Abstract: A network security system having a hierarchical configuration is provided. In one embodiment the present invention includes a plurality of subsystems, where each subsystem includes a plurality of distributed software agents configured to collect base security events from monitor devices, and a local manager module coupled to the plurality of distributed software agents to generate correlated events by correlating the base security events. Each subsystem can also include a filter coupled to the manager module to select which base security events are to be processed further. The selected base security events are passed to a global manager module coupled to the plurality of subsystems that generates global correlated events by correlating the base security events selected for further processing by each filter of each subsystem.

Abstract: First stage meta-events are generated based on analyzing time attributes of base events received from a network component. Second stage meta-events are generated based on a number of the first stage meta-events that have a time attribute falling within a time period. An amount of time that has passed since a most-recent second stage meta-event was generated is determined, and if a threshold time period does not exceed the amount of time that has passed since the most-recent second stage meta-event was detected, a third stage meta-event is determined.

Abstract: A rules engine with support for time-based rules is disclosed. A method performed by the rules engine, comprises receiving security events generated by a number of network devices. The security events are aggregated. One or more time-based rules are provided to a RETE engine. The aggregated security events are provided to the RETE engine at specific times associated with the time-based rules. The security events are cross-correlated with the one or more time-based rules; and one or more first stage meta-events are reported.

Abstract: Security events generated by a number of network devices are gathered and normalized to produce normalized security events in a common schema. The normalized security events are cross-correlated according to rules to generate meta-events. The security events may be gathered remotely from a system at which the cross-correlating is performed. Any meta-events that are generated may be reported by generating alerts for display at one or more computer consoles, or by sending an e-mail message, a pager message, a telephone message, and/or a facsimile message to an operator or other individual. In addition to reporting the meta-events, the present system allows for taking other actions specified by the rules, for example executing scripts or other programs to reconfigure one or more of the network devices, and or to modify or update access lists, etc.

Abstract: A network security system having a hierarchical configuration is provided. In one embodiment the present invention includes a plurality of subsystems, where each subsystem includes a plurality of distributed software agents configured to collect security events from monitor devices, and a local manager module coupled to the plurality of distributed software agents to generate correlated events by correlating the security events. Each of the subsystems can report the correlated events to a global manager module coupled to the plurality of subsystems, and the global manager module can correlate the correlated events from each manager module.

Abstract: A network security system is provided that receives information from various sensors and can analyze the received information. In one embodiment of the present invention, such a system receives a security event from a software agent. The received security event includes a target address and an event signature, as generated by the software agent. The event signature can be used to determine a set of vulnerabilities exploited by the received security event, and the target address can be used to identify a target asset within the network. By accessing a model of the target asset, a set of vulnerabilities exposed by the target asset can be retrieved. Then, a threat can be detected by comparing the set of vulnerabilities exploited by the security event to the set of vulnerabilities exposed by the target asset.

Abstract: The present invention provides for the receipt of a heartbeat message transmitted from a software agent within a host machine to a server-based agent manager. The server-based agent manager analyzes the heartbeat message to determine the identity of the sending software agent. The server-based agent manager then determines what information is to be included in a response message to the software agent. The server-based agent manager prepares the response message to be sent to the software agent. The server-based agent manager transmits the response message to the software agent over a bi-directional communication link between the software agent and the server-based agent manager. The software agent receives the response message; deserializes the response message; reviews the instructions within the response message; and performs operations necessary to carry out the instructions delivered in the response message.

Abstract: A series of iterative customer submissions and vendor responses are used to collect sufficient information concerning a custom manufacturing project so as to produce a sufficiently constrained job request as to allow at least one of the vendors to submit a quote for the project. The submissions and responses are preferably made through Web forms and, in one example, the custom manufacturing project is a print job. The collection process is preferably computer assisted so as to incrementally add constraints to an initially under-constrained job request to produce the sufficiently constrained job request.

Abstract: Security events generated by a number of network devices are gathered and normalized to produce normalized security events in a common schema. The normalized security events are cross-correlated according to rules to generate meta-events. The security events may be gathered remotely from a system at which the cross-correlating is performed. Any meta-events that are generated may be reported by generating alerts for display at one or more computer consoles, or by sending an e-mail message, a pager message, a telephone message, and/or a facsimile message to an operator or other individual. In addition to reporting the meta-events, the present system allows for taking other actions specified by the rules, for example executing scripts or other programs to reconfigure one or more of the network devices, and or to modify or update access lists, etc.

Abstract: A network security system is provided that receives information from various sensors and can analyse the received information. In one embodiment of the present invention, such a system receives a security event from a software agent. The received security event includes a target address and an event signature, as generated by the software agent. The event signature can be used to determine a set of vulnerabilities exploited by the received security event, and the target address can be used to identify a target asset within the network. By accessing a model of the target asset, a set of vulnerabilities exposed by the target asset can be retrieved. Then, a threat can be detected by comparing the set of vulnerabilities exploited by the security event to the set of vulnerabilities exposed by the target asset.

Abstract: A data storage and retrieval mechanism includes a base table to store attributes common to each of the customer-specific variants and a spill-over table to store customer-specific attributes for associated individual ones of the customer-specific variants, the attributes of the base table and spill-over table each sharing a common, human readable name-referencing scheme. The customer-specific variants provide for corporate personalization of data storage, retrieval, and input and output operations/presentations as well as workflows that use such data. The name-referencing scheme may utilize multi-part names for data objects and such names may be used by other applications within the hosted environment for creating workflows, visual representations of the workflows, and/or data forms.