SSL Certificate Validation via Security Manager Mediator
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current secure protocols, such as SSL, are vulnerable to 'man-in-the-middle' attacks where compromised Certificate Authorities issue seemingly legitimate certificates, allowing attackers to intercept and manipulate communication, as users rely solely on browser alerts for security, unaware of the compromised certificates.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method that verifies the authenticity of SSL certificates by transmitting validation requests to a security manager, comparing the certificate chain of trust with a trusted Certificate Authority, and notifying users and authorities of any illegitimate certificates, using a credential manager to ensure the certificate is issued by an authentic root authority.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the web browser relies on the signer matching a known Certificate Authority to validate SSL certificates, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to compromised CAs issuing illegitimate certificates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a security manager as an intermediary component that mediates between the credential manager and the certificate validation process. The security manager receives validation requests, performs additional verification checks beyond simple signer matching, and returns validation responses. This intermediary layer maintains ease of operation while improving reliability by detecting compromised certificates that would otherwise pass standard validation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the credential manager receives validation responses from the security manager and uses this information to determine whether to display trust indicators to users. The system continuously monitors certificate validity and provides feedback loops that allow dynamic adjustment of trust decisions based on security manager assessments, thereby improving reliability without complicating user interaction.
2Reliability
If the system performs additional validation checks beyond browser alerts, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the certificate validation system into distinct functional components: a credential manager that handles certificate storage and initial validation, a security manager that performs advanced verification, and a browser interface that displays results to users. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in specific validation tasks, improving overall reliability while managing complexity through modular architecture where each segment has a defined responsibility.
3Reliability
If the system notifies users of compromised certificates, then the reliability is improved, but the loss of information increases due to additional security notifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing targeted security notifications only when compromised certificates are detected, rather than displaying generic alerts for all certificate validations. The system enhances specific locations in the user interface where trust indicators are displayed, adding detailed information about certificate validity status, compromised CA identification, and security recommendations only where needed, thereby maintaining interface clarity while improving security awareness.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses for authenticating a secure sockets layer certificate (SSL) certificate are described herein. The methods include receiving the SSL certificate associated with a website, identifying a chain of trust associated with the SSL certificate, transmitting, to a security manager, a validation request based on the SSL certificate and a certificate in the chain of trust, receiving a validation response from the security manager, and presenting an indication of trustworthiness, to a user, based on the validation response. The apparatuses are provided to implement the methods.