Runtime Attestation via Event Log Behavioral Claims
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional attestation protocols are unable to track changes in the attested state of a target system at runtime, leading to potential security risks as they only verify software configurations at launch time and do not perform exhaustive assessments, making them insufficient for ensuring ongoing trust in the system's state.
Innovation Solution
An attestation mechanism that uses software configuration data from a host machine, including event log entries generated during software execution, to make attestation claims about future behavior, allowing the attestation machine to validate and generate certificates that account for potential changes in the system's state, thereby ensuring continued trust and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional attestation protocols verify software configurations only at launch time, then the attestation process is simple and fast, but the system cannot detect configuration changes at runtime, leading to security risks
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by having the target system generate and store event log entries that describe expected runtime behaviors and configuration change responses before attestation occurs. These pre-defined behavioral specifications enable the attestation machine to verify not just the initial state but also future state transitions, resolving the contradiction between simple attestation and runtime tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The attestation mechanism transitions from static launch-time verification to dynamic runtime verification by incorporating event log entries that capture configuration changes and behavioral responses over time. The system dynamically evaluates whether observed runtime behaviors match the pre-specified expected behaviors in the event logs, enabling continuous trust validation without requiring complex continuous monitoring infrastructure.
2Measurement precision
If the attestation machine evaluates all configuration values at runtime, then runtime tracking accuracy is improved, but the computational overhead and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the critical behavioral aspects needed for attestation by having the target system pre-identify and log specific configuration parameters and their expected change responses in event log entries. This selective extraction of essential verification data allows the attestation machine to focus evaluation on key configuration changes rather than analyzing all system state parameters, maintaining detection accuracy while reducing computational overhead and attestation time.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the system implements runtime behavior verification, then security against configuration changes is enhanced, but the device complexity and resource requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an intermediary layer in the form of event log entries that mediate between the target system's runtime operations and the attestation machine's verification process. These event logs serve as a simplified interface, containing pre-formatted behavioral specifications that the attestation machine can evaluate without directly interfacing with complex system internals. This intermediary structure enhances security verification while keeping the attestation mechanism relatively simple and resource-efficient.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of attestation of a host machine based on runtime configuration of the host machine is provided. The method receives, at an attestation machine, a request from the host machine for attestation of a software executing on the host machine, the request including at least one security-related configuration of the software at launch time and a corresponding runtime behavior of the software when the security-related configuration changes. The method then generates a claim based on evaluating a value associated with the at least one security-related configuration and the corresponding runtime behavior of the software when the value changes. The method also generates an attestation token after a successful attestation of the software and include in the attestation token the generated claim. The method further transmits the attestation token to the host machine.