Three Component Secure Tunnel Bypassing Firewall Restrictions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network communication technologies face challenges in establishing secure tunnels through firewalls, particularly due to restrictions on incoming and outgoing connections, and lack effective authentication mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access and malicious attacks.
Innovation Solution
A three-component secure tunnel system is established using SSL/TLS sessions between a client, an outer agent, and an inner agent, with connections initiated from within the firewall, utilizing standard SSL/TLS on standard ports to bypass packet filtering and application-level firewalls, and employing authentication mechanisms to verify client certificates and prevent unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If SSL/TLS protocol is used for secure communication, then security and privacy are improved, but firewall compatibility deteriorates because direct connections are blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component (proxy server or gateway) that acts as a mediator between the client and server. This intermediary establishes SSL/TLS connections on behalf of the client, allowing secure communication to pass through firewalls that would otherwise block direct SSL/TLS connections. The intermediary translates and forwards requests, enabling SSL/TLS to work through firewall restrictions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the SSL/TLS connection into multiple parts: a control connection for authentication and setup, and a data connection for actual secure communication. This segmentation allows the control connection to use standard HTTP protocols that firewalls permit, while the data connection establishes the secure SSL/TLS tunnel needed for privacy and security.
2Reliability
If firewall restrictions are enforced to block unauthorized access, then security is improved, but connection establishment becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary authentication and connection setup actions before establishing the actual secure tunnel. The client first establishes a control connection to authenticate and negotiate parameters, then uses this authenticated state to create the data connection. This preliminary action ensures security requirements are met before allowing connection establishment.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary server facilitates connection establishment by handling authentication and translating requests between the client and internal servers. It mediates the connection process, allowing clients to establish connections to internal services without directly breaching firewall restrictions, thus maintaining security while enabling connections.
3Reliability
If authentication mechanisms are implemented to prevent unauthorized access, then security is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent centralizes authentication functionality in an intermediary server that handles all authentication requests. This intermediary manages user credentials, certificate verification, and authentication state, reducing the complexity burden on individual clients and servers while maintaining strong security through centralized control.
Solution Approach 2:
The intermediary server provides multiple functions including authentication, connection management, protocol translation, and security policy enforcement. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single multi-functional component, the system achieves strong security without distributing complexity across multiple specialized components.
4Reliability
If multiple connections are used for tunneled communication, then security is improved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments communication into a control connection and a data connection, each serving specific purposes. The control connection handles authentication and setup with lower resource intensity, while the data connection handles bulk secure communication. This segmentation optimizes resource usage by matching connection characteristics to their functional requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains persistent authenticated sessions and keeps data connections open for continuous secure communication once established. Rather than repeatedly establishing full SSL/TLS handshakes for each communication session, the system maintains continuous connections with optimized resource usage for ongoing data transfer after initial authentication.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are described for a secure tunnel. A method includes establishing a first connection (CIO) from an inner agent to an outer agent including making a first TCP connection from the inner agent to the outer agent, negotiating a first SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionIO) between the inner agent and the outer agent over the first TCP connection and applying the first SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionIO) between the inner agent and the outer agent over the first TCP connection; establishing a second connection (CCO) from a client to the outer agent including making a second TCP connection from the client to the outer agent, negotiating a second SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionCO) between the client and the outer agent over the second TCP connection and applying the second SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionCO) between the client and the outer agent over the second TCP connection; and then negotiating a third SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionCI) between the client and the inner agent via both the first SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionIO) and the second SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionCO) and applying the third SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionCI) between the client and the inner agent layered over both the first SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionIO) and the second SSL/TLS session (SSLSessionCO).