Directing audited data traffic to specific repositories

• US 10,397,279 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2017
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Foley, Sean C., Segal, Ury, Shan, Shidong
• Primary Examiner(s): Lwin, Maung T
• Application Number:
  US15/849,548
• Publication Number:
  US 20180139243A1
• Time in Patent Office: 615 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/14 for detecting or protecting against malicious traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1425 Traffic logging, e.g. anomaly detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

Data traffic is monitored on a network with data access elements thereof collected and compared to security rules. An audit data collection is sent to a repository responsive to data access elements matching a condition of the security rules, where security rules having the condition designate the audit data collection and repository. A tag to data traffic is applied responsive to the matching condition. Comparing of collected data access elements to the corresponding security rules having the matching condition is discontinued responsive to applying the tag. The tag indicates a repository and the data traffic includes a connection and session. An audit data collection is sent to the repository indicated by the tag for a data access responsive to the tag in the tagged data traffic. The method continues sending audit data for future data accesses in the tagged data traffic without comparing to the corresponding security rules again.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for auditing data traffic, the computer-implemented process comprising:

monitoring data traffic on a network and collecting data access elements thereof;

comparing the collected data access elements to security rules;

sending a first audit data collection to a first repository based on a first security rule of the security rules,

wherein the first security rule;

defines a first condition based on a first data access element of the collected data access elements,

defines the first audit data collection,

designates the first audit data collection as a default audit data collection for a first user, and

designates the first repository as a default repository for the first user,

wherein the first audit data collection includes a second data access element of the collected data access elements and

wherein the sending occurs in response to one or more of the collected data access elements of a data access by the first user matching the first condition in the first security rule and the sending directs the first audit data collection to the first repository responsive to the designation of the first repository in the first security rule; and

sending, for the data access by the first user, a second audit data collection to a second repository based on a second security rule of the security rules,

wherein the second security rule;

defines a second condition based on a third data access element of the collected data access elements,

defines the second audit data collection and

designates the second repository as a repository for the second audit data collection,

wherein the second audit data collection includes a fourth data access element of the collected data access elements and

wherein the sending the second audit data collection to the second repository occurs in response to one or more of the collected data access elements of the data access by the first user matching the second condition in the second security rule and the sending the second audit data collection directs the second audit data collection to the second repository responsive to the designation of the second repository in the second security rule,

wherein the third data access element is different than the fourth data access element, and

wherein the third data access element is a database table name and the fourth data access element is an IP address from which the database table is accessed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the collected data access elements for the first condition indicate a less suspicious data access than one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition and wherein the first repository has a lower audit priority than the second repository, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a less suspicious data access and is sent to a lower audit priority repository and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a more suspicious data access and is sent to a higher audit priority repository.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the collected data access elements for the first condition define a first data identity and one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition define a second data identity, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a data access matching the first data identity and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a data access matching the second data identity.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first data identity is for data having a sensitivity level and the second data identity is for data having a higher data sensitivity level, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a less sensitive data access and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a more sensitive data access.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the collected data access elements for the first condition defines an amount of data accessed and one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition defines a larger amount of data accessed, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a smaller data access and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a larger data access.

6. A system comprising:

at least one hardware computing processor; and

a computer-readable storage media connected to the at least one hardware computing processor, wherein the computer-readable storage media has stored thereon a data traffic auditing program for controlling the at least one hardware computing processor, and wherein the at least one hardware computing processor is operative with the program to execute the program to;

monitor data traffic on a network and collecting data access elements thereof;

compare the collected data access elements to security rules;

send a first audit data collection to a first repository based on a first security rule of the security rules,

wherein the first security rule;

defines a first condition based on a first data access element of the collected data access elements,

defines the first audit data collection,

designates the first audit data collection as a default audit data collection for a first user, and

designates the first repository as a default repository for the first user,

wherein the first audit data collection includes a second data access element of the collected data access elements and

wherein the sending occurs in response to one or more of the collected data access elements of a data access by the first user matching the first condition in the first security rule and the sending directs the first audit data collection to the first repository responsive to the designation of the first repository in the first security rule; and

