Apparatus and method for detecting illegitimate change of web resources

• US 20030145197A1
• Filed: 10/22/2002
• Published: 07/31/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Moon, Ki Young, Lee, Jae Seung, Park, Chee Hang
• Granted Patent: US 7,293,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/155
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/64 Protecting data integrity, e.g. using checksums, certificates or signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/12 Applying verification of the received information cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for data integrity or data verification H04L9/32

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus and method for detecting an illegitimate change of web resources, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for detecting an illegitimate change of web resources, which is capable of detecting whether or not HTML, XHTML and XML documents, general text documents, binary data of graphic files linked to HTML document and the like are illegitimately changed using XML digital signature and XML encryption when inquiring corresponding web page. It is characteristic of the present invention to confirm in real time whether or not the web page is illegitimately changed by inserting an illegitimate change detecting information into the web page by a web server administrator and executing corresponding web page through a web browser by a user. Meanwhile, the illegitimate change detecting process can be simultaneously applied to the graphic files used at the web page and the linked external files existing in an independent type, as well as the text information of the web page, thereby effectively protecting web resources. Further, specific resources are encrypted and only a specific operator who has a decryption key for decrypting the encrypted resources can inquire the resources, thereby additionally providing confidentiality.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting illegitimate change of web resources comprising:

a web resource protection processing sub-system for generating and inserting illegitimate change detecting information into corresponding a web resource, the illegitimate change detecting information being used to detect whether or not the web resource is changed illegitimately; and

a web resource change detecting sub-system for judging whether or not the corresponding web resource is illegitimately changed, based on the illegitimate change detecting information contained in the web resource when the web resource is executed by a communication network.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the web resource protection processing sub-system comprises:

a user interface unit for selecting a target to which the illegitimate change detecting process is to be performed through an interface with a web resource protection processing sub-system administrator;

an encryption library unit having various encryption algorithms stored therein, for providing corresponding encryption algorithm in response to an external request;

a ciphertext generating unit for generating an XML-type ciphertext of a predetermined resource, based on a predetermined encryption algorithm stored in the encryption library unit;

a digital signature generating unit for generating XML digital signatures of a predetermined document and a predetermined related web resource, based on a predetermined encryption algorithm stored in the encryption library unit;

a web resource analyzing/processing unit for examining documents and resources to which the illegitimate change detecting process is to be performed and resources to which an encryption process is to be performed, through a data exchange with the user interface unit;

for providing information about the documents and the resources, to which the illegitimate change detecting process is to be performed, to the digital signature generating unit;

for providing information on the resources to which the encryption is to be processed to the ciphertext generating unit; and

for receiving the processing results from the digital signature generating unit and the ciphertext generating unit and inserting the illegitimate change detecting information into the corresponding documents and resources, the illegitimate change detecting information being constituted with an XML digital signature; and

an illegitimate change detection file generating unit for detecting a damage of the illegitimate change detecting information and that of the link to the illegitimate change detecting information of the corresponding document.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the ciphertext generating unit performs an encryption of an entire document or a portion of the document by the user'"'"'s selection, if a to-be-signed target is an XML document.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the digital signature generating unit generates a digital signature of a plurality of various resources in a type of one XML document and performs a signing of an entire document or a portion of the document by the user'"'"'s selection, if a to-be-signed target is an XML document, the plurality of various resources including XML, HTML, XHTML, text, and binary file.

5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the web resource change detecting sub-system includes:

an illegitimate change information detecting unit for examining whether or not there is actually an illegitimate change detecting information and calling other processing unit to thereby operate a function of detecting an illegitimate change, if a user accesses a predetermined document via a communication network and then a link to a web resource illegitimate change detecting information of the accessed document is executed;

an encryption library unit having various encryption algorithms stored therein, for providing corresponding encryption algorithm in response to an external request;

a digital signature verifying unit for performing a verification of the document and linked related resources based on a predetermined encryption algorithm stored in the encryption library unit, if an illegitimate change detecting information of the corresponding document is detected by the illegitimate change information detecting unit; and

an illegitimate change information processing unit for calling the digital signature verifying unit, examining the truth of corresponding document using a processing result of the digital signature verifying unit, and providing the examination result to the user.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the web resource change detecting sub-system further comprises a decryption unit for performing an XML decryption of the encrypted resource based on a predetermined encryption algorithm and a decryption key for decrypting the encrypted resource, in case there are an encrypted resource and the decryption key, the predetermined encryption algorithm being stored in the encryption library unit, thereby providing the processing result to the user through the illegitimate change information processing unit.

7. A method for detecting an illegitimate change of web resources, the method comprising the steps of:

a) generating an illegitimate change detecting information for detecting whether or not the web resources are illegitimately changed and inserting the illegitimate change detecting information into corresponding web resource; and

b) when the corresponding web resource is executed by a communication network, judging whether or not the web resource is illegitimately changed, based on the illegitimate change detecting information contained in the corresponding web resource.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the step a) comprises the steps of:

a1) receiving web page selection information in which the illegitimate change detecting process is to be performed and related option information from a user;

a2) analyzing an external resource linked to the selected web page, and, among the external resources, selecting resources to perform an illegitimate change detecting process and an encryption process,

a3) generating an XML ciphertext of the resource selected for the encryption process at the step a2), and updating URI information of the web page that refers to the resource;

a4) generating reference elements of each of the selected resources, and generating and storing an XML digital signature containing the reference elements;

a5) generating a link to the XML digital signature document of the web page selected at the step a1) to make the XML digital signature is accessed if the link is selected to perform a verification of the corresponding document by the user; and

a6) generating a checksum file of a directory of web server so as to detect a damage of the illegitimate change detecting information and that of the information on the link to the illegitimate change detecting information of the corresponding web page, the web server including the illegitimate change detecting information and the linked resources.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step b) comprises the steps of:

b1) if the user accesses the web page via a communication network and then selects a link to the illegitimate change detecting information contained in the web page, checking whether or not there is the illegitimate change detecting information constituted with the XML digital signature at the corresponding web page;

b2) if there is the illegitimate change detecting information as a result of the step b1), analyzing the illegitimate change detecting information and verifying whether or not the XML digital signature is valid; and

b3) providing the verification result of the step b2) to the user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step b) further comprises the steps of:

b4) if the XML digital signature is valid as the verification result of the step b2), examining whether or not there is an XML ciphertext among the resources, and, if there is the XML ciphertext, checking whether or not the user has a decryption key for decrypting the corresponding ciphertext;

b5) if the user has the decryption key as a checking result of the step b4), decrypting the corresponding XML ciphertext using the key;

b6) if the process of decrypting the corresponding XML ciphertext succeeds, storing the decrypted document, and updating URI information of the prior-to-decryption XML ciphertext with that of the decrypted document; and

b7) displaying to the user a message representing the success in the decryption.

11. A computer-readable recording medium containing a plurality of computer-executable instructions for performing the method recited in claim 7.