summary
Examples described herein generally relate to detecting publication of private links. A list of one or more links created for providing remote access to one or more files can be obtained, where the one or more links can be of a universal resource locator (URL) format. A web search for at least a portion of the URL format of the one or more links can be performed. Results of the web search can be analyzed to determine whether at least the portion of the URL format of the one or more links is located. Where at least the portion of the URL format of the one or more links is located in the web search, a report indicating that the one or more links are located in the web search can be generated and/or the one or more links can be at least temporarily deactivated.