{"schema_version":"1.0","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853940","patent":{"patent_number":"US-9853940","title":"Passive web application firewall","assignee":null,"inventors":[],"filing_date":"2015-09-24T00:00:00.000Z","publication_date":"2017-12-26T00:00:00.000Z","cpc_codes":["H04L","H04L","H04L","H04L"],"num_claims":20,"abstract":"To protect network-based services, offering computer implemented functionality, from attacks, a passive web application firewall reactively identifies vulnerabilities, enabling such vulnerabilities to be quickly ameliorated, without intercepting communications or introducing other suboptimal aspects of traditional web application firewalls. Communications directed to the network-based services are logged and such logs are scanned for entries evidencing attacks, such as based on predetermined attack syntax. Further evaluation of the entries identified as evidencing attacks identifies a subset of those entries that correspond to likely successful attacks. Such further evaluation includes attacking the network-based service in an equivalent manner. Attacks that are found to be successful identify vulnerabilities, and a notification of such vulnerabilities is provided to facilitate amelioration of such vulnerabilities. Vulnerability amelioration can be automatic, such as by automatically adjusting the settings corresponding to the implementation of the network-based services to ameliorate identified vulnerabilities in a predetermined manner."},"analysis":{"summary":"The Passive Web Application Firewall patent introduces a reactive approach to network security, designed to protect network-based services from attacks. Unlike traditional web application firewalls that intercept communications, this innovation logs communications and scans those logs for entries evidencing attacks, such as those based on predetermined attack syntax. This allows vulnerabilities to be quickly identified and ameliorated without introducing the performance drawbacks of traditional methods.\n\nThe core problem being solved is the inefficiency and performance limitations of traditional WAFs. These systems often add latency and can be easily bypassed by sophisticated attackers. The technology addresses this by logging communications and analyzing them for attack patterns, enabling quicker vulnerability amelioration.\n\nThe key technical approach involves logging network communications, scanning these logs for attack evidence, evaluating entries to identify successful attacks, and automatically adjusting settings to ameliorate identified vulnerabilities. This data-driven approach allows for rapid identification of successful attacks and corresponding vulnerabilities, facilitating swift and targeted responses.\n\nThe business value lies in the enhanced security and performance offered by this technology. By eliminating the need for constant interception, this innovation minimizes latency and ensures optimal performance for network-based services. The market opportunity is significant, as any organization that relies on network-based services can benefit from the enhanced security and performance offered by this technology. As cyber threats continue to evolve, solutions like this are essential for maintaining a robust and resilient security posture. This allows for reduced operational costs and more efficient security management.","layman_explanation":"The Passive Web Application Firewall addresses the problem of securing web applications without sacrificing performance. Traditional web application firewalls (WAFs) act as gatekeepers, inspecting all incoming traffic to identify and block potential threats. While effective, this approach can significantly slow down web applications, leading to a poor user experience.\n\nThis technology offers a different approach. Instead of inspecting all traffic, it passively monitors the activity within the web application, logging communications and looking for patterns that indicate malicious behavior. Think of it like a security camera system that records everything and only alerts you when it detects suspicious activity. This allows the system to identify and respond to threats without slowing down the web application.\n\nThe key benefit of this approach is improved performance. By avoiding the need to inspect all traffic, this technology minimizes latency and ensures that web applications remain responsive. This can lead to a better user experience and increased customer satisfaction. Additionally, this approach can be more effective at identifying sophisticated attacks that might evade traditional WAFs.\n\nThe market impact of this technology is significant. As organizations increasingly rely on web applications to conduct business, the need for effective and efficient security solutions is growing. This innovation offers a compelling alternative to traditional WAFs, providing enhanced security without sacrificing performance. Future applications could include integration with machine learning algorithms to automatically identify and respond to emerging threats, further enhancing the system's effectiveness.","technical_analysis":"The Passive Web Application Firewall patent presents a novel approach to web application security by employing a passive monitoring and analysis system. This contrasts with traditional web application firewalls (WAFs) that actively intercept and inspect network traffic, a process that can introduce latency and impact application performance.