Methods and apparatus providing automatic signature generation and enforcement

• US 9,148,442 B2
• Filed: 08/12/2014
• Issued: 09/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zawadowskiy, Andrew, Kraemer, Jeffrey A, Gladstone, Philip J. S
• Primary Examiner(s): LEE, JASON T
• Application Number:
  US14/458,096
• Publication Number:
  US 20140351942A1
• Time in Patent Office: 413 Days
• Field of Search: 726/13, 726/14, 726/25
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: H04L 63/14 for detecting or protecting against malicious traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1433 Vulnerability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

A system inserts at least one notifying identifier in the computer system. The at least one notifying identifier provides execution information associated with the computer system. The system receives execution information from the at least one notifying identifier, the execution information identifies details associated with a traffic flow on the computer system. The system then generates a signature based on a deterministic link provided by the execution information provided by the at least one notifying identifier. The signature is utilized to prevent further damage caused to the computer system by at least one attack.

Claims

1. A method of providing computer security on a computer system, the method comprising:

receiving execution information associated with at least one computer system, the execution information identifying details associated with a traffic flow on the at least one computer system, the traffic flow comprising a plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system;

identifying a set of one or more sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system;

generating a signature based on the set of one or more sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system, the signature utilized to prevent further damage caused to the at least one computer system by at least one attack.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

utilizing at least one notifying identifier to filter data processing on the at least one computer system.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

controlling a behavior of at least one application on the at least one computer system by insertion of at least one notifying identifier in the computer system.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving execution information from the at least one computer system, the execution information identifying details associated with a traffic flow on the at least one computer system comprises:

receiving notification that at least one attack has occurred on the at least one computer system; and

receiving execution information associated with the at least one attack that occurred on the at least one computer system;

mapping the execution information associated with the at least one attack to at least one data entry point on the at least one computer system; and

identifying that the at least one attack is specific to that at least one data entry point on the computer system.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

refining the signature by identifying common sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a probability to each sub-string in the set of one or more sub-strings;

and associating the probability to a likelihood that a data payload associated with each sub-string in the set of one or more sub-strings is one of the group consisting of a good data payload and a bad data payload.

7. The method of claim 1 comprising:

receiving a particular data payload on a computer system;

comparing the particular data payload to the signature; and

denying the particular data payload access to the computer system based on the comparison of the data payload to the signature.

8. A computerized device comprising:

a memory;

a hardware processor;

a communications interface;

an interconnection mechanism coupling the memory, the hardware processor and the communications interface;

wherein the memory is encoded with a signature generating application that when executed on the hardware processor is capable of providing computer security on the computerized device by performing the operations of;

receiving execution information associated with at least one computer system, the execution information identifying details associated with a traffic flow on the at least one computer system, the traffic flow comprising a plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system;

identifying a set of one or more sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system;

generating a signature based on the set of one or more sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system, the signature utilized to prevent further damage caused to the at least one computer system by at least one attack.

9. The computerized device of claim 8 wherein the signature generating application, when executed on the hardware processor, performs the operation of:

utilizing at least one notifying identifier to filter data processing on the computer system.

10. The computerized device of claim 8 wherein the signature generating application, when executed on the hardware processor, performs the operation of:

refining the signature by identifying common sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads.

11. The computerized device of claim 8 wherein the signature generating application, when executed on the hardware processor, performs operations of:

assigning a probability to each sub-string in the set of one or more sub-strings; and

associating the probability to a likelihood that a data payload associated with each sub-string in the set of one or more sub-strings is one of the group consisting of a good data payload and a bad data payload.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with computer programming logic that when executed on a process in a computerized device provides computer security, the medium comprising:

instructions for execution information associated with at least one computer system, the execution information identifying details associated with a traffic flow on the at least one computer system, the traffic flow comprising a plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system;

instructions for identifying a set of one or more sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system; and

instructions for generating a signature based on the set of one or more sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads on the at least one computer system, the signature utilized to prevent further damage caused to the at least one computer system by at least one attack.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, the medium further comprising:

instructions for utilizing at least one notifying identifier to filter data processing on the at least one computer system.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 the medium further comprising:

instructions for controlling a behavior of at least one application on the at least one computer system by insertion of at least one notifying identifier in the computer system.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein instructions for receiving execution information from the at least one computer system, the execution information identifying details associated with a traffic flow on the at least one computer system comprise instructions for:

receiving notification that at least one attack has occurred on the at least one computer system; and

receiving execution information associated with the at least one attack that occurred on the at least one computer system;

mapping the execution information associated with the at least one attack to at least one data entry point on the at least one computer system; and

identifying that the at least one attack is specific to that at least one data entry point on the computer system.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising:

instructions for refining the signature by identifying common sub-strings from the plurality of data payloads.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, further comprising:

instructions for assigning a probability to each sub-string in the set of one or more; and

instructions for associating the probability to a likelihood that a data payload associated with each sub-string in the set of one or more sub-strings is one of the group consisting of a good data payload and a bad data payload.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 comprising:

instructions for receiving a particular data payload on a computer system;

instructions for comparing the particular data payload to the signature; and

instructions for denying the particular data payload access to the computer system based on the comparison of the data payload to the signature.