Palo Alto Research Center Inc.

Xerox Corporation

Hamed Soroush

Shantanu Rane

Marc E Mosko

Alejandro Enrique Brito

Milad Asgari Mehrabadi

Massimiliano Albanese

One embodiment provides a system which facilitates reasoning about classifiers. During operation, the system determines a plurality of neural networks. The system derives, from a respective neural network, a linear model, wherein the linear model is constructed based on an output of a penultimate layer of the respective neural network. The system trains the linear model based on activations of the penultimate layer. The system maps parameters of the trained linear model into a version space.

System and method for reasoning about the diversity and robustness of an ensemble of classifiers

Embodiments provide a system and method for constructing a graph-based model for optimizing the security posture of a composed system. During operation, the system constructs a multi-layer graph for a system with a plurality of components, wherein the multi-layer graph comprises a configuration subgraph, a vulnerability subgraph, and a dependency subgraph. The system constructs the multi-layer graph by the following. The system generates nodes in the configuration subgraph, including: nodes in a first class which encode information associated with a configuration parameter for a respective component, wherein the encoded information includes a name, a default value, a range of values, and a data type; and nodes in a second class which encode value assignments for configuration parameters and relationships between configuration parameters. The system generates nodes in the vulnerability subgraph based on known vulnerabilities associated with a component, bad security practices, and best security practices.

System and method for constructing a graph-based model for optimizing the security posture of a composed internet of things system

Embodiments provide a system and method for extracting configuration-related information for reasoning about the security and functionality of a composed system. During operation, the system determines, by a computing device, information sources associated with hardware and software components of a system, wherein the information sources include at least specification sheets, standard operating procedures, user manuals, and vulnerability databases. The system selects a set of categories of vulnerabilities in a vulnerability database, and ingests the information sources to obtain data in a normalized format. The system extracts, from the ingested information sources, configuration information, vulnerability information, dependency information, and functionality requirements to create a model for the system. The system displays, on a screen of a user device, one or more interactive elements which allow the user to view or select the information sources and the categories of vulnerabilities, initiate ingesting the information sources, and view the extracted configuration information.

System and method for extracting configuration-related information for reasoning about the security and functionality of a composed internet of things system

Embodiments provide a system and method for reasoning about the optimality of a configuration parameter of a distributed system. During operation, the system obtains a multi-layer graph for a system with a plurality of components, wherein the multi-layer graph comprises a configuration subgraph, a vulnerability subgraph, and a dependency subgraph. The system determines, based on the multi-layer graph, constraint relationships associated with configuration parameters for the components, wherein the constraint relationships include security constraints and functionality constraints. The system computes an unsatisfiable core which comprises a set of mutually incompatible constraints. The system resolves, based on a strategy and over multiple iterations, the unsatisfiable core by analyzing one pair of mutually incompatible constraints per a respective iteration, to obtain a new unsatisfiable core which comprises a smaller number of mutually incompatible constraints than the computed unsatisfiable core or a previously computed unsatisfiable core from a most recent iteration.

System and method for reasoning about the optimality of a configuration parameter of a distributed system

The system generates evidence of a recommended configuration for a distributed system based on a plurality of configuration parameters. The system displays, on a screen of a user device, the evidence, which includes a list of configuration parameters, including a name, a current value, and a recommended value for a respective configuration parameter. The recommended value is obtained based on a strategy for optimizing security, functionality, or both. The system further displays interactive elements which allow the user to: view a resolution of a pair of mutually incompatible constraints resulting in the recommended value for the respective configuration parameter, wherein the resolution includes a name of the configuration parameter removed from the list and a reason for the removal; and view information associated with each of the pair of mutually incompatible constraints, wherein the information includes a name, a goal, a security impact, and a description of the constraint.

System and method for generating evidence for the superiority of a distributed system configuration

One embodiment provides a method for facilitating security in a system of networked components. During operation, the system constructs a configuration graph that stores a first set of relationships between configuration parameters within a component and a second set of relationships between configuration parameters across different components. A relationship corresponds to a constraint and is indicated by one or more of: a range for a configuration parameter; and a conjunction or a disjunction of logical relationships between two or more configuration parameters. The system generates a set of candidate configuration parameter values that satisfy the constraints of the relationships in the configuration graph. The system selects, from the set of candidate configuration parameter values, a first set of configuration parameter values that optimizes a security objective function.

Method for improving the security of a networked system by adjusting the configuration parameters of the system components

A network is organized into a plurality of broadcast domains. Each broadcast domain includes a plurality of nodes each configured to cause messages to be sent to two or more other of the nodes within the broadcast domain. The broadcast domains are coupled via bridging connections. Each bridging connection couples at least one of the nodes from a first of the broadcast domains to at least one of the nodes of a second of the broadcast domains. The messages are caused to be sent through the plurality of broadcast domains via a subset of the bridging connections. The subset of the bridging connections is selected non-deterministically via the plurality of broadcast domains.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Hamed Soroush