IP Library Granted Patent US 11,228,612
Granted Patent B2
US 11,228,612 · App. 16/367,739 · Granted Jan 18, 2022

Identifying cyber adversary behavior

Inventors: Sulakshan Vajipayajula (Bengaluru, IN); Kaushal Kiran Kapadia (Alpharetta, GA); Stephen Cameron Will (Raleigh, NC); Ilgen Banu Yuceer (London, GB); Kevin Tabb (Decatur, GA)
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
H04L63/1466H04L63/0263H04L63/145H04L63/1416
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,228,612
App. No.
16/367,739
Granted
Jan 18, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Identifying cyber adversary behavior on a computer network is provided. Individual security events are received from multiple threat intelligence data sources. A security incident corresponding to an attack on at least one element of the computer network, the security incident being described by the individual security events received from the multiple threat intelligence data sources, is matched to a defined cyber adversary objective in a structured framework of a plurality of defined cyber adversary objectives and a related technique associated with the defined cyber adversary objective used by a cyber adversary in the attack. A set of mitigation actions is performed on the computer network based on matching the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique.

Claims (60)

1. A computer-implemented method for identifying cyber adversary behavior on a computer network, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving individual security events from multiple threat intelligence data sources;

matching a security incident corresponding to an attack on at least one element of the computer network, the security incident being described by the individual security events received from the multiple threat intelligence data sources, to a defined cyber adversary objective in a structured framework of a plurality of defined cyber adversary objectives and a related technique associated with the defined cyber adversary objective used by a cyber adversary in the attack;

performing a set of mitigation actions on the computer network based on the matching of the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique; and

presenting the security incident as compared to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique matched to the security incident on a security attack graph.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the matching is performed according to a set of security rules corresponding to the security incident in a plurality of security rules.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the matching is performed according to a timeline of when the individual security events were received and a cyber adversary technique corresponding to the defined cyber adversary objective.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the security attack graph includes a confidence level associated with the matching of the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique used by the cyber adversary in the attack.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a plurality of security rules that are mapped to a plurality of cyber adversary behaviors;

receiving a new custom security rule defined by a user that is mapped to a set of cyber adversary behaviors in the plurality of cyber adversary behaviors; and

adding the new custom security rule defined by the user to the plurality of security rules.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving information corresponding to the security incident occurring on a registered client data processing system;

extracting indicators of compromise from the information corresponding to the security incident;

analyzing the extracted indicators of compromise to identify related indicators of compromise corresponding to the security incident; and

retrieving cyber adversary objectives and techniques data corresponding to the extracted indicators of compromise and related indicators of compromise from a set of remote trusted third-party structured threat intelligence data sources.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 further comprising:

determining whether a malware campaign corresponds to the security incident; and

responsive to determining that a malware campaign does correspond to the security incident, retrieving exploit vulnerability data and tactics, techniques, and procedures data corresponding to the malware campaign from a set of remote unstructured threat intelligence data sources.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 further comprising:

identifying a security rule triggered by the security incident; and

retrieving cyber adversary objectives and techniques data corresponding to the security rule triggered by the security incident from a local mapping database based on a security rule to cyber adversary objective mapping.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 further comprising:

identifying details associated with the security incident based on retrieved data; and

presenting the details of the security incident in a security attack graph on a graphical user interface.

10. A computer system for identifying cyber adversary behavior on a computer network, the computer system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device stores program instructions; and

a processor connected to the bus system, wherein the processor executes the program instructions to:

receive individual security events from multiple threat intelligence data sources;

match a security incident corresponding to an attack on at least one element of the computer network, the security incident being described by the individual security events received from the multiple threat intelligence data sources, to a defined cyber adversary objective in a structured framework of a plurality of defined cyber adversary objectives and a related technique associated with the defined cyber adversary objective used by a cyber adversary in the attack;

perform a set of mitigation actions on the computer network based on matching the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique; and

present the security incident as compared to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique matched to the security incident on a security attack graph.

11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein matching is performed according to a set of security rules corresponding to the security incident in a plurality of security rules.

12. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein matching is performed according to a timeline of when the individual security events were received and a cyber adversary technique corresponding to the defined cyber adversary objective.

13. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the security attack graph includes a confidence level associated with the matching of the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique used by the cyber adversary in the attack.

14. A computer program product for identifying cyber adversary behavior on a computer network, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform a method comprising:

receiving individual security events from multiple threat intelligence data sources;

matching a security incident corresponding to an attack on at least one element of the computer network, the security incident being described by the individual security events received from the multiple threat intelligence data sources, to a defined cyber adversary objective in a structured framework of a plurality of defined cyber adversary objectives and a related technique associated with the defined cyber adversary objective used by a cyber adversary in the attack;

performing a set of mitigation actions on the computer network based on the matching of the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique; and

presenting the security incident as compared to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique matched to the security incident on a security attack graph.

15. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the matching is performed according to a set of security rules corresponding to the security incident in a plurality of security rules.

16. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the matching is performed according to a timeline of when the individual security events were received and a cyber adversary technique corresponding to the defined cyber adversary objective.

17. The computer program product of claim 14 , wherein the security attack graph includes a confidence level associated with the matching of the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique used by the cyber adversary in the attack.

18. A computer-implemented method for identifying cyber adversary behavior on a computer network, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving individual security events from multiple threat intelligence data sources;

matching a security incident corresponding to an attack on at least one element of the computer network, the security incident being described by the individual security events received from the multiple threat intelligence data sources, to a defined cyber adversary objective in a structured framework of a plurality of defined cyber adversary objectives and a related technique associated with the defined cyber adversary objective used by a cyber adversary in the attack to achieve the defined cyber adversary objective; and

performing a set of mitigation actions on the computer network based on the matching of the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique.

19. A computer system for identifying cyber adversary behavior on a computer network, the computer system comprising:

a bus system;

a storage device connected to the bus system, wherein the storage device stores program instructions; and

a processor connected to the bus system, wherein the processor executes the program instructions to:

receive individual security events from multiple threat intelligence data sources;

match a security incident corresponding to an attack on at least one element of the computer network, the security incident being described by the individual security events received from the multiple threat intelligence data sources, to a defined cyber adversary objective in a structured framework of a plurality of defined cyber adversary objectives and a related technique associated with the defined cyber adversary objective used by a cyber adversary in the attack to achieve the defined cyber adversary objective; and

perform a set of mitigation actions on the computer network based on matching the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique.

20. A computer program product for identifying cyber adversary behavior on a computer network, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a computer to cause the computer to perform a method comprising:

receiving individual security events from multiple threat intelligence data sources;

matching a security incident corresponding to an attack on at least one element of the computer network, the security incident being described by the individual security events received from the multiple threat intelligence data sources, to a defined cyber adversary objective in a structured framework of a plurality of defined cyber adversary objectives and a related technique associated with the defined cyber adversary objective used by a cyber adversary in the attack to achieve the defined cyber adversary objective; and

performing a set of mitigation actions on the computer network based on the matching of the security incident corresponding to the attack on the computer network to the defined cyber adversary objective and the related technique.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 28, 2019
From: VAJIPAYAJULA, SULAKSHAN; KAPADIA, KAUSHAL KIRAN; WILL, STEPHEN CAMERON; YUCEER, ILGEN BANU; TABB, KEVIN
To: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 048727/0305 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20200314141A1 · Oct 1, 2020
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