SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGEMENT AND TRANSLATION OF TECHNICAL SECURITY POLICIES AND CONFIGURATIONS

• US 20100095348A1
• Filed: 10/10/2008
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Optiv Federal, Inc. (Optiv Security Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Optiv Federal, Inc. (Optiv Security Inc.)
• Inventors: Dant, Paul, Harriford, Kevin, Vandemark, Elbert, Sun, Lewis, Nason, Stephen, Foster, James C., Eye, Andrew
• Application Number:
  US12/249,543
• Publication Number:
  US 20100095348A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6236 between heterogeneous systems

Abstract

A system and method translating information of a source policy configuration into a universal data type useable with a target policy configuration. The disclosed system and method provide comprehensive and highly automated translation of security policies and configurations into a normalized format, thereby enabling management and transformation of information across various types of technologies. Normalized data format is utilized to output data into different formats or data types.

Claims

1. A method of translating information, comprising:

capturing information of a source policy configuration; and

translating the information into a universal data type useable with a target policy configuration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said capturing or said translating is executed responsive to a user request to migrate from a first security application to a second security application.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said translating is executed automatically.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source policy configuration is defined by a first vendor and the universal data type resulting from said translating is used to set a policy configuration item of a second vendor that is different from a policy item of the source policy configuration of the first vendor.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said translating comprises:

transforming the information into a set of normalized data elements;

mapping the set of normalized data elements into values for the target policy configuration; and

generating the target policy configuration based on content of the source policy configuration.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source policy configuration is used to configure at least one of an antivirus application, an antispyware application, an endpoint and system encryption application, a host-data loss prevention application, a patch management application, a vulnerability management application, data security, data tagging, browser security, compliance management, or a host firewall application installed on a system.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source policy configuration is used to implement at least one of host intrusion prevention or sensitive information control of a system.

8. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

converting the information back to a data element for the source policy configuration subsequent to said translating.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the source policy configuration is in an extensible markup language, includes registry value(s), database value(s), or configuration file(s), and said translating is executed using an adapter.

10. The method according to claim 5, comprising:

outputting data of multiple policy definition and configuration formats using said set of normalized data elements.

11. The method according to claim 1, comprising:

converting the universal data type into a policy value or configuration element of a security application specified in a migration process.

12. A system, comprising:

a user device running a security application based on original policy configuration settings;

a database having policy configuration files of security applications defined by multiple vendors;

a device having an application containing several adapters utilized to map the policy configuration files; and

a server translating the original policy configuration settings into a target policy configuration file for use by a specified one of security applications provided by a vendor among said multiple vendors.

13. The system according to claim 12, wherein at least one of said multiple vendors has a policy configuration format different from the policy configuration files of the multiple vendors.

14. The system according to claim 12, wherein the policy configuration files are used to provide a security service protecting and managing the user device or system, corresponding data, user(s), or dependencies.

15. The system according to claim 12, wherein a process of the security application running based on the original policy configuration file is integrated with a process of a security service defined by one of said security applications utilizing the target policy configuration file.

16. The system according to claim 12, wherein the original policy configuration file is specific to the security application.

17. A computer-readable medium embodying a program for causing a computer to execute operations, comprising:

retrieving a policy configuration file of a first security application;

transforming a value of the policy configuration file to a normalized field via the adapter;

creating a new policy configuration file based on the normalized field via the adapter; and

using the new policy configuration file with a second security application based on the policy configuration file of the first security application.

18. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein said translating includes manipulating and parsing content of the policy configuration file.

19. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, comprising:

converting the information back to a value for the policy configuration file subsequent to said translating.

20. The computer readable medium according to claim 17, wherein said normalized field is utilized to execute an update to the configuration of the second security application.