Relationship-Based Search for Vulnerability Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional search systems in computing environments fail to effectively visualize and manage relationships between entities, making it difficult to identify vulnerabilities and potential attack paths, which can lead to unauthorized access to critical assets.
Innovation Solution
A relationship-based search system utilizing a graph database to represent nodes and edges, enriched with metadata, allowing for the determination of subsets of nodes and relationships, and generating security policies to prevent unauthorized access by visualizing potential attack paths and vulnerabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional search systems are used to search for entities in a computing environment, then the search operation is simple, but the ability to visualize and manage relationships between entities is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the search functionality into two distinct modes: traditional search mode for simple entity lookup and relationship-based search mode for analyzing connections between entities. This segmentation allows the system to maintain simplicity for basic searches while providing enhanced relationship visualization when needed, resolving the contradiction between operational simplicity and relationship information preservation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension to traditional search by adding relationship analysis capabilities. Instead of only searching for entities in one dimension, the system now operates in two dimensions: entity search and relationship search. This dimensional expansion enables the system to visualize and manage relationships between entities while maintaining backward compatibility with simple search operations.
2Reliability
If relationship-based search with graph database is implemented, then the ability to identify vulnerabilities and attack paths is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal search interface that can handle both traditional entity search and relationship-based search through a single system. The search component is designed to be multi-functional, automatically detecting whether the user intends a simple search or a relationship analysis based on the query structure. This universality allows the system to provide enhanced vulnerability identification capabilities while avoiding the need for separate complex systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a relationship database as an intermediary component that stores and manages relationships between entities. This intermediary layer abstracts the complexity of relationship management from the main search system, allowing the search component to focus on query processing while the relationship database handles the complex storage and retrieval of relationship data, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
3Loss of information
If graph database with metadata enrichment is used, then the visualization of attack paths is enhanced, but the data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-processing and enriching entity data with relevant metadata before it is stored in the graph database. Relationship data is pre-processed to include necessary attributes and contextual information, so that when relationship-based search is performed, the system can directly query and visualize attack paths without requiring extensive real-time data processing. This preliminary enrichment reduces the energy consumption during actual search operations while maintaining comprehensive attack path information.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for a relationship-based search in a computing environment are provided. An example method includes providing a graph database. The graph database includes nodes representing workloads of the computing environment and edges representing relationships between the nodes. The method also includes enriching the graph database by associating the nodes with metadata associated with the nodes and the relationships. The method also includes receiving a user query including data associated with at least one of the metadata and the relationships. The method also includes determining, based on the user query, a subset of the nodes in the graph database and a subset of relationships between the nodes in the subset of the nodes. The method also includes displaying, via a graphical user interface, a graphical representation of the subset of the nodes and relationships between the nodes in the subset of the nodes.