Secret Time-Based Policy Sync for Air-Gapped Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing approaches for protecting communications over air-gapped networks do not support enforcing expected communications during time periods calculated by both authenticated sides according to a shared secret, making networks susceptible to attacks that allow nefarious users to obtain and modify policies or data.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a pseudo-random time-based policy synchronization mechanism using a shared secret to generate open time intervals for communication, ensuring only valid devices can connect at unknown time periods, challenging malicious attempts to detect access patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed time periods are used for policy synchronization in air-gapped networks, then the network security is improved, but the network becomes susceptible to attacks that allow nefarious users to obtain and modify policies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static, fixed time periods for policy synchronization into dynamic, unpredictable time windows. By using a pseudo-random number generator seeded with a shared secret, the system generates varying open time intervals that are difficult for attackers to predict, thereby maintaining security while reducing susceptibility to timed attacks
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of time synchronization from fixed periodic intervals to variable pseudo-random intervals. This parameter change makes it computationally infeasible for attackers to determine when policy synchronization will occur, thus preventing attacks that rely on predicting synchronization moments
2Reliability
If open time intervals are generated using a shared secret and pseudo-random algorithm, then the protection against unauthorized access is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity of pseudo-random number generation and time interval calculation into a separate, modular component that uses a shared secret. This allows the core security function to be implemented without requiring complex changes to the entire system architecture, as the cryptographic operations are isolated to a dedicated synchronization module
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a shared secret as an intermediary that enables both devices to independently generate the same pseudo-random time intervals without direct communication. This intermediary element simplifies the synchronization mechanism by eliminating the need for complex coordination protocols while maintaining security
3Reliability
If policy synchronization is performed during unpredictable open time intervals, then the security of air-gapped network communications is enhanced, but the synchronization efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-generating and caching policy data on both devices before the open time intervals occur. During the brief synchronization windows, the system only needs to exchange minimal confirmation data and apply pre-prepared policy updates, thereby maintaining high efficiency despite the unpredictable timing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic policy synchronization attempts that align with the open time intervals. By preparing synchronization data in advance and attempting transfers during the periodic (though unpredictable) open windows, the system maintains efficiency through batch processing while preserving security through the periodic nature of the synchronization
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques described herein relate to a method for performing policy synchronizations. The method includes identifying, by a storage manager, a policy retrieval synchronization generation event; in response to the identifying: identifying a maximum time interval and a minimum time interval; generating open time intervals using a synchronization algorithm, a seed for the synchronization algorithm, a device start time, the maximum time interval, and the minimum time interval, wherein the seed and the device start time were generated during initialization prior to identifying the policy retrieval synchronization generation event; and performing policy synchronizations using the open time intervals by obtaining a policy from a control manager.