\n\nThe architecture involves several key components: a network traffic logger, an attack pattern scanner, a vulnerability evaluator, and an automatic amelioration module. The network traffic logger captures all communications directed to the web application. The attack pattern scanner analyzes these logs for entries that match predetermined attack syntax, using techniques such as regular expression matching and anomaly detection. The vulnerability evaluator then identifies a subset of these entries that correspond to likely successful attacks, often involving simulating attacks to verify exploitability. Finally, the automatic amelioration module adjusts the settings of the web application to mitigate the identified vulnerabilities.\n\nThe implementation details involve configuring the logging mechanism to capture relevant network traffic data without exposing sensitive information. The attack pattern scanner requires a robust and up-to-date database of attack signatures and patterns. The vulnerability evaluator must be able to accurately assess the impact of potential attacks. The automatic amelioration module needs to be carefully designed to prevent unintended consequences.\n\nIntegration patterns include deploying the system as a standalone appliance, as a virtual machine, or as a cloud-based service. It can also be integrated with existing security information and event management (SIEM) systems to provide a comprehensive view of security events.\n\nPerformance characteristics are significantly improved compared to traditional WAFs due to the passive monitoring approach. This eliminates the latency associated with traffic interception and allows the web application to operate at optimal performance.\n\nCode-level implications involve ensuring that the logging mechanism is secure and does not introduce new vulnerabilities. The attack pattern scanner must be efficient and accurate to minimize false positives and false negatives. The automatic amelioration module must be carefully tested to ensure that it does not disrupt the functionality of the web application.","business_analysis":"The Passive Web Application Firewall patent addresses a critical need in the cybersecurity market: efficient and effective protection of web applications. The market opportunity is substantial, as organizations of all sizes rely on web applications to conduct business and interact with customers. The increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks have made web application security a top priority for many organizations.\n\nThe competitive advantages of this technology stem from its reactive approach, which eliminates the performance drawbacks of traditional WAFs. By logging communications and scanning those logs for attack patterns, the system can identify vulnerabilities without introducing latency. This can result in significant cost savings for organizations, as they can avoid the performance degradation associated with traditional WAFs.\n\nThe revenue potential for this technology is significant. It can be offered as a standalone product, as a managed service, or as part of a broader security suite. The business models include subscription-based pricing, usage-based pricing, and perpetual licensing.\n\nThe strategic positioning of this technology is as a complement to existing security measures. It can be used in conjunction with traditional WAFs, intrusion detection systems, and other security tools to provide a layered defense against cyberattacks.\n\nROI projections are favorable, as the technology can reduce the cost of security incidents, improve application performance, and enhance regulatory compliance. By reducing the number of false positives, the system can also free up security teams to focus on more strategic tasks.","faqs":null,"topics":["web application firewall","network security","cybersecurity","vulnerability management","attack detection","passive","application","firewall"],"tech_cluster":null},"seo":{"title":"Passive Web Application Firewall - Patent US-9853940","description":"Discover how the Passive Web Application Firewall revolutionizes web security by reactively identifying vulnerabilities without intercepting traffic. Full patent analysis inside.","keywords":["web application firewall","network security","cybersecurity","vulnerability management","attack detection","passive firewall","patent","patent US-9853940"]},"attribution":{"source":"Patentable","source_url":"https://patentable.app","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853940","license":"CC-BY-4.0-like","license_terms":"AI-generated analysis on this page (summary, layman_explanation, technical_analysis, business_analysis, faqs) may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL above. Patent abstracts, claims, and bibliographic data are USPTO public domain.","required_link":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853940","citation_suggestion":"Patentable. \"Passive web application firewall\" (US-9853940). https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853940","copyright_holder":"Nomic Interactive Technology LLC"},"links":{"html":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9853940","json":"https://patentable.app/api/llm-context/US-9853940","site":"https://patentable.app","llms_txt":"https://patentable.app/llms.txt"},"generated_at":"2026-05-30T08:24:25.997Z"}