Traffic Feature Extraction via Log Clustering and Regex

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for extracting feature information from traffic logs related to attacks are costly and prone to errors, often misidentifying harmless communication as malicious, leading to detection omissions and increased operational costs.

Innovation Solution

A traffic feature information extraction method that uses regular expressions to represent partial character strings, clusters traffic log entries, and extracts feature information from clusters with a minimum total sum of distances, enabling accurate and efficient identification of attack patterns.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional methods are used to extract feature information from traffic logs, then detection accuracy may be maintained, but operational costs increase and misidentification errors occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedetection accuracyVSAvoidoperational cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments traffic log data into clusters based on similarity metrics, dividing the analysis into manageable groups. This segmentation allows efficient processing of large datasets while maintaining detection accuracy, as each cluster can be analyzed independently to identify attack patterns without examining every single log entry individually.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates representative copies or prototypes of attack patterns from clustered traffic logs. Instead of analyzing all raw traffic data, the system generates condensed representations (attack templates) that capture essential characteristics, enabling cost-effective detection while preserving accuracy through these simplified models.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If conventional extraction methods are used, then known attack patterns can be detected, but false positives increase due to misidentification of harmless communication

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveattack detection capabilityVSAvoidfalse positive rate
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements a feedback mechanism where clustered traffic patterns are continuously analyzed and refined. The system uses the structural relationships within clusters to verify attack patterns, providing feedback that helps distinguish genuine threats from benign traffic, thereby reducing false positives while maintaining detection reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces conventional mechanical pattern-matching methods with a cluster-based analytical approach. By substituting traditional signature matching with cluster analysis that considers multiple dimensions of traffic behavior, the system achieves more precise identification of attacks and reduces misidentification of harmless communication.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Measurement precision

If manual analysis is performed to identify attack rules, then accurate feature extraction is possible, but time consumption increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefeature extraction accuracyVSAvoidanalysis time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary clustering and pattern identification automatically before final analysis. By pre-processing traffic logs into organized clusters and identifying potential attack patterns in advance, the system reduces the time required for detailed feature extraction while maintaining accuracy through structured preparation of the data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent enables the system to automatically perform feature extraction and rule identification without requiring manual analysis. The cluster-based approach allows the system to self-organize traffic patterns and automatically extract meaningful features, eliminating time-consuming manual intervention while preserving extraction accuracy through algorithmic analysis.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS10721244B2Traffic feature information extraction method, traffic feature information extraction device, and traffic feature information extraction program
Publication Date: 2020.07.21 NIPPON TELEGRAPH & TELEPHONE CORP
  • US10721244B2 patent drawing
  • US10721244B2 patent drawing
  • US10721244B2 patent drawing

AI summary

A traffic feature information extraction method including a regular expression process, a clustering process, and a feature information extraction process. The regular expression process extracts an item set in advance from a traffic log and represents a partial character string included in the item in a regular expression based on a predetermined rule. The clustering process clusters an entry of the traffic log represented in the regular expression. The feature information extraction process extracts, as traffic feature information of each of clusters, an entry having a minimum total sum of distances among entries included in the clustered traffic logs.