Validating visitor internet-based security threats

• US 9,548,966 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Issued: 01/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CloudFlare Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CloudFlare Incorporated
• Inventors: Prince, Matthew Browning, Holloway, Lee Hahn, Pye, Ian Gerald
• Primary Examiner(s): Schwartz, Darren B
• Application Number:
  US14/503,299
• Publication Number:
  US 20150207814A1
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/95 Retrieval from the web
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/14 Tree-structured documents parsing G06F40/205; validation G06F40/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0277 Online advertisement
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/745 Reaction in network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/59 using proxies for addressing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0236 Filtering by address, protocol, port number or service, e.g. IP-address or URL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0245 Filtering by information in the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0254 Stateful filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0281 Proxies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 : using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0861 : using biometrical features, e.g. fingerprint, retina-scan cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using biological data H04L9/3231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 : Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/126 : the source of the received data
• 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 63/1458 : Denial of Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1466 : Active attacks involving interception, injection, modification, spoofing of data unit addresses, e.g. hijacking, packet injection or TCP sequence number attacks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/146 : Markers for unambiguous identification of a particular session, e.g. session cookie or URL-encoding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 : Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 : Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 : Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 : for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

A validating server receives from a client device a first request that does not include a cookie for a validating domain that resolves to the validating sever. The first request is received at the validating server as a result of a proxy server redirecting the client device to the validating domain upon a determination that a visitor belonging to the client device is a potential threat based on an IP (Internet Protocol) address assigned to the client device used for a second request to perform an action on an identified resource hosted on an origin server for an origin domain. The validating server sets a cookie for the client device, determines a set of characteristics associated with the first client device, and transmits the cookie and a block page to the client device that has been customized based on the set of characteristics, the block page indicating that the second request has been blocked.

Claims

1. A method in a proxy server for validating visitor Internet-based security threats, comprising

receiving, from a client device, a request to perform an action on an identified resource that is hosted at an origin server for a domain as a result of a DNS (Domain Name System) request for the domain resolving to the proxy server, wherein the origin server is one of a plurality of origin servers that belong to different domains that resolve to the proxy server and are owned by different entities, and wherein the proxy server and the plurality of origin servers are owned by different entities;

determining, based on an IP (Internet Protocol) address assigned to the client device and associated with the request, that a visitor belonging to the client device is a potential threat; and

causing a validating domain server to determine whether the visitor is a threat based on a cookie associated with the visitor for a validating domain, the causing including transmitting a response to the client device that includes a redirection to the validating domain that resolves to the validating domain server.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the visitor is a potential threat includes determining that the IP address assigned to the client device is included in an IP restricted list.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the response includes a script that when executed by a client network application of the client device causes a request for a resource to be generated and issued to the validating domain.

4. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a processor of a proxy server, cause said processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a client device, a request to perform an action on an identified resource that is hosted at an origin server for a domain as a result of a DNS (Domain Name System) request for the domain resolving to the proxy server, wherein the origin server is one of a plurality of origin servers that belong to different domains that resolve to the proxy server and are owned by different entities, and wherein the proxy server and the plurality of origin servers are owned by different entities;

determining, based on an IP (Internet Protocol) address assigned to the client device and associated with the request, that a visitor belonging to the client device is a potential threat; and

causing a validating domain server to determine whether the visitor is a threat based on a cookie associated with the visitor for a validating domain, the causing including transmitting a response to the client device that includes a redirection to the validating domain that resolves to the validating domain server.

5. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein determining that the visitor is a potential threat includes determining that the IP address assigned to the client device is included in an IP restricted list.

6. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 4, wherein the response includes a script that when executed by a client network application of the client device causes a request for a resource to be generated and issued to the validating domain.