Universal Reference Hierarchical Description for Hardware Attestation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional approaches to network security lack a comprehensive and consistent method to describe hardware and software configurations, making it difficult to perform thorough attestation and digital forensics tasks, especially in identifying vulnerabilities and security threats.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of universal references that provide a hierarchical description of computing entities, allowing for the exhaustive listing of components and sub-components, enabling policy enforcement, attestation, and forensics tasks by representing software and hardware components using a Merkle tree-like structure and storing relationships in a trusted repository.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional approaches are used to describe hardware and software configurations, then the system is simpler to implement, but the ability to perform thorough attestation and digital forensics tasks is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The configuration description is segmented into hierarchical levels (system level, component level, sub-component level) where each level describes specific aspects of the computing entity. This segmentation allows thorough attestation and forensics capabilities while maintaining manageable complexity through structured organization of configuration data.
Solution Approach 2:
A universal reference system is implemented that can describe any hardware or software configuration using a common framework of levels and components. This universal approach enables consistent attestation and forensics across diverse systems without requiring system-specific complex descriptions.
2Loss of information
If detailed hierarchical descriptions of computing entities are created, then complete inventory and vulnerability identification is achieved, but the data structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The configuration information is segmented into discrete levels (system, component, sub-component) with each level containing specific information about that tier. This segmentation ensures complete information capture while organizing data in a structured manner that reduces overall complexity through clear hierarchical boundaries.
Solution Approach 2:
A hierarchical dimension is added to the configuration description, organizing information across multiple levels rather than a flat structure. This dimensional organization allows complete inventory information to be captured while managing complexity through the hierarchical framework that naturally groups related data.
3Adaptability or versatility
If universal references are implemented for all components, then consistent identification and comparison of security threats is improved, but the implementation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A universal reference system is implemented where each component at each hierarchical level is identified by a reference that can be used consistently across different computing entities. This universality enables consistent identification and comparison of security threats while the modular reference structure keeps implementation complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The universal reference system uses standardized reference patterns and structures that can be copied and applied across different components and levels. This copying approach maintains consistency in threat identification while reducing implementation complexity through reuse of established reference formats.
Data Source
AI summary
A method, computer system, and computer program product are provided for performing policy enforcement, attestation, and network forensics. A universal reference for a computing entity is obtained, wherein the universal reference identifies one or more components of the computing entity by additional universal references assigned to the one or more components. A hierarchical description of the computing entity is determined by enumerating each additional universal reference of the one or more components and additional sub-components, wherein the hierarchical description exhaustively identifies the components and sub-components of the computing entity. The hierarchical description is analyzed by accessing a database to identify mappings of the one or more additional universal references to the one or more components and sub-components. The one or more components and sub-components identified by the analyzing are assessed to perform one or more of: an inventory task, a policy enforcement task, an attestation task, and a forensics task.