Method and system for detecting and protecting against potential data loss from unknown applications

• US 8,544,060 B1
• Filed: 01/27/2012
• Issued: 09/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CA, Inc. (d/b/a CA Technologies) (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Symantec Corporation (NortonLifeLock Inc.)
• Inventors: Khetawat, Rupesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Gergiso, Techane
• Application Number:
  US13/360,084
• Time in Patent Office: 606 Days
• Field of Search: 726/1, 713/165
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/55 Detecting local intrusion or implementing counter-measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/62 Protecting access to data via a platform, e.g. using keys or access control rules
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

A system and method for detecting and protecting against potential data loss from unknown applications is described. In one embodiment, a method includes detecting, by an endpoint data loss prevention (DLP) system running on a client computing device, that a local application has accessed a document on the client computing device. The method further includes determining that the document contains sensitive data according to one or more DLP polices of the endpoint DLP system and determining that a combination of the local application and a type of the document is not included in a whitelist of the DLP policies. Then, the method includes capturing at least one of one or more screenshots, and video of one or more operations that the application performs on the document and sending the captured at least one of the one or more screenshots, and the video to an enforcement server associated with the endpoint DLP system.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

detecting, by an endpoint data loss prevention (DLP) system running on a client computing device, that a local application has accessed a document on the client computing device;

determining that the document contains sensitive data according to one or more DLP polices of the endpoint DLP system;

determining that a combination of the local application and a type of the document is not included in a whitelist of the DLP policies;

capturing at least one of one or more screenshots, and video of one or more operations that the application performs on the document;

sending the captured at least one of the one or more screenshots, and the video to an enforcement server associated with the endpoint DLP system; and

receiving one or more updated DLP policies from the enforcement server, the one or more updated DLP policies comprising changes based on the captured at least one of the one or more screenshots or the video;

wherein the one or more updated DLP policies cause the endpoint DLP system to at least one of blacklist the combination of the application and document type, restrict access to the document, encrypt the document, or move the document to a different location.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the endpoint DLP system utilizes one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) of an operating system of the client computing device in order capture the at least one of the one or more screenshots or the video.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more screenshots are taken at periodic time intervals over a time span that the application is in use.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the enforcement server analyzes the captured data to determine if at least one of malicious or suspicious activity occurred with respect to the document on the endpoint device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the whitelist comprises one or more different application and document type pairs that have been approved by an administrator of the endpoint DLP system as being an allowable combination.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising, prior to the capturing:

presenting a notice to a user of the application that the application may be subject to screenshot or video capture that present privacy issues; and

allowing access to the document when the user acknowledges and accepts the notice.

7. An endpoint device, comprising:

a memory to store instructions for a data loss prevention (DLP) policy; and

a processing device coupled with the memory, wherein the processing device is configured to;

detect that a local application of the endpoint device has accessed a document on the client computing device;

determine that the document contains sensitive data according to the DLP policy;

determine that a combination of the local application and a type of the document is not included in a whitelist of the DLP policies;

capture at least one of one or more screenshots, and video of one or more operations that the application performs on the document;

send the captured at least one of the one or more screenshots, and the video to an enforcement server associated with the endpoint DLP system; and

receive one or more updated DLP policies from the enforcement server, the one or more updated DLP policies comprising changes based on the captured at least one of the one or more screenshots or the video;

wherein the one or more updated DLP policies cause the endpoint DLP system to at least one of blacklist the combination of the application and document type, restrict access to the document, encrypt the document, or move the document to a different location.

8. The endpoint device of claim 7, wherein the one or more screenshots are taken at periodic time intervals over a time span that the application is in use.

9. The endpoint device of claim 7, wherein the enforcement server analyzes the captured data to determine if at least one of malicious or suspicious activity occurred with respect to the document.

10. The endpoint device of claim 7, wherein the whitelist comprises one or more different application and document type pairs that have been approved by an administrator of the endpoint DLP system as being an allowable combination.

11. The endpoint device of claim 7, further comprising, prior to the capturing:

presenting a notice to a user of the application that the application may be subject to screenshot or video capture that present privacy issues; and

allowing access to the document when the user acknowledges and accepts the notice.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium including instructions that, when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform a method comprising:

receiving, by an enforcement server device of a data loss prevent (DLP) system, data representing captured at least one of one or more screenshots or video of an application manipulating a sensitive document at an endpoint DLP system of the DLP system;

analyzing, by the enforcement server device, the received captured data to determine whether at least one of suspicious or malicious activity occurred with respect to the sensitive document;

updating, by the enforcement server device, one or more DLP policies based on the results of the analysis; and

deploying, by the enforcement server device, the one or more updated DLP policies to one or more endpoint DLP systems;

wherein the one or more updated DLP policies cause the one or more endpoint DLP systems to at least one of blacklist the combination of the application and document type, restrict access to the document, encrypt the document, or move the document to a different location.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more screenshots are taken at periodic time intervals over a time span that the application is in use.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the enforcement server maintains a whitelist comprising one or more different application and document type pairs that have been approved by an administrator of the enforcement server and is part of the one or more updated DLP policies.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform further operations of the method comprising:

if, based on the analysis, operations of the application manipulating the sensitive document are not at least one of suspicious or malicious, then adding a combination of the application and a type of the sensitive document to the whitelist.