Method and apparatus for auditing network security
First Claim
1. An apparatus for auditing security of a remote computer system, comprising:
- a. a secure application server in communication with a global computer network and programmed to receive selectively security audit instruction data from the remote computer system via the global computer network;
b. a plurality of scanning machines in communication with the global computer network and programmed to execute selectively a security audit scan of the remote computer system via the global computer network, each scanning machine capable of conducting multiple types of security assessments; and
c. a central computer, having a memory, configured as a database server and as a scheduler, in communication with the secure application server and the plurality of scanning machines, programmed to perform operations comprising;
a. evaluating a database to determine if the security audit scan is currently scheduled to be run on one of the scanning machines;
b. determining which of the plurality of scanning machines is available to perform the security audit scan by examining a schedule for each scanning machine to identify certain ones of the scanning machines that are conducting another security audit scan or are scheduled to conduct another security audit scan, the available scanning machines comprising all of the scanning machines except for the certain scanning machines;
c. copying scan-related information into one of the available scanning machines and instructing the scanning machine to begin the security audit scan; and
d. recording the results of the security audit scan in the memory.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In an apparatus for auditing security of a computer system, at least one secure application server is in communication with a global computer network. The secure application server is programmed to receive selectively security audit instruction data from a remote computer system via the global computer network. A plurality of scanning machines each are in communication with the global computer network and are programmed to execute selectively a security audit scan of the remote computer system via the global computer network. A central computer, having a memory, is configured as a database server and as a scheduler. The central computer is in communication with the secure application server and the scanning machine. The central computer is programmed to perform the following operations: evaluate a database to determine if a security audit scan is currently scheduled to be run for a user; determine which of the plurality of scanning machines is available to perform a security audit scan; copy scan-related information into a scanning machine determined to be available and instruct the scanning machine to begin scan; and record the results of the scan in the memory.
62 Citations
46 Claims
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1. An apparatus for auditing security of a remote computer system, comprising:
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a. a secure application server in communication with a global computer network and programmed to receive selectively security audit instruction data from the remote computer system via the global computer network; b. a plurality of scanning machines in communication with the global computer network and programmed to execute selectively a security audit scan of the remote computer system via the global computer network, each scanning machine capable of conducting multiple types of security assessments; and c. a central computer, having a memory, configured as a database server and as a scheduler, in communication with the secure application server and the plurality of scanning machines, programmed to perform operations comprising; a. evaluating a database to determine if the security audit scan is currently scheduled to be run on one of the scanning machines; b. determining which of the plurality of scanning machines is available to perform the security audit scan by examining a schedule for each scanning machine to identify certain ones of the scanning machines that are conducting another security audit scan or are scheduled to conduct another security audit scan, the available scanning machines comprising all of the scanning machines except for the certain scanning machines; c. copying scan-related information into one of the available scanning machines and instructing the scanning machine to begin the security audit scan; and d. recording the results of the security audit scan in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of auditing security of a remote computer system, comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving an instruction to perform a security audit scan on the remote computer system; b. determining which of a plurality of scanning machines is available to perform the security audit scan by examining a schedule for each of the scanning machines to identify certain ones of the scanning machines that are conducting another security audit scan or are scheduled to conduct another security audit scan, the available scanning machines comprising all of the scanning machines except for the certain scanning machines, and wherein each of the scanning machines is capable of conducting a plurality of security assessments; and c. instructing one of the available scanning machines to access the remote computer system via a global computer network to perform the security audit scan of the remote computer system. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of auditing computer system security, comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a schedule request for a security audit scan of a remote computer system, wherein the security audit scan of the remote computer system is scheduled to be conducted after the schedule request is received; b. recording the scheduled security audit scan in a database; c. accessing the database to determine when the scheduled security audit scan of the remote computer system is to be executed; d. in response to a determination that the scheduled security audit scan of the remote computer system is to be executed in a predetermined period of time performing the following steps; i. determining which of a plurality of scanning machines is available to perform the scheduled security audit scan by examining a schedule for each of the scanning machines to identify ones of the scanning machines that are conducting another security audit scan or are scheduled to conduct another security audit scan; ii. copying security audit scan data into a scanning system; iii. causing the scanning system to establish communication with the remote computer system via a global computer network; and iv. causing the scanning system to execute the scheduled security audit scan of the remote computer system via the global computer network. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method of conducting a security audit scan of a remote computer system comprising the steps of:
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a. receiving a request to schedule the security audit scan of the remote computer system; b. recording a scheduled security audit scan in a database; c. accessing the database to determine when the scheduled security audit scan of the remote computer system is to be executed; and d. in response to a determination that the scheduled security audit scan of the remote computer system is to be executed, performing the following steps; 1. determining which of a plurality of scanning machines is available to perform the scheduled security audit scan by examining a schedule for each of the scanning machines to identify certain ones of the scanning machines that are conducting another security audit scan or are scheduled to conduct another security audit scan; and causing one of the available scanning machines to access the remote computer system and execute the scheduled security audit scan. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification