Skip to content

Security Mesh

Security Mesh

The HookProbe Security Mesh is a federated network of edge devices that collaborate to provide collective defense while preserving individual privacy.

Mesh Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ HOOKPROBE MESH │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ NEXUS │ │
│ │ ML/AI Heavy Computation · 16GB+ RAM │ │
│ │ Train models locally · Full visibility into ML decisions │ │
│ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ ▲ │
│ │ HTP │
│ ┌────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┐ │
│ ▼ ▼ ▼ │
│ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ │
│ │ FORTRESS │ │ GUARDIAN │ │ SENTINEL │ │
│ │Edge Router│ │ Travel │ │ Validator │ │
│ │ 4GB │ │ 1.5GB │ │ 256MB │ │
│ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ └───────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Node Roles

Edge Nodes (Detection)

Edge nodes are the sensors of the mesh:

TypeRAMRole
Sentinel256MBValidation, health monitoring
Guardian1.5GBL2-L7 detection, DNS protection
Fortress4GBVLAN segmentation, IDS/IPS

Edge nodes:

  • Create microblocks for security events
  • Sign with TPM/PoSF
  • Gossip to validators

Validators (Consensus)

Validators aggregate edge intelligence:

  • Collect microblocks from edge nodes
  • Create checkpoints every epoch
  • Aggregate BLS signatures
  • Byzantine fault tolerant (2/3 majority)

Compute Nodes (Intelligence)

Nexus nodes provide ML capabilities:

  • Train threat models locally
  • Coordinate federated learning
  • Aggregate regional intelligence
  • Push hardened models to edge

Data Flow

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ DATA FLOW │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ ┌─────────┐ Raw ┌─────────┐ Qsecbit ┌─────────┐ │
│ │Guardian │ ──telemetry──► │ Nexus │ ───scores───► │ Mesh │ │
│ │Fortress │ (local) │ │ (derived) │ │ │
│ │Sentinel │ │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ┌─────────┐ Hardened ┌─────────┐ Global ┌────┴────┐ │
│ │Guardian │ ◄───model──── │ Nexus │ ◄──updates── │ Mesh │ │
│ │Fortress │ (updates) │ │ (insights) │ │ │
│ │Sentinel │ │ │ │ │ │
│ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ └─────────┘ │
│ │
│ RAW DATA NEVER LEAVES THE EDGE │
│ Only derived intelligence flows up │
│ Only hardened models flow down │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Mesh Communication

HTP Protocol

All mesh communication uses the HookProbe Transport Protocol:

  • Port: UDP 8144
  • Encryption: ChaCha20-Poly1305
  • Key Binding: Session key derived from weight fingerprints
  • NAT Traversal: Heartbeat-based keep-alive

Message Types

class MessageType(Enum):
HELLO = 0x01 # Initiate connection
CHALLENGE = 0x02 # Attestation challenge
ATTEST = 0x03 # Attestation response
ACCEPT = 0x04 # Session accepted
REJECT = 0x05 # Session rejected
DATA = 0x10 # Encrypted payload
HEARTBEAT = 0x20 # NAT keep-alive
ACK = 0x21 # Acknowledgment
CLOSE = 0xFF # Close session

Collective Defense

Herd Immunity

When one node detects a threat, the entire mesh benefits:

T+00s: Mesh detects pattern hitting Nexus A, B, C
T+05s: Mesh broadcasts: "Attack signature X detected"
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
Nexus A Nexus B Nexus C Nexus D
(hit) (hit) (hit) (safe)
│ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
T+10s: All nodes preemptively block signature X
T+15s: Nexus D protected BEFORE attack reaches it

What Gets Shared

Data TypeShared?Format
Raw packetsNever-
IP addressesNever-
PayloadsNever-
QSecBit scoresYesFloat (0.0-1.0)
Attack signaturesYesSHA256 hash
Neural fingerprintsYes~256 bytes

Byzantine Fault Tolerance

The mesh tolerates malicious nodes:

def bft_quorum_required(total_validators: int) -> int:
"""
Tolerates f=(n-1)/3 Byzantine validators.
For n=10: f=3 malicious tolerated, require 7 signatures
For n=7: f=2 malicious tolerated, require 5 signatures
"""
f = (total_validators - 1) // 3
quorum = total_validators - f
return quorum

Joining the Mesh

New nodes join through attestation:

  1. Discovery: Node finds bootstrap validators
  2. Attestation: Node proves hardware identity (TPM/PoSF)
  3. Registration: Validator adds node to device registry
  4. Synchronization: Node receives current mesh state
  5. Participation: Node begins contributing intelligence

Mesh Health

Monitor mesh connectivity:

Terminal window
# Check mesh status
hookprobe-ctl mesh status
# View connected peers
hookprobe-ctl mesh peers
# View contribution stats
hookprobe-ctl mesh stats

Network Requirements

PortProtocolDirectionPurpose
8144UDPOutboundHTP mesh communication
7946TCP/UDPBidirectionalGossip protocol
8888TCPLocalHealth endpoint

Next Steps