Unified Content Scanning via Format Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communication security technologies are limited in their ability to protect against internal data leakage across various electronic communication channels, as they primarily focus on email scanning and virus checking, failing to effectively convert and scan content from different formats for restricted content across multiple communication protocols.
Innovation Solution
A unified content scanning system that includes an application awareness engine to convert electronic communications into a common format, allowing a content scanning engine to identify and block or modify restricted content, thereby facilitating broader range of electronic communication scanning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate scanning engines are used for different communication protocols, then scanning coverage across various protocols is improved, but system complexity and difficulty of implementation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal scanning engine that can scan multiple communication protocols (email, instant messaging, social networking, micro-blogging) through a single unified interface. The engine uses format conversion to transform different protocol contents into a common format, allowing one scanning engine to perform the function of multiple specialized engines, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining broad scanning coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a format conversion layer as an intermediary between the content scanning engine and various communication protocols. This intermediary converts diverse protocol-specific formats into a unified common format, enabling the scanning engine to operate uniformly across different protocols without requiring separate engines for each protocol, thus simplifying the overall system architecture.
2Measurement precision
If protocol-specific scanning engines are implemented, then scanning accuracy for each protocol is improved, but the need for multiple decoding engines increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning engine is designed with universal scanning capabilities that work across all communication protocols by converting their contents to a common format. This single multi-functional engine replaces the need for multiple protocol-specific decoding engines, maintaining scanning accuracy through format standardization while significantly reducing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the format parameter of incoming content from various protocols into a unified common format before scanning. This parameter transformation allows the scanning engine to maintain high accuracy across different protocols without requiring separate decoding logic for each protocol, thereby reducing the number of engines needed while preserving scanning precision.
3Reliability
If email scanning and virus checking are focused on, then protection against external threats is improved, but protection against internal data leakage across multiple channels is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The scanning engine is designed to be multi-functional, handling not only email scanning and virus checking but also monitoring instant messaging, social networking sites, and micro-blogging services. This universal engine maintains reliable external threat protection while extending coverage to multiple communication channels, thereby addressing internal data leakage risks across diverse platforms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges email scanning, virus checking, and social media monitoring functions into a single unified scanning system. By combining these previously separate functions into one multi-functional engine that processes all communication channels through format conversion, the system maintains strong external threat protection while simultaneously improving multi-channel coverage for internal data leakage prevention.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of unified content scanning in which content is deconstructed into base formats so as to be presented to content filters in a common format. The base formats include text, image and audio. The invention also includes a system of unified content scanning and a gateway appliance embodying the method of unified content scanning.