RefinementEngine: Automating Intent-to-Device Filtering Policy Deployment under Network Constraints

TL;DR

RefinementEngine automates converting high-level security intents into deployable network configurations, considering topology, device capabilities, and threat reports, reducing manual effort and errors.

Contribution

The paper introduces RefinementEngine, a system that automates intent refinement into deployment-ready configurations using network topology and threat intelligence.

Findings

Successfully applied to real-world packet and web filtering policies.

Demonstrated correctness and practical applicability.

Adaptable to new threat data and network changes.

Abstract

Translating security intent into deployable network enforcement rules and maintaining their effectiveness despite evolving cyber threats remains a largely manual process in most Security Operations Centers (SOCs). In large and heterogeneous networks, this challenge is complicated by topology-dependent reachability constraints and device-specific security control capabilities, making the process slow, error-prone, and a recurring source of misconfigurations. This paper presents RefinementEngine, an engine that automates the refinement of high-level security intents into low-level, deployment-ready configurations. Given a network topology, devices, and available security controls, along with high-level intents and Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) reports, RefinementEngine automatically generates settings that implement the desired intent, counter reported threats, and can be directly deployed on target security controls. The proposed approach is validated through real-world use cases on packet and web filtering policies derived from actual CTI reports, demonstrating both correctness, practical applicability, and adaptability to new data.