Securing an accessible computer system

A method comprising:

• monitoring, at a switch connected to access provider systems, for access requests by an access requestor to the access provider systems;
• based on the monitoring, determining, by the switch, whether a cumulative number of access requests, received from the access requestor during a first period of time and handled by more than one of the access provider systems, exceeds a threshold number;
• denying, at the switch and for a second period of time, access by the access requestor to the access provider systems in response to a determination that the cumulative number of access requests exceeds the threshold number;
• and
• restarting the second period of time during which the access requestor is denied access in response to detecting, at the switch, receipt of another access request from the access requestor before the second period of time expires.

A switch comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory encoded with machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, operate to cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
• performing load balancing for access provider systems;
• counting a cumulative number of access requests initiated by an access requestor to all of the access provider systems during a first period of time;
• determining that the cumulative number of access requests exceeds a threshold number, even though a number of access requests to each of the access provider systems alone is less than the threshold number;
• denying, at the switch, access by the access requestor to the access provider systems in response to determining that the cumulative number of access requests exceeds the threshold number;
• and
• restarting a time out period during which the access requestor is denied access based on detecting receipt of another access request from the access requestor before the time out period expires.

A switch comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory encoded with machine readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, operate to cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
• monitoring for access requests by an access requestor to access provider systems connected to the switch;
• based on the monitoring, determining whether a cumulative number of access requests, received from the access requestor during a first period of time and handled by more than one of the access provider systems, exceeds a threshold number;
• denying, at the switch and for a second period of time, access by the access requestor to the access provider systems in response to a determination that the cumulative number of access requests exceeds the threshold number;
• and
• restarting the second period of time during which the access requestor is denied access in response to detecting, at the switch, receipt of another access request from the access requestor before the second period of time expires.