Integrated intrusion detection services

• US 20030145226A1
• Filed: 01/28/2002
• Published: 07/31/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trend Micro Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Overby, Linwood Hugh Jr., LiVecchi, Patrick Michael, Bruton, David Aro III, Jakubik, Patricia
• Granted Patent: US 7,076,803 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/201
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0263 Rule management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00

Abstract

Improvements in intrusion detection are disclosed by providing integrated intrusion detection services. Preferably, these services are integrated into a system or server that is the potential target of attack. Stack-based security processing is leveraged for access to cleartext data within the layers of the protocol stack. Layer-specific attacks may therefore be processed efficiently. Evaluation of incoming traffic for an intrusion is preferably performed only after an error condition of some type has been detected. This approach reduces the overhead of intrusion detection by reducing the number of packets to be inspected, and at the same time allows more efficient packet inspection through use of context-specific information that may be used to direct the inspection to particular candidate attacks. Generic attack class capability is also disclosed. Intrusion detection policy information may be used to direct the actions to be taken upon detecting an attack.

Claims

1. A method of improving intrusion detection in a computing network, comprising steps of:

providing intrusion detection processing in an operating system kernel;

providing an application program which makes use of the operating system kernel during execution;

executing the application program; and

selectively evaluating at least one incoming communication of the executing application program for an intrusion using the provided intrusion detection processing in the operating system kernel.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively evaluating step operates within error-handling logic of a protocol stack running in the operating system kernel.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of invoking a response action when the selectively evaluating step detects the intrusion.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the response action is determined by consulting intrusion detection policy information.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the step of invoking a response occurs in real time, responsive to the detected intrusion.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the intrusion detection policy information is stored in a network-accessible repository.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively evaluating step further comprises comparing the incoming communication of the executing application program to one or more attack signatures.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the attack signatures is a class signature representing a class of attacks.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively evaluating step further comprises comparing the incoming communication of the executing application program to one or more intrusion detection conditions.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the intrusion detection conditions are specified in intrusion detection rules.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein each of the intrusion detection rules further comprises one or more actions to be taken when the conditions of the rule are matched.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively evaluating step further comprises comparing current conditions to predetermined conditions which signal a potential intrusion.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively evaluating step is provided as layer-specific intrusion detection logic within a protocol stack running in the operating system kernel.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selectively evaluating step operates in an endpoint of a connection in the computing network.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the incoming communication of the executing application program is encrypted while traversing the connection.

16. A system for improving intrusion detection in a computing network, comprising:

an operating system kernel;

an application program which makes use of the operating system kernel during execution;

means for executing the application program;

means for executing a protocol stack within the operating system kernel, wherein the protocol stack is augmented to perform intrusion detection processing; and

means for selectively evaluating at least one incoming communication of the executing application program for an intrusion using the intrusion detection processing, by comparing current conditions to predetermined conditions which signal a potential intrusion.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the current conditions comprise contents of the incoming communication.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the current conditions further comprise a protocol state of the protocol stack when the incoming communication was evaluated.

19. A computer program product for improving intrusion detection in a computing network, the computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable media and comprising:

computer-readable program code means for executing an application program which makes use of an operating system kernel during execution;

computer-readable program code means for executing a protocol stack within the operating system kernel, wherein the protocol stack is augmented to perform intrusion detection processing; and

computer-readable program code means for selectively evaluating at least one incoming communication of the executing application program for an intrusion using the intrusion detection processing, by comparing current conditions to predetermined conditions which signal a potential intrusion.

20. The computer program product according to claim 19, wherein the current conditions comprise contents of the incoming communication.

21. The computer program product according to claim 20, wherein the current conditions further comprise a protocol state of the protocol stack when the incoming communication was evaluated.