Introducing ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition: The Ultimate Insider Protection

We can all agree that 2020 was a year like none other. Global companies shifted their employees to largely remote work almost overnight. In the early stages, we focused on helping our customers ensure that VPN connections were secure and that new cloud instances were configured correctly, but as time wore on, we observed another area in which we could help.

That's why we're pleased to announce ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition™. Reveal(x) Home Edition applies the advanced behavioral analytics and machine learning of our cybersecurity detections to patterns of activity within the home. We're not a home perimeter security system. Instead, Reveal(x) Home Edition is designed to protect you from the threats that lurk inside your four walls—the unpredictable moments that might derail your critical video business meeting or force you to inadvertently utter an expletive in the presence of a young child.

ExtraHop Reveal(x) sensors can be deployed around the home or configured to work with common smart home devices like Google Home and Amazon Alexa. Sensors learn the normal patterns of activity in the home environment and alert on potentially disruptive behaviors to help avert a crisis and maintain household equilibrium and harmony.

Like Reveal(x) 360, Reveal(x) Home Edition is SaaS-based and requires no configuration or management overhead. Reveal(x) Home Edition users can also opt to share anonymized data from their sensors to help train machine learning models for more advanced detections. This anonymized data can also be used to track and report on common household patterns to help reassure families that these things are common and you did indeed deserve that glass of wine.

"ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition represents months of intensive research and development to understand the types of advanced threat activity that disrupt the balance of life at home," said Ted Driggs, Head of Product Management at ExtraHop. "We're the first and only security company to extend our advanced machine learning outside of the enterprise context, helping rein in the chaos and maintain a sense of serenity around the house, even as we continue to spend more time at home."

Advanced Threats Detected by Reveal(x) Home Edition

Denial of Service Attacks

ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition will automatically fire an alert when one or both parents are nearing the capacity for the number of requests they can simultaneously fulfill. The detection can be configured to fire alerts earlier during the meal-prep period, or at times when parental response capacity is otherwise compromised, helping to avert a full-system shut down.

While denial of service attacks don't always appear coordinated, request activity for things like snacks, assistance in finding lost homework, or in putting a bandaid on an imaginary-but-still-dire wound can feed on itself, and may culminate in a complete denial of service (and a time out).

Malicious Port Scanning

Also known colloquially as parent venue shopping, this detection helps prevent mixed messages and inconsistent discipline. Reveal(x) Home Edition detects instances of the same request being made to two adults in the household within certain time bands.

The detection will also work if requests are made to adults over the phone. A second alert will fire if a secondary request elicits a different response, alerting parents to post-compromise inconsistency.

Cryptojacking

A common threat well known to remote employees with partners or teenage children in the home, cryptojacking attacks co-opt precious bandwidth resources needed for optimal virtual meeting functionality.

While these attacks don't always siphon critical bandwidth for nefarious purposes, Reveal(x) Home Edition automatically detects spikes in bandwidth usage during peak business hours and alerts on any activity that falls outside the scope of expected use. For example, bandwidth directed to things like streaming services, TikTok, and online gaming will be flagged. Advanced router integrations automate redirection of bandwidth to priority activities upon detection.

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-site scripting is a sophisticated attack that exploits vulnerabilities to gain access to applications and resources by impersonating another user. Those with smart home devices or who have insecure passcodes on their mobile devices are particularly vulnerable to this exploit. In beta testing, common uses of this exploit included the stealthy addition of unsanctioned items to the Amazon cart or intentional misconfiguration of commons apps to sow chaos and frustration.

Occasionally, cross-site scripting is done without malicious intent. However, it can still result in toddlers inadvertently ordering expensive vacuum cleaners, bags of sand, or embarrassing novelty items on your phone when they are supposed to be quietly playing a game while you try to send a really quick email (we believe you, it was quick). Reveal(x) Home Edition monitors these devices carefully to identify abnormal shopping activities and other deviations in app configuration or usage to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Advanced Intrusion Detection

In the remote work era, home office intrusions have become terrifyingly common, with numerous examples of workers being interrupted by dancing toddlers, snacking teens, and all manner of wrestling siblings. ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition is also adept at protecting the sanctity of the home office.

Unlike rules- and signature-based detections—which rely on time stamps like the end of the virtual school day, 30 minutes before any meal time, or five minutes after you should have put your toddler down for nap—Reveal(x) Home Edition extends behavioral and AI detections to the office edge, protecting against unexpected intrusion.

Reveal(x) Home Edition analyses behavioral patterns to provide early warnings against malicious sword-fighting intrusions, unexpected on-camera appearances by under-dressed housemates, and awkward moments for which your teenager will never forgive you.

Household Forensics

In addition to providing real-time detection, ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition also provides the forensic evidence needed to investigate any incident. From determining the culprit behind basic indignities—such as who left the toilet seat up, the cabinet door open, or failed to replace the toilet paper roll—to investigating more complex attack scenarios such as who actually started it, Reveal(x) Home Edition gets to the bottom of the most complex home incidents.

Line-Rate Decryption

ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition also provides line-rate decryption of pre-teen and teenage lingo so that you can rapidly decipher trouble in the making. The solution alerts on all the latest text acronyms, TikTok phrases, and memes to keep you one step ahead of your teen, helping ensure a safe delivery to good grades and a college education.

Response Integrations

ExtraHop Reveal(x) Home Edition has an Open API to enable seamless response integrations with household appliances and other devices. Key response integration functions include:

• Fire an alert to brew a pot of coffee when your toddler wakes at 4am and asks for breakfast.
• Automatically reprioritize wifi bandwidth on your router when your teenager's TikTok streaming is compromising Zoom video quality.
• Turn on the refrigerator's "Wine Bottle Chill" function when sensors indicate mental capacity overload.
• Trigger "high filter" mode across household air purifiers upon detection of gastric event.
• Automate pantry door lock when repeated intrusions trigger "snack attack" alert.