IP Library Granted Patent US 11,122,087
Granted Patent B2
US 11,122,087 · App. 16/712,340 · Granted Sep 14, 2021

Managing cybersecurity vulnerabilities using blockchain networks

Inventors: Jun Gu (Hangzhou, CN); Yixiang Zhang (Hangzhou, CN)
Assignee: Advanced New Technologies Co., Ltd.
H04L63/20G06F21/577H04L9/0894H04L9/3239H04L9/3247H04L63/1433H04L2209/38
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,122,087
App. No.
16/712,340
Granted
Sep 14, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for cybersecurity vulnerability management. One of the methods includes receiving a vulnerability report indicating a cybersecurity vulnerability by a blockchain network. The blockchain network provides access to the vulnerability report to an administration server. A vulnerability verification report indicating a verification of the cybersecurity vulnerability from the administration server is received by the blockchain network. The blockchain network stores information of the cybersecurity vulnerability into a vulnerability record that is stored on the blockchain network. The blockchain network provides access to the vulnerability record to a service provider, and receives a notification indicating a resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability from the service provider.

Claims (79)

1. A computer-implemented method for cybersecurity vulnerability management, the method comprising:

maintaining, by a blockchain network, a blockchain that comprises one or more blocks storing a vulnerability record, wherein the vulnerability record comprises information of one or more cybersecurity vulnerabilities of computer-implemented services;

maintaining, by the blockchain network, a smart contract for a cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme, wherein the smart contract comprises defined parties of the cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme and defined functions operable by the defined parties of the cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme, wherein the defined parties comprise an administration server and one or more service providers;

receiving, by the blockchain network and from a client device, via a smart contract call of a function defined in the smart contract for submitting a vulnerability report, the vulnerability report indicating a cybersecurity vulnerability of a computer-implemented service provided by a service provider;

providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability report to the administration server for verifying the cybersecurity vulnerability in the vulnerability report;

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the administration server, a vulnerability verification report indicating a verification of the cybersecurity vulnerability in the vulnerability report submitted by the client device, wherein the vulnerability verification report comprise an identifier of the administration server;

storing, by the blockchain network, information of the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record that is stored on the blockchain network, wherein the information of the cybersecurity vulnerability is based on the vulnerability report and the vulnerability verification report;

after storing the information of the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record, providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability record to the service provider; and

after providing the access to the vulnerability record to the service provider, receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a notification indicating a resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability, wherein the notification comprises a service name of the computer-implemented service provided by the service provider, an identifier of the service provider, a description of the cybersecurity vulnerability, and a description of the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cybersecurity vulnerability comprises at least one of a software vulnerability or a hardware vulnerability.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the administration server, a request to access the vulnerability report;

determining, by the blockchain network, whether the administration server is authorized to access the vulnerability report; and

in response to determining that the administration server is authorized to access the vulnerability report, sending the vulnerability report to the administration server.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a request to access the vulnerability verification report;

determining, by the blockchain network, whether the service provider is authorized to access the vulnerability verification report; and

in response to determining that the service provider is authorized to access the vulnerability verification report, sending the vulnerability verification report to the service provider.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a request to reward a blockchain account of the client device; and

in response to receiving the request from the service provider, providing, by the blockchain network, a reward to the blockchain account of the client device.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to receiving the notification from the service provider, storing, by the blockchain network, the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record; and

providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability record to a service user of the computer-implemented service.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability comprises at least one of the following: a software patch, or a hardware replacement.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the smart contract comprises authorized entities, among the defined parties of the cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme, that are authorized to perform one or more of the defined functions.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defined parties comprise one or more of a security specialist who identifies the cybersecurity vulnerability of the computer-implemented service or a service user of the computer-implemented service provided by the service provider, and wherein the smart contract call of the function defined in the smart contract for submitting the vulnerability report is from one of the one or more of the security specialist.

10. A non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium storing one or more instructions executable by a computer system to perform operations for cybersecurity vulnerability management, the operations comprising:

maintaining, by a blockchain network, a blockchain that comprises one or more blocks storing a vulnerability record, wherein the vulnerability record comprises information of one or more cybersecurity vulnerabilities of computer-implemented services;

maintaining, by the blockchain network, a smart contract for a cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme, wherein the smart contract comprises defined parties of the cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme and defined functions operable by the defined parties of the cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme, wherein the defined parties comprise an administration server and one or more service providers;

receiving, by the blockchain network and from a client device, via a smart contract call of a function defined in the smart contract for submitting a vulnerability report, the vulnerability report indicating a cybersecurity vulnerability of a computer-implemented service provided by a service provider;

providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability report to the administration server for verifying the cybersecurity vulnerability in the vulnerability report;

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the administration server, a vulnerability verification report indicating a verification of the cybersecurity vulnerability in the vulnerability report submitted by the client device, wherein the vulnerability verification report comprise an identifier of the administration server;

storing, by the blockchain network, information of the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record that is stored on the blockchain network, wherein the information of the cybersecurity vulnerability is based on the vulnerability report and the vulnerability verification report;

after storing the information of the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record, providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability record to the service provider; and

after providing the access to the vulnerability record to the service provider, receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a notification indicating a resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability, wherein the notification comprises a service name of the computer-implemented service provided by the service provider, an identifier of the service provider, a description of the cybersecurity vulnerability, and a description of the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability.

11. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the cybersecurity vulnerability comprises at least one of a software vulnerability or a hardware vulnerability.

12. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the administration server, a request to access the vulnerability report;

determining, by the blockchain network, whether the administration server is authorized to access the vulnerability report; and

in response to determining that the administration server is authorized to access the vulnerability report, sending the vulnerability report to the administration server.

13. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a request to access the vulnerability verification report;

determining, by the blockchain network, whether the service provider is authorized to access the vulnerability verification report; and

in response to determining that the service provider is authorized to access the vulnerability verification report, sending the vulnerability verification report to the service provider.

14. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a request to reward a blockchain account of the client device; and

in response to receiving the request from the service provider, providing, by the blockchain network, a reward to the blockchain account of the client device.

15. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , the operations further comprising:

in response to receiving the notification from the service provider, storing, by the blockchain network, the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record; and

providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability record to a service user of the computer-implemented service.

16. The non-transitory, computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability comprises at least one of the following: a software patch, or a hardware replacement.

17. A system for cybersecurity vulnerability management, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more computer-readable memories coupled to the one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon that are executable by the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

maintaining, by a blockchain network, a blockchain that comprises one or more blocks storing a vulnerability record, wherein the vulnerability record comprises information of one or more cybersecurity vulnerabilities of computer-implemented services;

maintaining, by the blockchain network, a smart contract for a cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme, wherein the smart contract comprises defined parties of the cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme and defined functions operable by the defined parties of the cybersecurity vulnerability management scheme, wherein the defined parties comprise an administration server and one or more service providers;

receiving, by the blockchain network and from a client device, via a smart contract call of a function defined in the smart contract for submitting a vulnerability report, the vulnerability report indicating a cybersecurity vulnerability of a computer-implemented service provided by a service provider;

providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability report to the administration server for verifying the cybersecurity vulnerability in the vulnerability report;

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the administration server, a vulnerability verification report indicating a verification of the cybersecurity vulnerability in the vulnerability report submitted by the client device, wherein the vulnerability verification report comprise an identifier of the administration server;

storing, by the blockchain network, information of the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record that is stored on the blockchain network, wherein the information of the cybersecurity vulnerability is based on the vulnerability report and the vulnerability verification report;

after storing the information of the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record, providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability record to the service provider; and

after providing the access to the vulnerability record to the service provider, receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a notification indicating a resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability, wherein the notification comprises a service name of the computer-implemented service provided by the service provider, an identifier of the service provider, a description of the cybersecurity vulnerability, and a description of the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability.

18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the cybersecurity vulnerability comprises at least one of a software vulnerability or a hardware vulnerability.

19. The system of claim 17 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the administration server, a request to access the vulnerability report;

determining, by the blockchain network, whether the administration server is authorized to access the vulnerability report; and

in response to determining that the administration server is authorized to access the vulnerability report, sending the vulnerability report to the administration server.

20. The system of claim 17 , the operations further comprising:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a request to access the vulnerability verification report;

determining, by the blockchain network, whether the service provider is authorized to access the vulnerability verification report; and

in response to determining that the service provider is authorized to access the vulnerability verification report, sending the vulnerability verification report to the service provider.

21. The system of claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprises:

receiving, by the blockchain network and from the service provider, a request to reward a blockchain account of the client device; and

in response to receiving the request from the service provider, providing, by the blockchain network, a reward to the blockchain account of the client device.

22. The system of claim 17 , the operations further comprising:

in response to receiving the notification from the service provider, storing, by the blockchain network, the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability into the vulnerability record; and

providing, by the blockchain network, access to the vulnerability record to a service user of the computer-implemented service.

23. The system of claim 17 , wherein the resolution to the cybersecurity vulnerability comprises at least one of the following: a software patch, or a hardware replacement.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 10, 2020
From: ADVANTAGEOUS NEW TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
To: ADVANCED NEW TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 053754/0625 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 31, 2020
From: ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
To: ADVANTAGEOUS NEW TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 053743/0464 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 14, 2020
From: GU, JUN; ZHANG, YIXIANG
To: ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Reel/Frame 052397/0338 →