Reconnaissance and Assessment Tool for Network Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vulnerability assessment and security tools are limited in identifying 'forgotten' components in computer networks, as they rely on user and administrator input and fail to detect unrecorded or unidentified network elements, leading to incomplete security assessments.
Innovation Solution
A reconnaissance and assessment (RA) tool that integrates network reconnaissance and security assessments, using base information to identify the attack surface by scanning internal and external sources, including third-party databases and search engines, to uncover unknown components and iteratively perform additional assessments based on new information found during security evaluations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If existing vulnerability assessment and security tools are used, then security assessment can be performed on identified components, but 'forgotten' components are never detected because users and administrators do not know about them
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary network reconnaissance before security assessment to identify all network components, including forgotten ones. The reconnaissance phase proactively scans network infrastructure, discovers hidden components, and builds a comprehensive inventory before the actual security assessment begins, ensuring no components are overlooked.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables itself to discover and identify network components without requiring manual input from users or administrators. Through automated reconnaissance techniques, the system independently maps the network topology, identifies services, and detects forgotten components, eliminating the dependency on human knowledge of the network infrastructure.
2Productivity
If manual identification of network components is required, then security assessment can be targeted, but the process becomes time-consuming and incomplete due to forgotten components
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual identification processes with automated computer-based reconnaissance. Instead of requiring users to manually list network components, the system uses automated scanning, network mapping, and data collection techniques to rapidly identify all components, including forgotten ones, significantly reducing the time required for comprehensive security assessment.
3Adaptability or versatility
If security assessment tools are limited to user-identified components, then tool simplicity is maintained, but detection coverage is reduced due to forgotten components
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges network reconnaissance functionality with security assessment tools into a unified platform. The reconnaissance module discovers all network components and the assessment module evaluates them for security vulnerabilities, combining what were previously separate functions into one integrated system that maintains simplicity while expanding scope to include forgotten components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal tool that performs multiple functions: network reconnaissance, component identification, security assessment, and vulnerability detection. This multi-functional approach allows a single tool to handle the entire security evaluation process, from discovering forgotten components to assessing their security posture, thereby expanding assessment scope without requiring multiple specialized tools.
Data Source
AI summary
A reconnaissance and assessment (RA) tool can receive base information about the network, such as basic network information and details about an entity and personnel associated with network. The RA tool can utilize the base information to perform reconnaissance procedures on the network to identify the attack surface of the network. The RA tool can perform reconnaissance on the network, itself, and on other external sources, such as third party databases, search engines, and partner networks. Once the attack surface is identified, the RA tool can automatically perform appropriate security assessments on the attack surface. Additionally, if additional information is determined about the network during the security assessments, the RA tool can perform additional reconnaissance and security assessments based on the additional information.