VPN Network Segmentation With Attested Access Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network tunneling systems face challenges in controlling external node access, maintaining security, and ensuring stability across geographically dispersed private networks, leading to increased latency, network attacks, and downtime.
Innovation Solution
Implementing network segmentation by subdividing private networks into subnetworks, using dedicated tunneling endpoints with access control servers to manage authentication and access permissions through certificates, ensuring compliance and redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If network segmentation is implemented by subdividing private networks into subnetworks with dedicated tunneling endpoints, then security is improved and exposure to network attacks is reduced, but device complexity increases due to multiple endpoints and access control servers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a private network into multiple subnetworks, each served by a dedicated tunneling endpoint. This segmentation isolates security risks to specific subnetworks, preventing attacks from propagating across the entire network. Each endpoint manages only its designated subnetwork, reducing the attack surface while maintaining overall network security.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an access control server as an intermediary that mediates authentication and authorization between VPN clients and tunneling endpoints. This intermediary handles certificate validation and access permission management, reducing the security burden on individual endpoints while maintaining centralized control over network access.
2Ease of operation
If dedicated tunneling endpoints are used for each subnetwork with access control servers, then access control and compliance are improved, but device complexity and operational overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The access control server performs multiple functions including authentication, authorization, and certificate management for all tunneling endpoints. This universal access control mechanism simplifies the architecture by consolidating complex access control logic in a single component rather than duplicating it across multiple endpoints, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining strong access control.
3Loss of time
If network segmentation with multiple regional endpoints is implemented, then latency is reduced by connecting to regional endpoints, but device complexity and infrastructure costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent assigns different tunneling endpoints to different geographic regions, allowing VPN clients to connect to the nearest regional endpoint. This localizes network traffic routing, reducing transmission distance and latency. Each endpoint is optimized for its specific region, providing low-latency access to local subnetworks while the access control server maintains centralized security management.
4Ease of operation
If centralized access control is implemented without network segmentation, then ease of operation is maintained, but security and stability are reduced due to single point of failure and increased attack exposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into isolated subnetworks, each with its own dedicated tunneling endpoint. This segmentation prevents single points of failure from affecting the entire network - if one endpoint fails, other regional endpoints continue to operate independently. The access control server maintains centralized management for ease of operation while the segmented architecture provides resilience and stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A request of a VPN client to connect to a second set of one or more networks is received by a first VPN server associated with a first set of one or more networks. The request comprises an identifier of the VPN client, an attestation of an access control server that the VPN client complies with a compliance profile required to access the second set of one or more networks, and a digital signature of the access control server. The digital signature is validated using a public key of the access control server. One or more common networks each included in both the first and second sets of networks are identified. A firewall of the first VPN server is modified to permit the VPN client to connect to the one or more common networks.