Synchronized Telemetry in Zero-Trust Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a zero-trust computing environment, existing systems face challenges in synchronizing telemetry data across Information Handling Systems (IHSs) to ensure continuous validation of access to protected resources, particularly due to differences in clock times and the inability to reconfigure telemetry collection.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system that synchronizes telemetry collection and transmission across IHSs in a zero-trust environment by identifying ready telemetry, notifying a policy decision point, receiving a counter for ordering telemetry, annotating telemetry with the counter, and transmitting the annotated telemetry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If telemetry is collected and transmitted from multiple IHSs independently, then each IHS can operate autonomously, but the telemetry data becomes unsynchronized and stale due to clock time differences
Solution Approach 1:
A policy decision point acts as an intermediary between multiple IHSs to coordinate telemetry collection. The policy decision point distributes counters to each IHS, which they use to synchronize their telemetry collection timing, ensuring all IHSs collect telemetry at coordinated intervals rather than independently
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through counter values that IHSs report to the policy decision point. The policy decision point uses these counter values to determine when telemetry is ready for collection and adjusts future collection timing based on reported status, creating a closed-loop synchronization mechanism
2Reliability
If telemetry collection frequency is increased to ensure current data, then access validation becomes more accurate, but system overhead and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The telemetry collection frequency is made dynamic rather than static. The policy decision point adjusts collection intervals based on current system conditions, counter values, and validation requirements, allowing the system to collect telemetry more frequently when needed and less frequently when conditions are stable, optimizing the balance between accuracy and overhead
Solution Approach 2:
Telemetry collection is organized into periodic cycles coordinated by the policy decision point. Instead of continuous monitoring, the system uses periodic counter-based triggering where IHSs collect telemetry at scheduled intervals determined by the policy decision point, reducing overhead while maintaining validation accuracy
3Loss of information
If telemetry is transmitted continuously from all IHSs, then real-time monitoring is achieved, but network bandwidth and processing resources are wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and transmits only the essential synchronization counter from each IHS to the policy decision point, rather than transmitting all telemetry data continuously. The counter serves as a compact indicator of telemetry readiness and timing, allowing the policy decision point to coordinate collection without requiring constant data transmission
Solution Approach 2:
IHSs perform preliminary telemetry collection and local processing before transmission is required. Telemetry is collected and prepared in advance during coordinated intervals, then transmitted only when the policy decision point requests it based on counter values, avoiding unnecessary continuous transmission while ensuring data is ready when needed
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods provide synchronized collection of telemetry by an Information Handling System (IHS) operating in a zero-trust computing environment. Telemetry is identified that is ready for transmission by the IHS. A policy decision point of the zero-trust computing environment is notified of the identified telemetry that is ready for transmission by the IHS. The IHS receives a counter from the policy decision point for ordering the telemetry that is ready for transmission within the telemetry of the zero-trust computing environment. The telemetry is annotated with the counter that is received from the policy decision point. The transmitted telemetry may then be sequenced with all other telemetry generated in the zero-trust computing environment.