Security Gateway Redirection With Dynamic Firewall Access
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems expose network services to denial-of-service attacks and unauthorized access due to public exposure of ports, lacking effective protection mechanisms beyond load balancers and firewalls.
Innovation Solution
Implement a security gateway that authenticates client requests, identifies suitable application instances, and instructs corresponding firewalls to open ports only for authorized clients, using port knocking and rolling codes to enhance security and reduce latency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ports are publicly exposed for network services, then service accessibility is improved, but vulnerability to DDOS attacks and unauthorized access increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary authentication of clients before allowing any network communication. The security gateway authenticates clients in advance and only allows authenticated clients to establish connections, preventing DDOS attacks and unauthorized access before they can affect the service.
Solution Approach 2:
A security gateway is introduced as an intermediary component between external clients and internal services. The gateway sits in front of firewalls and application instances, controlling all traffic based on authentication results, thereby protecting services while maintaining accessibility for authorized clients.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If firewalls are configured to block all external access by default, then network security is improved, but service accessibility for authorized clients deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The security gateway provides feedback to the firewall about which clients are authenticated and authorized to access specific services. Based on this feedback, the gateway dynamically opens firewall ports only for authenticated clients, allowing the system to maintain both security and accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The firewall configuration is made dynamic rather than static. Ports are opened and closed based on real-time authentication results, allowing the firewall to adapt its blocking/allowing behavior according to the current client's authentication status, thereby maintaining security while enabling access for authorized users.
3Ease of operation
If traditional authentication methods are used with public port exposure, then ease of access is maintained, but system reliability under attack conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Authentication is performed as a preliminary action before any service interaction occurs. The security gateway authenticates clients in advance and establishes their authorization status before allowing them to access services, ensuring that only reliable, authenticated clients can interact with the system and preventing attacks from compromising service reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
At a security gateway residing within a trusted computer network, a service request is obtained from an external client and is authenticated. In response, one instance of a plurality of available application instances is identified. The instances are hosted on a plurality of hosts having a plurality of firewalls, and the firewalls and the hosts reside within the network. The firewalls have been initially defaulted to block external access to all instances. A corresponding one of the hosts, within the trusted computer network, and corresponding to the identified one of the plurality of available application instances, is instructed to open a corresponding one of the firewalls to a network address corresponding to the external client. The external client is advised of a destination identifier and port corresponding to the opening of the firewall, to facilitate the external client communicating with the corresponding one of the hosts.