Relational Network Attack Path Analysis for Lower Memory Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data structures for identifying and visualizing network attack paths in large and complex computing environments, such as cloud computing environments, are computationally intensive, non-scalable, and inefficient, leading to excessive memory consumption and overwhelming user experiences due to the sheer number of potential paths to analyze.
Innovation Solution
A relational representation is used to identify and visualize network attack paths, utilizing tables to represent computing environment information, which allows for improved computational efficiency and reduced hardware resource requirements by analyzing portions of the relational representation corresponding to resources with security vulnerabilities, rather than loading entire network graphs into memory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional data structures are used to identify and visualize network attack paths in large computing environments, then complete network graph analysis is performed, but computational load and memory consumption become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network graph analysis by dividing it into multiple batches, where each batch processes a subset of nodes and edges. This segmentation allows the system to analyze large computing environments without loading the entire graph into memory simultaneously, thereby reducing peak memory consumption while maintaining comprehensive attack path identification across all network segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by processing only the necessary portions of the network graph required for attack path identification. Rather than analyzing all possible paths equally, the system focuses computational resources on paths that are relevant to security vulnerabilities, reducing unnecessary computational load while maintaining identification reliability.
2Productivity
If conventional data structures load entire network graphs into memory, then all network paths can be analyzed, but hardware resource requirements become prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The network graph is divided into manageable segments that can be processed in batches. Each segment contains a subset of nodes and edges relevant to the current analysis phase, allowing the system to maintain high identification speed by processing smaller units sequentially rather than attempting to hold the entire graph in memory at once.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and filtering network data to identify only those nodes and edges that are relevant to attack path analysis. This preliminary filtering reduces the quantity of data that needs to be loaded into memory, thereby improving identification speed without requiring excessive hardware resources.
3Reliability
If all potential network paths are analyzed, then comprehensive security assessment is achieved, but user experience becomes overwhelming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and prioritizes only the most critical attack paths from the complete set of analyzed paths. By taking out and highlighting the highest-risk paths that pose the greatest security threats, the system maintains comprehensive security assessment while presenting a manageable, non-overwhelming view to users who can focus on addressing the most important vulnerabilities first.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality by providing detailed analysis and visualization for specific high-priority attack paths rather than treating all paths uniformly. This allows users to examine the security characteristics of critical paths in detail while maintaining an overview of the complete security landscape, thereby achieving both comprehensiveness and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
The techniques described herein relate to identifying network attack paths. An example method includes using at least one computer hardware processor to perform obtaining metadata indicating a set of network resources in a plurality of network resources and network connections among network resources in the set of network resources, generating, using the metadata, a relational representation of the set of network resources, generating, using the relational representation, a plurality of network paths between network resources in the set of network resources, and identifying, from among the plurality of network paths and using the relational representation and information indicating one or more of the plurality of network resources that have at least one respective security vulnerability, one or more network attack paths that may be used to exploit one or more security vulnerabilities of network resources in the set of network resources.