Patents by Inventor Stuart Gresley Staniford

Stuart Gresley Staniford 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: 9954890
    Abstract: A system and method for detecting malicious activity within a Portable Document Format (PDF) document. The system includes a parser and one or more virtual machines. The parser that, when executed by a hardware processor, examines one or more portions of the PDF document to determine if one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content are included in the one or more examined portions of the PDF document. The examined portion(s) in total are less than an entirety of the PDF document. The virtual machine(s) are adapted to receive the PDF document in response to the one or more examined portions of the PDF document being determined to include one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content. The virtual machine(s) to process at least the one or more examined portions of the PDF document so as to determine whether the PDF document includes malicious network content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: FireEye, Inc.
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Patent number: 9519782
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting malicious content on portable data storage devices or remote network servers are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, a system comprises a quarantine module configured to detect one or more portable data storage devices upon insertion of the devices into a security appliance, wherein the security appliance is configured to receive the portable data storage devices, a controller configured to receive from the security appliance, via a communication network, data associated with the portable data storage devices, an analysis module configured to analyze the data to determine whether the data includes malware, and a security module to selectively identify, based on the determination, the one or more portable data storage devices storing the malware.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: FireEye, Inc.
    Inventors: Ashar Aziz, Stuart Gresley Staniford, Muhammad Amin, Henry Uyeno, Samuel Yie
  • Patent number: 9438622
    Abstract: Systems and methods for analyzing malicious PDF network content are provided herein. According to some embodiments, a PDF parser examines a body portion of a PDF document received over a network and intended for a digital device and determines if one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content are included in the examined body portion of the PDF document. The examined body portion of the PDF document is lesser in size than an entirety of the body portion of the PDF document. When the portion of the body section of the PDF document is determined to include one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content, the PDF document is provided to one or more virtual machines associated with the digital device to verify the inclusion of malicious network content in the portion of the body section of the PDF document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: FireEye, Inc.
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Patent number: 9118715
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting malicious PDF network content are provided herein. According to some embodiments, the methods may include at least the steps of examining received PDF network content to determine if one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content are included in the PDF network content, providing PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic to one or more virtual machines, and analyzing responses received from the one or more virtual machines to verify the inclusion of malicious network content in the PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2015
    Assignee: FireEye, Inc.
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Publication number: 20150180886
    Abstract: A method for detecting malicious network content comprises inspecting one or more packets of network content, identifying a suspicious characteristic of the network content, determining a score related to a probability that the network content includes malicious network content based on at least the suspicious characteristic, identifying the network content as suspicious if the score satisfies a threshold value, executing a virtual machine to process the suspicious network content, and analyzing a response of the virtual machine to detect malicious network content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2015
    Publication date: June 25, 2015
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Patent number: 8997219
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting malicious PDF network content are provided herein. According to some embodiments, the methods may include at least the steps of examining received PDF network content to determine if one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content are included in the PDF network content, providing PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic to one or more virtual machines, and analyzing responses received from the one or more virtual machines to verify the inclusion of malicious network content in the PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: FireEye, Inc.
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Patent number: 8990939
    Abstract: A system is described for scheduling the processing of items of suspicious network content to determine whether these items contain malicious network content. The system features a memory and an analyzer that may comprise a processor-based digital device in which at least one virtual machine (VM) and a scheduler operates. The scheduler is configured to generate an order of processing of a plurality of items of network content by the processor based on a plurality of probability scores, each corresponding to an item of network content. The analyzer is configured to process the items of network content in at least the virtual machine by replaying these items in accordance with the order of processing. The virtual machine is configured with a software profile corresponding to each of the processed items and being adapted to monitor behavior of each of the items during processing, thereby to detect malicious network content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2015
    Assignee: FireEye, Inc.
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Patent number: 8850571
    Abstract: A method for detecting malicious network content comprises inspecting one or more packets of network content, identifying a suspicious characteristic of the network content, determining a score related to a probability that the network content includes malicious network content based on at least the suspicious characteristic, identifying the network content as suspicious if the score satisfies a threshold value, executing a virtual machine to process the suspicious network content, and analyzing a response of the virtual machine to detect malicious network content.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: FireEye, Inc.
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Publication number: 20130291109
    Abstract: A method for detecting malicious network content comprises inspecting one or more packets of network content, identifying a suspicious characteristic of the network content, determining a score related to a probability that the network content includes malicious network content based on at least the suspicious characteristic, identifying the network content as suspicious if the score satisfies a threshold value, executing a virtual machine to process the suspicious network content, and analyzing a response of the virtual machine to detect malicious network content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2013
    Publication date: October 31, 2013
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Publication number: 20130227691
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting malicious content on portable data storage devices or remote network servers are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, a system comprises a quarantine module configured to detect one or more portable data storage devices upon insertion of the devices into a security appliance, wherein the security appliance is configured to receive the portable data storage devices, a controller configured to receive from the security appliance, via a communication network, data associated with the portable data storage devices, an analysis module configured to analyze the data to determine whether the data includes malware, and a security module to selectively identify, based on the determination, the one or more portable data storage devices storing the malware.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Publication date: August 29, 2013
    Inventors: Ashar Aziz, Stuart Gresley Staniford, Muhammad Amin, Henry Uyeno, Samuel Yie
  • Publication number: 20120222121
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting malicious PDF network content are provided herein. According to some embodiments, the methods may include at least the steps of examining received PDF network content to determine if one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content are included in the PDF network content, providing PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic to one or more virtual machines, and analyzing responses received from the one or more virtual machines to verify the inclusion of malicious network content in the PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2012
    Publication date: August 30, 2012
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Publication number: 20110247072
    Abstract: Systems and methods for detecting malicious PDF network content are provided herein. According to some embodiments, the methods may include at least the steps of examining received PDF network content to determine if one or more suspicious characteristics indicative of malicious network content are included in the PDF network content, providing PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic to one or more virtual machines, and analyzing responses received from the one or more virtual machines to verify the inclusion of malicious network content in the PDF network content determined to include at least one suspicious characteristic.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2011
    Publication date: October 6, 2011
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz
  • Publication number: 20100115621
    Abstract: A method for detecting malicious network content comprises inspecting one or more packets of network content, identifying a suspicious characteristic of the network content, determining a score related to a probability that the network content includes malicious network content based on at least the suspicious characteristic, identifying the network content as suspicious if the score satisfies a threshold value, executing a virtual machine to process the suspicious network content, and analyzing a response of the virtual machine to detect malicious network content.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2008
    Publication date: May 6, 2010
    Inventors: Stuart Gresley Staniford, Ashar Aziz