Security Module Detecting Man-in-the-Middle Attacks via Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern computer systems are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, where malicious actors intercept and modify communications by lowering security levels, such as replacing HTTPS links with HTTP links, making user data susceptible to interception.
Innovation Solution
A system that maintains a page list of expected security transitions between network resources, detecting and alerting on any deviations, such as a browser-based security module that monitors transitions and performs remedial actions when a lower security level is detected, like displaying alerts or blocking communications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a security module monitors and enforces expected security levels for transitions between network resources, then security against man-in-the-middle attacks is improved, but device complexity and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes a page list containing expected security levels for transitions between network resources before actual navigation occurs. This preliminary preparation allows the security module to quickly compare actual transitions against pre-defined expectations without complex real-time analysis, resolving the contradiction by shifting computational work to an offline phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The security monitoring function is segmented into discrete components: maintaining a page list of expected transitions, detecting actual transitions, comparing detected transitions against the page list, and executing remedial actions. This segmentation simplifies the overall system complexity by breaking down the security enforcement task into manageable, independent operations.
2Measurement precision
If the security module performs real-time detection and remedial actions for security level deviations, then detection precision is improved, but processing time and productivity are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By pre-defining expected security levels and transitions in a page list before actual navigation, the system eliminates the need for complex real-time security analysis. The comparison between actual and expected security levels is a simple lookup operation that maintains high detection precision while minimizing processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The page list serves as a lightweight, easily updateable data structure that can be quickly generated and discarded. This approach replaces complex, long-lived security analysis mechanisms with simple, disposable reference data that enables fast comparison and detection without significant processing overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
A page list comprising a list of transitions between network resources is established. Subsequently, a transition is detected between a first network resource and a second network resource. An expected security level associated with the transition is identified based on the page list. Responsive to the detected security level being determined to be lower than the expected security level, a remedial action is performed.