Process-Level Credential Segmentation for Application Security
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face security risks due to shared access rights among processes within an application, where different processes may require varying access levels, leading to unnecessary privileges being granted to some processes.
Innovation Solution
A system that distributes unique credentials to each process based on its specific requirements, using containerization and credential management services to isolate processes and manage access rights, ensuring that only necessary permissions are granted.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If credentials are issued on a per-application or per-host basis, then all processes can access remote services, but processes receive access rights greater than necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments credentials at the process level rather than application or host level. Each process receives its own credential with precisely scoped permissions, isolating access rights to the minimum necessary for each process's function. This segmentation enables fine-grained security control while maintaining manageable credential distribution through automated generation and assignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by tailoring credential permissions specifically to each process's requirements. Instead of uniform credentials across all processes, each process receives credentials with access rights localized to its specific needs, ensuring that no process receives broader permissions than necessary for its function.
2Device complexity
If credentials are shared among processes, then credential management is simplified, but security risks increase due to unnecessary access rights
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides credential management into process-specific units, with each process holding its own credential rather than sharing a common one. This segmentation eliminates the security risk of credential sharing while maintaining manageable complexity through automated credential generation, distribution, and lifecycle management at the process level.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service by automatically generating, distributing, and managing process-specific credentials without manual intervention. Each process receives its own credential with appropriate permissions automatically configured, eliminating the need for manual credential sharing while reducing security risks through automated isolation.
3Reliability
If unique credentials are distributed to each process, then security is enhanced, but credential management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where processes automatically receive their own credentials through automated generation and distribution systems. The credential management infrastructure handles the complexity of unique credential creation, assignment, and lifecycle management automatically, enabling enhanced security through process-specific credentials without proportionally increasing operational complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal credential management system that handles multiple functions: credential generation, distribution, validation, and lifecycle management. This multi-functional system manages the complexity of unique credential distribution across all processes through a single integrated infrastructure, reducing the burden of managing process-specific credentials individually.
Data Source
AI summary
An application is comprised of a plurality of processes. A process is able to accesses a remote service using a service access credential which is adapted to the particular requirements of the process. By providing a process with customized credential, the process is constrained from performing unnecessary operations, and the overall security of the application is improved. When processes are deployed to a host computer, an agent on a host computer collects credential information and other metadata associated with the processes running on the host computer. The agent makes the metadata available to a credential provider running on the host, and the credential provider exposes an interface that is accessible to the processes. The processes include a credential proxy which communicates with the credential provider. The credential proxies relay credential requests to the credential provider, and return the provided credentials from the credential provider to the processes.