Temporary Privilege Escalation with Automated Remediation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In cloud computing environments, there is a need for secure and efficient management of user account privileges, particularly in scenarios where temporary escalation of privileges is required for specific tasks, while ensuring that prohibited activities are monitored and remediated to maintain security and prevent unauthorized access.
Innovation Solution
A computing device within a cloud management system allows for the temporary escalation of user account privileges for a specified duration, with specific restrictions on prohibited activities, and includes monitoring and automated remediation mechanisms to detect and address any unauthorized actions, using a timer to revert privileges to previous levels upon expiration or upon completion of tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If user privileges are escalated to perform administrative tasks, then task execution capability is improved, but security risk increases due to potential unauthorized actions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by establishing a sandboxed environment and predefined isolation policies before privilege escalation occurs. This ensures that even if unauthorized actions are taken, they are contained within the sandbox boundaries, thus resolving the contradiction by preparing protective measures in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a sandbox environment as an intermediary layer between the user account and the cloud computing resources. This sandbox acts as a mediator that allows privileged operations to occur while blocking potential harmful actions from affecting the broader system, thus enabling task execution while mitigating security risks.
2Duration of action of moving object
If privilege escalation is granted for extended periods, then task completion flexibility is improved, but exposure to security threats increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the sandbox environment based on the duration and scope of privilege escalation. The sandbox policies are updated in real-time to reflect the current privilege level and duration, ensuring that security constraints adapt to the extended operational period while maintaining protection against security threats.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes time-bound sandbox policies in advance that automatically expire or revoke access after a specified duration. This preliminary action ensures that even if privileges are escalated for extended periods, the sandbox environment is pre-configured to limit exposure time and automatically enforce security boundaries.
3Reliability
If monitoring mechanisms are implemented to detect prohibited activities, then security detection capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sandbox environment implements self-service monitoring through predefined isolation policies that automatically detect and block prohibited activities without requiring complex external monitoring systems. The sandbox itself provides the detection capability through its inherent isolation mechanisms, thus improving security detection while minimizing additional system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sandbox acts as an intermediary monitoring layer that simplifies security detection by filtering and analyzing only the relevant privileged operations within its boundaries. This intermediary approach reduces the complexity of system-wide monitoring while maintaining reliable detection of prohibited activities within the sandboxed environment.
Data Source
AI summary
In one embodiment, a system includes a computing device providing a computing environment including a number of user accounts, where each of the user accounts is assigned specified privileges to execute particular commands or programs, receiving a request to temporarily escalate privileges for one of the user accounts during a specified duration, where the request includes an identifier of the user account, requested privileges, and the specified duration, granting the requested privileges for the specified duration in conjunction with specific restrictions on one or more prohibited activities that are normally permitted for user accounts with the requested privileges, monitoring, during the specified duration, for any indication that the user account has attempted a prohibited activity, detecting an indication that the user account attempted one of the prohibited activities, and initiating an automated remediation corresponding to the indication.