Mobile Application Identification and Control through WiFi Access Points
AssigneeBlue Coat Systems, Inc.
InventorsQing Li, Gregory S. Clark
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A network access point secures a WiFi network, and acts as a picocell, by identifying applications running on computer-based devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers, and the like, that seek to access the Internet (or another network) via the access point and applying network access policies to data communications by those applications according to application, location, context, device and/or user characteristics.
Claims20
A network access point comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing processor executable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to enforce network access policies against data communications seeking to access a computer network via the network access point over a wireless communication channel.
A method of securing a WiFi computer network communicatively coupled to a second computer network, the method comprising enforcing, at a WiFi network access point deployed between the WiFi network and the second computer network, network access policies, said policies dependent upon one or more of identification of an application seeking to access the second computer network via the network access point, identification of a device seeking to access the second computer network via the network access point, identification of a context within which the network access point is deployed, and identification of a user seeking to access the second computer network via the network access point.
A system, comprising an analytics engine communicatively coupled to a plurality of network access points, each respective network access point configured to enforce policies on communications traversing the respective network access point and to provide information concerning applications running on devices associated with said communications and behaviors of said applications, and to receive policy updates from said analytics engine, said policy updates being informed by said information concerning the applications and the behaviors of said applications.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.