Virtualized Breach Scenario Graphs for Vulnerability Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anti-malware software is ineffective against sophisticated malware threats, as malicious users continually find ways to circumvent these protections, necessitating a new system and method for securing computing systems against vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilizes simulator nodes to emulate operations of devices, simulate malicious actions, and determine their success, configuring security systems based on these simulations, and updating breach scenarios to identify and remediate vulnerabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional anti-malware software is used to protect computing systems, then basic malware blocking is achieved, but sophisticated malware threats continue to circumvent these protections
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by simulating malicious actions in a controlled virtual environment before they can affect the actual target system. The simulator nodes execute simulated malware and attack scenarios to identify vulnerabilities and test security responses in advance, allowing the system to prepare defenses before real threats materialize.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces simulator nodes as intermediary elements between the actual target system and potential malicious actions. These simulator nodes act as mediators that replicate attack conditions and security infrastructure in a virtual layer, enabling analysis of threat responses without direct exposure to harmful operations on the production system.
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If simulator nodes are allocated to emulate device operations and simulate malicious actions, then vulnerability detection capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates copies of target system components, networks, and security infrastructure as virtual simulator nodes. These copies replicate the essential characteristics and behaviors of the original system elements, enabling vulnerability simulation and detection without requiring direct access to or modification of the actual complex production environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the complex target system into discrete simulator nodes that can be independently allocated, configured, and executed. Each simulator node represents a specific device, network segment, or security component, allowing the overall complex system to be broken down into manageable simulation units that can be orchestrated as needed.
3Reliability
If breach scenarios are simulated and analyzed to identify vulnerabilities, then security improvement is achieved, but time consumption for analysis and remediation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system maintains continuous simulation and analysis operations through automated execution of breach scenarios. The simulator nodes continuously test security responses, vulnerability conditions, and attack paths without interruption, allowing security analysis to proceed continuously rather than in periodic batches, thereby reducing overall time to identify and remediate vulnerabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where simulation results automatically feed back into vulnerability identification and remediation processes. Analysis of simulated breach outcomes provides immediate feedback on security effectiveness, enabling automated adjustment of security configurations and prioritization of remediation tasks based on actual simulation performance data.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for analyzing a computing system for potential breach points, the system comprising a memory device having executable instructions stored therein, and a processing device, in response to the executable instructions, configured to parse a breach scenario file, the breach scenario file comprising a graph including action component nodes connected by edges, determine a root node from the action component nodes, execute the root node with breach point data, generate a root node return value based on the execution of the root node, the root node return value including a modified copy of the breach point data, determine children nodes from the action component nodes connected to the root node, execute the children nodes wherein each execution of the children nodes produces children node return values for a subsequent one of the children nodes, and return a final return value from the execution of the children nodes.