Patents by Inventor Mark David Harris

Mark David Harris has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9928366
    Abstract: A data recorder stores endpoint activity on an ongoing basis as sequences of events that causally relate computer objects such as processes and files, and patterns within this event graph can be used to detect the presence of malware on the endpoint. The underlying recording process may be dynamically adjusted in order to vary the amount and location of recording as the security state of the endpoint changes over time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2018
    Assignee: Sophos Limited
    Inventors: Beata Ladnai, Mark David Harris, Andrew J. Thomas, Andrew G. P. Smith, Russell Humphries
  • Patent number: 9917859
    Abstract: Static analysis is applied to unrecognized software objects in order to identify and address potential anti-sandboxing techniques. Where static analysis suggests the presence of any such corresponding code, the software object may be forwarded to a sandbox for further analysis. In another aspect, multiple types of sandboxes may be provided, with the type being selected according to the type of exploit suggested by the static analysis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: Sophos Limited
    Inventors: Mark David Harris, Daniel Stutz, Vincent Kevin Lynch
  • Publication number: 20170359306
    Abstract: A gateway or other network device may be configured to monitor endpoint behavior, and to request a verification of user presence at the endpoint under certain conditions suggesting, e.g., malware or other endpoint compromise. For example, when a network request is directed to a low-reputation or unknown network address, user presence may be verified to ensure that this action was initiated by a human user rather than automatically by malware or the like. User verification may be implicit, based on local behavior such as keyboard or mouse activity, or the user verification may be explicit, such as where a notification is presented on a display of the endpoint requesting user confirmation to proceed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2016
    Publication date: December 14, 2017
    Inventors: Andrew J. Thomas, Mark David Harris, Kenneth D. Ray
  • Publication number: 20170310686
    Abstract: An enterprise security system is improved by instrumenting endpoints to explicitly label network flows according to sources of network traffic. When a network message from an endpoint is received at a gateway, firewall, or other network device/service, the network message may be examined to determine the application on the endpoint that originated the request, and this source information may be used to control routing or other handling of the network message.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 22, 2016
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Inventors: Kenneth D. Ray, Andrew J. Thomas, Mark David Harris
  • Publication number: 20170310703
    Abstract: An endpoint in an enterprise network is monitored, and when a potential trigger for a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is followed by an increase in network traffic from the endpoint to a high reputation network address, the endpoint is treated as a DDoS service bot and isolated from the network until remediation can be performed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2017
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Inventors: Karl Ackerman, Mark David Harris, Simon Neil Reed, Andrew J. Thomas, Kenneth D. Ray
  • Publication number: 20170310692
    Abstract: In the context of network activity by an endpoint in an enterprise network, malware detection is improved by using a combination of reputation information for a network address that is accessed by the endpoint with reputation information for an application on the endpoint that is accessing the network address. This information, when combined with a network usage history for the application, provides improved differentiation between malicious network activity and legitimate, user-initiated network activity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2017
    Publication date: October 26, 2017
    Inventors: Karl Ackerman, Mark David Harris, Kenneth D. Ray, Andrew J. Thomas, Daniel Stutz
  • Publication number: 20170300690
    Abstract: A data recorder stores endpoint activity on an ongoing basis as sequences of events that causally relate computer objects such as processes and files, and patterns within this event graph can be used to detect the presence of malware on the endpoint. The underlying recording process may be dynamically adjusted in order to vary the amount and location of recording as the security state of the endpoint changes over time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 11, 2017
    Publication date: October 19, 2017
    Inventors: Beata Ladnai, Mark David Harris, Andrew J. Thomas, Andrew G. P. Smith, Russell Humphries
  • Publication number: 20170302685
    Abstract: A data recorder stores endpoint activity on an ongoing basis as sequences of events that causally relate computer objects such as processes and files. When a security event is detected, an event graph may be generated based on these causal relationships among the computing objects. For a root cause analysis, the event graph may be traversed in a reverse order from the point of an identified security event (e.g., a malware detection event) to preceding computing objects, while applying one or more cause identification rules to identify a root cause of the security event. Once a root cause is identified, the event graph may be traversed forward from the root cause to identify other computing objects that are potentially compromised by the root cause.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 15, 2016
    Publication date: October 19, 2017
    Inventors: Beata Ladnai, Mark David Harris, Andrew J. Thomas, Andrew G. P. Smith, Russell Humphries, Kenneth D. Ray
  • Publication number: 20170111374
    Abstract: Static analysis is applied to unrecognized software objects in order to identify and address potential anti-sandboxing techniques. Where static analysis suggests the presence of any such corresponding code, the software object may be forwarded to a sandbox for further analysis. In another aspect, multiple types of sandboxes may be provided, with the type being selected according to the type of exploit suggested by the static analysis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2015
    Publication date: April 20, 2017
    Inventors: Mark David Harris, Daniel Stutz, Vincent Kevin Lynch
  • Publication number: 20170109528
    Abstract: Static analysis is applied to unrecognized software objects in order to identify and address potential anti-sandboxing techniques. Where static analysis suggests the presence of any such corresponding code, the software object may be forwarded to a sandbox for further analysis. In another aspect, multiple types of sandboxes may be provided, with the type being selected according to the type of exploit suggested by the static analysis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 2, 2015
    Publication date: April 20, 2017
    Inventors: Mark David Harris, Daniel Stutz, Vincent Kevin Lynch