SIEM Data Sharing via Onion-Skin Encryption
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sharing Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) data between systems with varying trust levels poses challenges due to the sensitivity of the information, particularly in compliance with regulations like GDPR, where anonymization requirements differ across systems.
Innovation Solution
A communication protocol using onion-skin encryption and a trusted intermediary for selective anonymization of SIEM data, ensuring message authenticity and sender identity protection, while allowing granular access control through cryptographic keys based on a data sharing agreement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If SIEM data is shared between systems with varying trust levels, then the scope of security insight is improved, but the risk of sensitive information exposure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments SIEM data into different sensitivity levels (personal information, device information, network information, etc.) and applies selective anonymization to each segment based on the receiving system's trust level. This allows useful data to be shared while protecting sensitive segments, resolving the contradiction between sharing scope and exposure risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a trusted intermediary system that mediates data sharing between systems with varying trust levels. The intermediary evaluates trust levels, determines appropriate anonymization levels, and controls data release, enabling broad sharing while preventing sensitive information exposure through centralized governance.
2Reliability
If data is anonymized for one system, then GDPR compliance is improved for that system, but the data cannot be effectively shared with other systems having different trust levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic anonymization where the level of anonymization applied to data is not fixed but adapts based on the receiving system's trust level. The same data can be fully anonymized for low-trust systems while being partially anonymized or shared in original form with high-trust systems, enabling both GDPR compliance and flexible sharing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different anonymization qualities to different portions of data based on the receiving system's characteristics. Each receiving system receives data with anonymization levels tailored to its specific trust level and compliance requirements, allowing optimal balance between GDPR compliance and data utility for each system.
3Reliability
If multiple encryption keys are used for selective anonymization, then security control is improved, but the complexity of key management increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service key management where the receiving systems automatically receive and manage their own decryption keys based on their trust levels. The trusted intermediary automatically provisions appropriate keys to authorized systems without manual intervention, reducing key management complexity while maintaining strong security controls.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer implemented method of sharing a data message containing multiple data fields between a provider computer system and a consumer computer system, wherein the provider and consumer computer systems have mutual mistrust, the method comprising: responsive to an authentication of the provider computer system, receiving a definition of one or more fields in the data message accessible to the consumer computer system, each field having associated a cryptographic key; responsive to an indication from a data storage server that a ciphertext of the data message is requested to be stored in the data storage server including a derivative of an identifier of the provider computer system, confirming the authenticity of the ciphertext by confirming the authenticity of the derivative, wherein each field of the ciphertext is encrypted using a corresponding cryptographic key; responsive to an authentication of the consumer computer system, issuing the consumer computer system with a cryptographic key for each of the fields in the data message accessible to the consumer computer system, such that the consumer computer system is operable to obtain the ciphertext from the data storage server and to decrypt the one or more accessible data fields and such that other data fields being non-accessible to the consumer are encrypted to anonymise such other data fields.