send, for the data access by the first user, a second audit data collection to a second repository based on a second security rule of the security rules,

wherein the second security rule;

defines a second condition based on a third data access element of the collected data access elements,

defines the second audit data collection and

designates the second repository as a repository for the second audit data collection,

wherein the second audit data collection includes a fourth data access element of the collected data access elements and

wherein the sending the second audit data collection to the second repository occurs in response to one or more of the collected data access elements of the data access by the first user matching the second condition in the second security rule and the sending the second audit data collection directs the second audit data collection to the second repository responsive to the designation of the second repository in the second security rule,

wherein the third data access element is different than the fourth data access element, and

wherein the third data access element is a database table name and the fourth data access element is an IP address from which the database table is accessed.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein one or more of the collected data access elements for the first condition indicate a less suspicious data access than one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition and wherein the first repository has a lower audit priority than the second repository, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a less suspicious data access and is sent to a lower audit priority repository and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a more suspicious data access and is sent to a higher audit priority repository.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein one or more of the collected data access elements for the first condition define a first data identity and one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition define a second data identity, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a data access matching the first data identity and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a data access matching the second data identity.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first data identity is for data having a sensitivity level and the second data identity is for data having a higher data sensitivity level, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a less sensitive data access and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a more sensitive data access.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein of the collected data access element for the first condition defines an amount of data accessed and one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition defines a larger amount of data accessed, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a smaller data access and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a larger data access.

11. A non-transitory computer program product for auditing data traffic, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and

computer-readable program code embodied in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein the computer-readable program code is configured to cause at least one computing processor to;

monitor data traffic on a network and collecting data access elements thereof;

compare the collected data access elements to security rules;

send a first audit data collection to a first repository based on a first security rule of the security rules,

wherein the first security rule;

defines a first condition based on a first data access element of the collected data access elements,

defines the first audit data collection,

designates the first audit data collection as a default audit data collection for a first user, and

designates the first repository as a default repository for the first user,

wherein the first audit data collection includes a second data access element of the collected data access elements and

wherein the sending occurs in response to one or more of the collected data access elements of a data access by the first user matching the first condition in the first security rule and the sending directs the first audit data collection to the first repository responsive to the designation of the first repository in the first security rule; and

send, for the data access by the first user, a second audit data collection to a second repository based on a second security rule of the security rules,

wherein the second security rule;

defines a second condition based on a third data access element of the collected data access elements,

defines the second audit data collection and

designates the second repository as a repository for the second audit data collection,

wherein the second audit data collection includes a fourth data access element of the collected data access elements and

wherein the sending the second audit data collection to the second repository occurs in response to one or more of the collected data access elements of the data access by the first user matching the second condition in the second security rule and the sending the second audit data collection directs the second audit data collection to the second repository responsive to the designation of the second repository in the second security rule,

wherein the third data access element is different than the fourth data access element, and

wherein the third data access element is a database table name and the fourth data access element is an IP address from which the database table is accessed.

12. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 11, wherein one or more of the collected data access elements for the first condition indicate a less suspicious data access than one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition and wherein the first repository has a lower audit priority than the second repository, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a less suspicious data access and is sent to a lower audit priority repository and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a more suspicious data access and is sent to a higher audit priority repository.

13. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 11, wherein one or more of the collected data access elements for the first condition define a first data identity and one or more of the collected data access elements for the second condition define a second data identity, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a data access matching the first data identity and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a data access matching the second data identity.

14. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 13, wherein the first data identity is for data having a sensitivity level and the second data identity is for data having a higher data sensitivity level, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a less sensitive data access and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a more sensitive data access.

15. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 11, wherein one or more of the collected data access element for the first condition defines an amount of data accessed and one or more of the collected data access element for the second condition defines a larger amount of data accessed, wherein in the sending of the first audit data collection to the first repository, the first audit data collection is for a smaller data access and in the sending of the second audit data collection to the second repository, the second audit data collection is for a larger data access.