Targeted Encryption Using System Attributes for Insider Threat Mitigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional encryption methods rely on users possessing or embedding encryption keys, which can be insecure, especially against insider threats and attackers who can reverse engineer binaries for tampering.
Innovation Solution
Targeted encryption generates cryptographic keys based on system attributes like file and hardware values, using hashing functions to protect the key, ensuring it's not accessible outside the system and requiring brute-force decryption attempts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional encryption methods are used with user-held or embedded keys, then data can be decrypted by authorized users, but the system becomes vulnerable to insider threats and key theft
Solution Approach 1:
The encryption key is extracted from user possession and embedded directly into the encrypted data structure. This eliminates the vulnerability of key theft from users while maintaining decryption capability through the embedded key mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The encryption key is nested within the encrypted data structure itself. The key is embedded in a protected manner within the data container, allowing authorized decryption while preventing key extraction by unauthorized parties.
2Ease of operation
If encryption keys are embedded in encrypted data, then users can decrypt data without external key management, but attackers can potentially reverse engineer binaries to extract keys
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the encrypted data structure have different properties. The key embedding mechanism uses localized encryption techniques where specific regions of the data contain key material protected by unique encryption methods, making reverse engineering more difficult.
Solution Approach 2:
The encrypted data structure uses composite protection mechanisms combining multiple encryption techniques and key embedding methods. This layered approach makes it harder for attackers to reverse engineer the binary and extract keys compared to simple embedded key methods.
3Reliability
If targeted encryption based on system attributes is implemented, then security against external attackers is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The encryption system uses universal system attributes (hardware identifiers, software configurations) that are already present in the computing environment. These multi-functional attributes serve both as system identification and as the basis for key generation, reducing the need for additional complex key management infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically generates encryption keys using its own system attributes without requiring external key management services. The computing system itself provides the key generation material through its inherent hardware and software characteristics, eliminating the need for separate key distribution and management systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of the present disclosure are directed to a computing system configured to provide seamless protection to data (which can include, without limitation, data files, executable files, system configuration files, program files, and other data) stored in the computing system, while making it nearly impossible for attackers to be able to access the data outside of the computing system. The computing system uses targeted encryption and decryption, in which values of one or more system attribute are used to generate a cryptographic key used for encryption and decryption of data stored in the computing system.