Security Verification via Message Interception and Modification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ensuring the security of computing resources and data in large distributed systems is challenging due to complexities and the difficulty in detecting vulnerabilities, especially when different applications with varying roles and skills are involved, leading to potential insecurities that may go undetected.
Innovation Solution
Injecting insecurity into communications between computer systems to test their configurations and responses, using methods such as modifying messages or acting as a man-in-the-middle to simulate protocol failures, and monitoring reactions to identify potential security breaches, with mitigating operations like blacklisting or whitelisting to address vulnerabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If distributed systems use multiple different applications with varying roles and skills, then system functionality and versatility are improved, but security detection difficulty and vulnerability management worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a security verification system that acts as an intermediary between applications and the distributed system infrastructure. This intermediary automatically intercepts, monitors, and verifies security protocols across all applications regardless of their specific roles or implementations, centralizing security detection capabilities and eliminating the need for each application to have specialized security detection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The security verification system enables applications to self-verify their security configurations by automatically injecting test insecurity into their communications and analyzing their responses. This self-service mechanism allows each application to detect its own vulnerabilities without requiring external security experts or complex manual auditing processes.
2Reliability
If security verification methods are applied to test computer systems, then security vulnerability detection is improved, but communication overhead and system complexity worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The security verification system applies partial action by selectively injecting insecurity into specific test communications rather than all communications. The system monitors only the responses related to security protocol handling, leaving normal operational communications unaffected. This approach provides sufficient security verification while minimizing interference with system operations and reducing overall communication overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
A first computer is selected for testing. Information sent from a second computer system to the first computer is intercepted. The information is modified to be noncompliant with a communication protocol, thereby producing noncompliant information. A determination is made whether the first computer device has failed to provide a particular response to receipt of the noncompliant information, and an operation is performed based at least in part on the determination.