Mechanism for Automatic Device Misconfiguration Detection and Alerting

• US 20080055100A1
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Original Assignee: Thomson Licensing (Vantiva SA)
• Inventors: Mathur, Saurabh, Zhang, Junbiao
• Application Number:
  US11/661,780
• Publication Number:
  US 20080055100A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/679
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/06 Management of faults, events, alarms or notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0846 based on copy from other elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0869 Validating the configuration within one network element
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 Vulnerability analysis

Abstract

There is provided a method for automatically detecting and indicating a mis-configuration condition in an electronic device having one or more factory-default settings. At least one mis-configuration rule that relates to at least one mis-configuration condition of the electronic device, is checked against at least one corresponding current configuration setting to determine whether the electronic device is mis-configured. A mis-configuration alert is provided with respect to the electronic device, when the electronic device is determined to be mis-configured in said checking step.

Claims

1. A method for automatically detecting and indicating a mis-configuration condition in an electronic device having at least one factory-default setting, the method comprising the steps of:

checking at least one mis-configuration rule relating to at least one mis-configuration condition of the electronic device, against at least one corresponding current configuration setting to determine whether the electronic device is mis-configured; and

providing a mis-configuration alert with respect to the electronic device, when the electronic device is determined to be mis-configured in said checking step.

2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of dynamically receiving the at least one mis-configuration rule from at least one of a user and an administrator.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one mis-configuration rule comprises a rule that specifies that the at least one corresponding current configuration setting must be different than at least one corresponding factory default setting.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one corresponding factory default setting relates to a disabled state of a security feature of the electronic device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step is performed at least one of:

(a) at a random time, (b) a pre-determined time, and (b) with respect to at least one pre-specified event.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said checking step is performed at least one of:

(a) automatically and (b) in response to a user query of a mis-configuration state of the electronic device.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving a query from at least one of a user and an administrator, the query relating to whether the electronic device is currently mis-configured, and wherein said checking step is performed in response to said receiving step.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said providing step provides the mis-configuration alert to at least one of a user and an administrator.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the mis-configuration alert is provided to the at least one of the user and the administrator at a remote location with respect to the electronic device using a pre-designated communication medium.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said providing step provides the mis-configuration alert at least one of visually and audibly.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said providing step provides the mis-configuration alert using an alert message.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the alert message is a Short Message Service (SMS) message.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the alert message employs a Simple Network Monitoring Protocol (SNMP) trap.

14. An apparatus for automatically detecting and indicating a mis-configuration condition in an electronic device having one or more factory-default settings, comprising:

a memory device for storing at least one mis-configuration rule, and at least one corresponding current configuration setting, the at least one mis-configuration rule relating to at least one mis-configuration condition of the electronic device;

rule checking circuitry for checking the at least one mis-configuration rule against the at least one corresponding current configuration setting to determine whether the electronic device is mis-configured; and

a mis-configuration indicator for providing a mis-configuration alert when the electronic device is determined to be mis-configured by said rule checking circuitry.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a communication device for communicating the mis-configuration alert to at least one of a user and an administrator at a remote location with respect to the electronic device.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the memory device is a non-volatile memory device.

17. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the memory device is further for storing the one or more factory-default settings.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the memory device comprises:

a default area for storing the one or more factory-default settings; and

a user area accessible by at least one of a user and an administrator for writing thereto corresponding current configuration settings.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least one mis-configuration rule and the at least one corresponding current configuration setting both relate to a security feature of the electronic device.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the security feature relates to at least one of enabling/disabling of a security function, an encryption key and a password.

21. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising an interface for receiving inputs from at least one of a user and an administrator.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the interface is further for receiving the at least one mis-configuration rule for subsequent storage in the memory device.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the at least one mis-configuration rule is capable of being set dynamically via the interface by the at least one of the user and the administrator.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the interface is further for receiving a query from at least one of a user and an administrator, the query relating to whether the electronic device is currently mis-configured, and wherein the rule checking circuitry automatically checks the at least one mis-configuration rule against the at least one corresponding current configuration setting in response to a receipt of the query by the interface.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the interface comprises a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) Interface.

26. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a communication device for providing the mis-configuration alert to at least one of a user and an administrator at a remote location with respect to the electronic device.

27. A method for automatically detecting and indicating a mis-configuration condition in an electronic device having one or more factory-default settings, the method comprising the steps of:

maintaining at least one mis-configuration rule relating to a security feature of the electronic device;

checking the at least one mis-configuration rule against at least one corresponding current configuration setting to determine whether the security feature is one of disabled and at a default setting; and

providing a mis-configuration alert with respect to the electronic device, when the security feature is determined to be one of disabled and at the default setting in said checking step.