Obtaining And Assessing Objective Data Ralating To Network Resources

• US 20080010377A1
• Filed: 11/27/2005
• Published: 01/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Calling ID, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Calling ID, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nissennboim, Yoram
• Granted Patent: US 8,775,524 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/166 at the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227

Abstract

In a network comprising a plurality of network resources and at least one directory server, the directory server containing information with a predetermined level of trust about the network resources, a method for automatically providing a user device with information about a network resource in communication with the user device. The communication includes address information about the network resource. The method comprises: automatically retrieving information from the directory server about the network resource in communication; and automatically executing at least one of a set of predetermined actions based on the retrieved information.

Claims

1. In a network comprising a plurality of network resources and at least one directory server, the directory server containing information with a predetermined level of trust about the network resources, a method for automatically providing a user device with information about a network resource in communication with the user device, the communication including address information about the network resource, the method comprising:

automatically retrieving information from said at least one directory server about the network resource in communication;

automatically executing at least one of a set of predetermined actions based on the retrieved information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented by a program installed on a processing unit of the user device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented by a program installed on a processing unit of said at least one directory server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is implemented by a program installed on a processing unit connected to the network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network resource in communication comprises a plurality of objects, at least some of the objects associated with a plurality of network resources.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the retrieved information relates to some or all of the associated network resources.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the network resource in communication comprises a server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the network resource in communication comprises an address for receiving messages.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the network resource in communication comprises another user device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the user device or the network resource in communication is a telecommunication device.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the user device or the network resource in communication is a mobile telecommunication device.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the user device or the network resource in communication is a personal computer.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of the set of predetermined actions is providing the user device with all or part of the retrieved information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said at least one of the set of predetermined actions comprises providing the user device with a choice whether or not to continue communication with the network resource.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

evaluating the retrieved information to determine trust-related information concerning the network resource in communication; and

executing said at least one of the set of predetermined actions based on the trust-related information.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein evaluating the retrieved information to determine trust-related information concerning the network resource in communication is based on one or more parameters relating to the network resource in communication.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said one or more parameters are selected from a group including:

communication protocol;

security level of the communication protocol;

data received from the network resource in communication;

type of information requested from the network resource in communication;

physical location of the network resource in communication;

owner information of the physical location and of the network resource in communication;

information on the owner;

name of the network resource in communication;

inconsistency in information relating to the owner;

status of any security certificates associated with the network resource in communication;

history of the owner;

information security problem related to the owner.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing the user device with the trust-related information.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the trust-related information comprises a trust rating.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising adjusting the trust rating when the network resource in communication is changed during the communication or when the owner of the network resource in communication is changed during the communication.

21. The method claim 15, further comprising evaluating the reliability of the directory server.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one of the set of predetermined actions comprises denying further communication between the user device and the network resource in communication.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein the retrieved information includes one or more parameters relating to the network resource in communication.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said one or more parameters are selected from a group including:

communication protocol;

security level of the communication protocol;

data received from the network resource in communication;

type of information requested from the network resource in communication;

physical location of the network resource in communication;

owner information of the physical location and of the network resource in communication;

information on the owner;

name of the network resource in communication;

inconsistency in information relating to the owner;

status of any security certificates associated with the network resource in communication;

history of the owner;

information security problem related to the owner.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one directory server comprises a plurality of directory servers, at least one of which contains information about the network resources characterized as being at least one of the following:

domain Name Server;

whois server;

RIPE server;

white pages server;

yellow pages server.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one directory server comprises at least one security server, which detects whether a network resource leaves confidential information exposed, the detection comprising at least one of the following steps:

using global network search engines and algorithms to find objects on the network resource that reveal credit card numbers, social security numbers, passwords connected to users names, personal identification numbers, ID numbers or other confidential information;

analyzing the objects found and, if any of the objects do exposes confidential information, indicating that about the network resource;

trying to access restricted application on the network resource using techniques for cracking username and password protections;

if successful in accessing the application, and if the application includes confidential information, indicating that about the network resource;

getting reports from other network resources regarding whether a network resource, an object on that network resource, or a certificate of that network resource is a scam and recording that about the network resource; and

scanning directory servers to find conflicts between different attributes of a network resource and, if found, recording that about the network resource.

27. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to sending data from the user device to the network resource in communication, evaluating the data to determine if sending the data to the network resource complies with security criteria.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein evaluating the data comprises determining the type of the data.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising, if the type of data comprises confidential data, denying sending of the data.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising if the type of data comprises confidential data, providing the user device with a choice whether to send the data or not.

31. The method of claim 27, further comprising sending test data consisting of incorrect information and verifying according to a response from the network resource if it is safe to send the data.

32. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prior to sending data from the user device to the network resource in communication, evaluating the data to determine if sending the data to the network resource complies with criteria about commercial or rating of the network resource.

33. The method of claim 1 further comprising comparing information received from a plurality of directory servers regarding the network resource in communication and, if the comparison finds conflicting information, performing at least one of the following:

reporting differences in the conflicting information;

disregarding the conflicting information;

deciding which of the conflicting information to use based on a predetermined algorithm;

let a user of the user device decide which of the conflicting information to use;

using information from all the directory servers, including the conflicting information;

retrieving data from other directory servers about an issue to which the conflicting information relates.

34. In a network comprising a plurality of network resources a method for automatically providing a user device with information regarding communication with a network resource, the method comprising:

prior to sending data from the user device to the network resource in communication, evaluating the data to determine if sending the data to the network resource complies with security criteria.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein evaluating the data comprises determining the type of the data.

36. The method of claim 35, further comprising, if the type of data comprises confidential data, denying sending of the data.

37. The method of claim 35, further comprising if the type of data comprises confidential data, providing the user device with a choice whether to send the data or not.

38. The method of claim 34, further comprising sending test data consisting of incorrect information and verifying according to a response from the network resource if it is safe to send the data.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein the data is directly delivered to a driver program and from it to a network adapter, skipping an application process, whereby the network adapter transmits the data to the network resource.

40. The method of claim 34, wherein the data is directly delivered to an application process, skipping another application process that was initially intended to receive the data.

41. In a network comprising a plurality of network resources and at least one directory server, the directory server containing information with a predetermined level of trust about the network resources, a system for automatically providing a user device with information about a network resource in communication with the user device, the communication including address information about the network resource, the system comprising:

a processing device for automatically retrieving information from said at least one directory server about the network resource in communication; and

for automatically executing at least one of a set of predetermined actions based on the retrieved information.