Kernel-level security agent

• US 9,043,903 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2012
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Crowdstrike, Inc. (CrowdStrike Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Crowdstrike, Inc. (CrowdStrike Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Diehl, David F., Alperovitch, Dmitri, Ionescu, Ion-Alexandru, Kurtz, George Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): REVAK, CHRISTOPHER A
• Application Number:
  US13/492,672
• Publication Number:
  US 20130333040A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/56 Computer malware detection or handling, e.g. anti-virus arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/566 Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/567 using dedicated hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/568 eliminating virus, restoring damaged files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/034 Test or assess a computer or a system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0803 Configuration setting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0245 Filtering by information in the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1491 using deception as countermeasure, e.g. honeypots, honeynets, decoys or entrapment

Abstract

A kernel-level security agent is described herein. The kernel-level security agent is configured to observe events, filter the observed events using configurable filters, route the filtered events to one or more event consumers, and utilize the one or more event consumers to take action based at least on one of the filtered events. In some implementations, the kernel-level security agent detects a first action associated with malicious code, gathers data about the malicious code, and in response to detecting subsequent action(s) of the malicious code, performs a preventative action. The kernel-level security agent may also deceive an adversary associated with malicious code. Further, the kernel-level security agent may utilize a model representing chains of execution activities and may take action based on those chains of execution activities.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a kernel-level security agent configured to be executed by the one or more processors to observe events, filter the observed events using configurable filters, route the filtered events to one or more kernel-mode event consumers, and utilize the one or more kernel-mode event consumers to take action based at least on one of the filtered events,

wherein the kernel-level security agent comprises a communications module implemented at the kernel-level and configured to communicate with one or more remote systems.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent include a collector component configured to observe kernel-level or user-level events and to provide at least a subset of the observed events to the configurable filters.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent comprises a model to track attributes or behaviors of one or more objects or processes of the system, and the kernel-level security agent is further configured to update the model based at least in part on the filtered events.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein one or both of the configurable filters or kernel-mode event consumers is configured to query the model.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the action is informing a remote security system of the filtered events.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the kernel-level security agent receives, in response, at least one of instructions for performing a further action or a configuration update.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent receives one or more events, configuration updates, or instructions for performing actions from a remote security system independently of communications from the kernel-level security agent to the remote security system.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more kernel-mode event consumers include at least one correlator that notes the fact of the occurrence of the filtered events and, based at least in part on an association between the occurrence of the filtered events and at least one of a threshold, a set, a sequence, a Markov chain, or a finite state machine, takes the action.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more kernel-mode event consumers are to produce a new filterable event in response to receiving one or more of the filtered events.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more kernel-mode event consumers include at least one actor configured to perform at least one of:

gathering forensic data associated with an event,

storing the forensic data in a model,

informing a remote security system of the filtered events, or

taking an action to halt or deceive a process associated with one or more of the filtered events.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent updates, replaces or removes one or more components of the kernel-level security agent while the kernel-level security agent continues to operate.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein an existing component of the kernel-level security agent designated to be replaced or removed continues to operate during an update of the kernel-level security agent.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent includes a configurable routing component to route the filtered events.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent comprises a scheduler to schedule asynchronous events for processing by the one or more kernel-mode event consumers.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent performs at least one of:

observing events associated with multiple processes or threads in parallel,

filtering the multiple observed events in parallel,

routing the multiple filtered events in parallel, or

utilizing multiple kernel-mode event consumers in parallel.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent utilizes the one or more kernel-mode event consumers to take action in response to a second event associated with a malicious code of the system, the second event occurring after observation of a first event by the kernel-level security agent.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent includes at least one of:

a configuration manager to receive the configuration updates from a remote security system;

a component manager to load or unload a new component based on the configuration update;

a state manager to persist state information between old and new components;

a storage manager to interface with storage of the system on behalf of the kernel-level security agent, or

an integrity manager to observe, filter, and route events during an update of core components and managers of the kernel-level security agent.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent comprises a hypervisor, one or more pre-boot components that leverages hardware-provided security features, or one or more pre-boot components that does not leverage hardware-provided security features.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent comprises at least one collector to observe events in a user mode of the system and at least one configurable filter to filter events in the user mode of the system.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the kernel-level security agent is a secure operating system that launches prior to a system operating system.

21. A computer-implemented method comprising:

observing, by a kernel-level security agent, events on a computing device;

filtering, by the kernel-level security agent, the observed events using configurable filters;

routing, by the kernel-level security agent, the filtered events to one or more kernel-mode event consumers of the kernel-level security agent; and

taking action, by the kernel-level security agent, based at least on one of the filtered events, wherein taking the action includes communicating, by a communications module of the kernel-level security agent, with one or more remote systems, the communications module being implemented at the kernel-level.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising tracking attributes or behaviors of one or more objects or processes of the system in a model of the kernel-level security agent and updating the model based at least in part on the filtered events.

23. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the communicating comprises informing a remote security system of the filtered events.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 23, further comprising receiving, in response to the informing, at least one of instructions for performing a further action or a configuration update.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein taking the action comprises taking the action by one or more kernel-mode event consumers of the kernel-level security agent, and the one or more kernel-mode event consumers include at least one correlator that notes the fact of the occurrence of the filtered events and, based at least in part on an association between the occurrence of the filtered events and at least one of a threshold, a set, a sequence, a Markov chain, or a finite state machine, takes the action.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising producing, by one or more kernel-mode event consumers of the kernel-level security agent, a new filterable event in response to receiving one or more of the filtered events.

27. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein taking the action comprises taking the action by one or more kernel-mode event consumers of the kernel-level security agent, and the one or more kernel-mode event consumers include at least one actor configured to perform at least one of:

gathering forensic data associated with an event,

storing the forensic data in a model,

informing a remote security system of the filtered events, or

taking an action to halt or deceive a process associated with one or more of the filtered events.

28. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising updating, replacing or removing one or more components of the kernel-level security agent while the kernel-level security agent continues to operate.

29. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising:

observing events associated with multiple processes or threads in parallel,

filtering the multiple observed events in parallel,

routing the multiple filtered events in parallel, or

utilizing multiple kernel-mode event consumers in parallel.

30. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions for a kernel-level security agent stored thereon and configured to program a computing device to perform, at the kernel level, operations comprising:

observing events on a computing device;

filtering the observed events using configurable filters; and

taking a security response action based at least on one of the filtered events,

wherein the kernel-level security agent comprises a communications module implemented at the kernel-level and configured to communicate with one or more remote systems.

31. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 30, wherein taking the security response action comprises informing a remote security system of the filtered events.

32. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 30, wherein the security response action is one of:

gathering forensic data associated with an event,

storing the forensic data in a model,

informing a remote security system of the filtered events, or

taking an action to halt or deceive a process associated with one or more of the filtered events.