Software Installation Security via Access Destination Whitelisting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing information processing devices face a trade-off between security and usability when updating or installing application programs, as frequent user approval for software installations can decrease usability while omitting approval may compromise security.
Innovation Solution
An information processing device with a display and communication interface that determines whether a new access destination is included in the software, displaying an approval screen only when necessary, based on pre-registered access destinations in a whitelist or registration list, thereby optimizing user interaction and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If user approval is checked every time when an application program is installed/updated, then security is improved, but usability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of the software package before installation to determine whether it contains new access destinations. Based on this preliminary assessment, the system decides in advance whether user approval is needed, avoiding the need for repeated approval prompts and improving usability while maintaining security for potentially risky installations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary mechanism (access destination analysis and comparison with whitelist) between the software installation process and user approval. This intermediary automatically filters out safe installations (those without new access destinations) from requiring user approval, while still prompting for potentially risky installations, thus resolving the contradiction between security and usability.
2Ease of operation
If user approval is omitted for software installation, then usability is improved, but security deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically analyzing software packages and comparing their access destinations against the whitelist. This self-assessment mechanism enables the system to autonomously identify safe installations that do not require user approval, improving usability while maintaining security through automated risk assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where installation requests are analyzed, compared against the whitelist of known safe access destinations, and then decisions are made regarding approval requirements. This feedback mechanism ensures that only installations with new, potentially unsafe access destinations trigger user approval, balancing security and usability.
3Reliability
If access destination analysis is performed for every software installation, then security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and compares only the access destination information from software packages against the whitelist, rather than performing comprehensive analysis of all software components. This extraction approach focuses security verification on the critical element (access destinations) while avoiding unnecessary complexity from analyzing unrelated software aspects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a universal whitelist of access destinations that serves multiple functions: it acts as a security reference for analyzing different software packages, a comparison baseline for detecting new access destinations, and a reusable knowledge base that eliminates the need to recreate security criteria for each installation, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing device is provided with a display, a communication interface, and a controller. The controller is configured to perform obtaining an access destination information from a storage, wherein one or more access destinations is to be included in the access destination information. When the controller receives, through the communication interface, an installation request to request to install software, the controller is configured to determine whether a new access destination is included in the software based on the obtained access destination information. Further, when it is determined that the new access destination is included in the software, the controller is configured to display an approval screen used to approve installation of the software. When it is determined that the new access destination is not included in the software, the controller is configured to omit the displaying of the approval screen.