Security Data Normalization via Mediator Pattern
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In enterprise environments, disparate security applications generate data in inconsistent formats, making collective analysis of network traffic and security threats challenging.
Innovation Solution
A security system that filters and standardizes security data from multiple sources, using a set of filters and rules to transform data into a standardized format for analysis by a security engine.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data from multiple disparate security applications is collected for collective analysis, then security threat detection capability is improved, but data format inconsistency increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a normalization layer that acts as an intermediary between disparate security applications and the analysis system. This normalization layer receives data in various formats from different security applications, transforms it into a unified standardized format, and then passes it to the analysis engine. This mediator resolves the format inconsistency problem while preserving the ability to collect and analyze data from multiple sources, thereby maintaining improved threat detection capability without the penalty of system complexity.
2Reliability
If data from multiple security applications is aggregated, then comprehensive security analysis is improved, but processing difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing data normalization and standardization before the actual security analysis processing. The system pre-processes incoming data from multiple security applications by converting it to a unified format, validating its structure, and organizing it according to a common schema. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for complex format conversion during the analysis phase, thereby reducing processing difficulty while maintaining comprehensive security analysis capability.
3Productivity
If standardized data format is implemented across all sources, then analysis efficiency is improved, but adaptability to different data sources decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data processing system into distinct modular components: a data collection layer that interfaces with various security applications, a normalization layer that handles format conversion, and an analysis layer that processes standardized data. Each segment has a specific function and can be independently configured. The normalization layer contains adaptable parsers and transformers that can be configured to handle different source formats without affecting the analysis efficiency, thus maintaining both productivity and adaptability through modular architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A system obtains data logs from a set of applications that each output data of different data types and in different formats. Data is obtained from the applications as an input message stream and processed into an output message stream with messages in a standardized format for processing by an engine. The data source is detected from analysis of the data and a corresponding filter is applied to generate the output message stream. An alert is provided to an administrative interface when a pattern indicative of malicious activity is detected in the output data steam.