Runtime risk detection based on user, application, and system action sequence correlation

• US 8,850,517 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2013
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taasera Licensing LLC (Quest Patent Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Taasera, Inc. (Full Circle Investments, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kumar, Srinivas
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Haresh N
• Application Number:
  US13/741,878
• Publication Number:
  US 20140201806A1
• Time in Patent Office: 623 Days
• Field of Search: 726 1- 10, 709/223
• US Class Current: 726/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/566 Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/577 Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

A method for assessing runtime risk for an application or device includes: storing, in a rules database, a plurality of rules, wherein each rule identifies an action sequence; storing, in a policy database, a plurality of assessment policies, wherein each assessment policy includes at least one rule of the plurality of rules; identifying, using at least one assessment policy, a runtime risk for an application or device, wherein the identified runtime risk identifies and predicts a specific type of threat; and identifying, by a processing device, a behavior score for the application or device based on the identified runtime risk, wherein the action sequence is a sequence of at least two performed actions, and each performed action is at least one of: a user action, an application action, and a system action.

Claims

1. A method for assessing runtime risk for an application program that executes on a device, comprising:

storing, in a rules database, a plurality of rules, wherein each rule identifies an action sequence;

storing, in a policy database, a plurality of assessment policies, wherein each assessment policy includes at least one rule of the plurality of rules;

identifying, using at least one assessment policy, a runtime risk for an application program that executes on a device, wherein the identified runtime risk indicates a risk or threat of the identified action sequence of the application; and

identifying, by a runtime monitor including a processing device, a behavior score for the application program that executes on the device based on the identified runtime risk, wherein

the action sequence is a sequence of at least two performed actions, and

each performed action is at least one of;

a user action, an application action, and a system action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user action is any form of explicit input from a user of a computing system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application action is any activity performed by the application initiated programmatically by a task in execution of a computing system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the system action is any operation performed by a computing system on behalf of, or as a consequence of, a user action or application action that changes the state of the computing system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a first action of the at least two performed actions is performed at a first time, and the second action of the at least two performed actions is performed at a second time.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein

the first action is a user action,

the second action is a system action, and

the second time occurs after the first time.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein

the first action is a user action,

the second action is an application action, and

the second time occurs after the first time.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein

the first action is an application action,

the second action is a system action, and

the second time occurs after the first time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein

the action sequence includes three performed actions,

a first action of the three performed actions is a user action,

a second action of the three performed actions is an application action,

a third action of the three performed actions is a system action,

the second action is performed temporally after the first action, and

the third action is performed temporally after the second action.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the runtime risk is identified based on matching rules and probabilistic weights and scores of performed actions on the device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the runtime risk is identified based on time proximity of the at least two performed actions of the action sequence and natural affinity inferred between the at least two performed actions.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assessing, by the processing device, that the at least two performed actions of the action sequence describe a forensic chain of events based on a plurality of factors,

wherein the plurality of factors includes at least one of;

ordered sequences, unordered sequences, proximity analysis, outliers, probabilistic weights and scores, and probable action inferences based on an application'"'"'s competency.

13. A system for assessing runtime risk for an application program that executes on a device, comprising:

a rules database storing a plurality of rules, wherein each rule identifies an action sequence;

a policy database storing a plurality of assessment policies, wherein each assessment policy includes at least one rule of the plurality of rules; and

a runtime monitor including a processing device

identifying, using at least one assessment policy, a runtime risk for an application program that executes on a device, wherein the identified runtime risk indicates a risk or threat of the identified action sequence of the application, and

identifying a behavior score for the application program that executes on the device based on the identified runtime risk, wherein

the action sequence is a sequence of at least two performed actions, and

each performed action is at least one of;

a user action, an application action, and a system action.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the user action is any form of explicit input from a user of a computing system.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the application action is any activity performed by the application initiated programmatically by a task in execution of a computing system.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the system action is any operation performed by a computing system on behalf of, or as a consequence of, a user action or application action that changes the state of the computing system.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein a first action of the at least two performed actions is performed at a first time, and the second action of the at least two performed actions is performed at a second time.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein

the first action is a user action,

the second action is a system action, and

the second time occurs after the first time.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein

the first action is a user action,

the second action is an application action, and

the second time occurs after the first time.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein

the first action is an application action,

the second action is a system action, and

the second time occurs after the first time.

21. The system of claim 13, wherein

the action sequence includes three performed actions,

a first action of the three performed actions is a user action,

a second action of the three performed actions is an application action,

a third action of the three performed actions is a system action,

the second action is performed temporally after the first action, and

the third action is performed temporally after the second action.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the runtime risk is identified based on matching rules and probabilistic weights and scores of performed actions on the device.

23. The system of claim 13, wherein the runtime risk is identified based on time proximity of the at least two performed actions of the action sequence and natural affinity inferred between the at least two performed actions.

24. The system of claim 13, wherein

the processing device assesses that the at least two performed actions of the action sequence describe a forensic chain of events based on a plurality of factors, and

the plurality of factors includes at least one of:

ordered sequences, unordered sequences, proximity analysis, outliers, probabilistic weights and scores, and probable action inferences based on an application'"'"'s competency.