In-Guest Agent for Granular VM File Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for restricting network connections to and from virtual machines (VMs) enforced outside the VM lack the necessary granularity of security policy enforcement, making them inadequate for certain applications, as they can be modified by users or malicious processes, and do not provide sufficient security.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a thin agent within the VM that intercepts and monitors network, file, and system events, communicating with a security virtual machine (SVM) to enforce security policies externally, allowing or denying events based on predefined rules, thereby preventing unauthorized access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If security policies are enforced within the VM itself, then the VM has access to connection information needed for appropriate security decisions, but the security policy becomes vulnerable to modification by users or malicious processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a security agent as an intermediary component that runs within the VM but is protected from user modification. This agent acts as a trusted mediator between the VM's connection requests and the security policy enforcement mechanism, allowing the VM to provide connection information while preventing direct user access to or modification of security policies.
Solution Approach 2:
The security policy enforcement functionality is extracted from the standard VM environment and placed into a protected security agent context. This separation allows the VM to maintain access to connection information while the actual security decision-making is performed in a protected environment that cannot be easily modified by users or malicious processes.
2Reliability
If security policies are enforced outside the VM by a central controller or security VM, then the security policy is protected from user modification, but the granularity of security policy enforcement is insufficient for certain applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by deploying security agents within individual VMs, allowing each VM to have customized security policies tailored to its specific applications and data sensitivity requirements. Each security agent operates autonomously within its host VM, enabling fine-grained, application-specific security enforcement while maintaining the protective benefits of external policy management.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized security enforcement model is segmented into distributed security agents deployed across multiple VMs. This segmentation allows each agent to enforce security policies locally with high granularity while still being part of a broader security framework, enabling both protected policy integrity and application-specific customization.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a thin agent is implemented within the VM to intercept and monitor events, then granular security policy enforcement is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The security agent is designed as a lightweight, minimal-footprint component that can be deployed within VMs without significantly impacting system performance or complexity. The agent focuses on specific security monitoring functions rather than attempting to provide comprehensive system management, reducing the complexity burden while maintaining granular security enforcement capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
Certain embodiments described herein are generally directed to systems and methods for preventing access to files on a virtual machine. One example method involves receiving network information associated with a network connection opened at the virtual machine and determining a process that opened the network connection. The method further involves receiving information indicative of a file access event attempted at the virtual machine and determining the process that opened the network connection initiated the file access event. The method further involves transmitting information indicative of the file access event and the network connection to a security virtual machine and receiving an enforcement decision for the file access event from the security virtual machine based on the information indicative of the file access event and the network connection. The method further involves applying the enforcement decision to either allow or prevent the file access event by the process.