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US 12,192,247 B2Granted
Systems and methods for network security
AssigneeSophos Limited
InventorsAndy Thomas, Nishit Shah, Daniel Stutz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods, systems, and computer readable media for network security are described. In some implementations, security tasks and roles can be allocated between an endpoint device and a firewall device based on tag information sent from the endpoint, the tag information including one or more characteristics of a traffic flow, information of resource availability, and/or reputation of a process associated with a traffic flow.
Claims20
A computer-implemented method comprising:
- communicating tag information between a first device and a second device coupled to the first device via a network, the second device configured to perform a plurality of security tasks, wherein the tag information is about traffic flow between the first device and the second device over the network;
- identifying, by the second device, a subset of the plurality of security tasks to be performed by the second device for the traffic flow, based at least in part on the tag information, wherein the second device includes a hardware accelerator, and wherein identifying the subset of the plurality of security tasks includes:
- determining that the subset of the plurality of security tasks are capable of being performed by the hardware accelerator,
- determining that at least one security task is not to be performed by the hardware accelerator, and
- excluding the at least one security task from the subset;
- and
- performing for the traffic flow, by the second device, each task in the subset of the plurality of security tasks, wherein performing each task in the subset of the plurality of security tasks includes performing one or more tasks of the subset of the plurality of security tasks by the hardware accelerator.
4 more elements
A computer-implemented method comprising:
- generating, at a first device, tag information about a traffic flow between the first device and a second device over a network, wherein the tag information includes resource information for the first device or the second device;
- sending the tag information from the first device to the second device;
- after sending the tag information, receiving, at the first device and from the second device, an indication of a set of security tasks to be performed for the traffic flow at the first device, wherein the set excludes at least one security task of a plurality of security tasks identified by the second device based on the tag information, wherein the at least one excluded security task is identified by the second device as being capable of being performed by a hardware accelerator of the second device;
- and
- performing for the traffic flow, by the first device, each task in the set of security tasks.
2 more elements
A system comprising:
- a first device configured to communicate over a network, the first device comprising:
- a first device processor coupled to a first device computer readable medium having first device software instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the first device processor, cause the first device processor to perform first network security operations including:
- generating tag information about a traffic flow, wherein the tag information includes one or more characteristics of the traffic flow;
- and
- communicating the tag information prior to the traffic flow being sent by the first device via the network;
- and
- a second device configured to perform a plurality of security tasks and to communicate over the network, the second device comprising:
- a second device processor coupled to a second device computer readable medium having second device software instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the second device processor, cause the second device processor to perform second device network security operations including:
- receiving, from the first device via the network, the tag information over the network;
- identifying a subset of the plurality of security tasks to be performed for the traffic flow, based at least in part on the tag information, wherein the second device includes a hardware accelerator, and wherein identifying the subset of the plurality of security tasks includes:
- determining that the subset of the plurality of security tasks are capable of being performed by the hardware accelerator,
- determining that at least one security task is not to be performed by the hardware accelerator, and
- excluding the at least one security task from the subset;
- and
- performing for the traffic flow each task in the subset of the plurality of security tasks, wherein performing each task in the subset of the plurality of security tasks includes performing one or more tasks of the subset of the plurality of security tasks by the hardware accelerator.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.