IP Library Granted Patent US 11,588,826
Granted Patent B1
US 11,588,826 · App. 16/723,102 · Granted Feb 21, 2023

Domain name permutation

Inventors: Wah-Kwan Lin (Melrose, MA); Paul Deardorff (Durham, NC)
Assignee: Rapid7, Inc.
H04L63/1416H04L63/1491H04L61/3015H04L63/1483
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,588,826
App. No.
16/723,102
Granted
Feb 21, 2023
Kind
B1
Abstract

Methods and systems for identifying a network threat are disclosed. The methods described herein may involve receiving at least one permutation of a domain name, wherein the at least one permutation is registered with a domain name registrar. The methods described herein may further involve executing a scanning function to identify an active service on the at least one permutation registered with the domain name registrar and implementing a threat prevention procedure upon identifying an active service on the at least one permutation.

Claims (52)

1. A method comprising:

receiving at least one permutation of a domain name associated with a network threat, wherein the at least one permutation is registered with a domain name registrar;

executing a scanning function on the at least one permutation of the domain name to determine open ports associated with the at least one permutation of the domain name and identify an active service on an open port associated with the at least one permutation of the domain name;

capturing honeypot data using one or more honeypot devices associated with a network, wherein the one or more honeypot devices are implemented as virtual security appliances;

searching the honeypot data to determine that the active service on the at least one permutation of the domain name has attempted contact with at least one of the one or more honeypot devices;

receiving network activity data regarding at least one network device on a network;

analyzing the network activity data to determine that a network device on the network has interacted with the active service, and in response:

implementing a threat prevention procedure on the network device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein implementing the threat prevention procedure further comprises:

scanning the network device for malware,

removing malware from the network device,

blocking a user credential of a user associated with network device from being used to access the network, or

quarantining the network device from communicating with other devices on the network.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the network device is an file transfer protocol (FPT) server associated with the network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the network device is a user device in the network associated with a user.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising executing a domain name resolution function to determine whether the at least one permutation resolves, wherein the threat prevention procedure is implemented upon identifying an active service on the at least one permutation resolves.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

consulting a database of a list of expected domain names; and

filtering a permutation that matches an expected domain name.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the active service is selected from the group consisting of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) service, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) service, a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service, a Domain Name System (DNS) service, a Network Time Protocol (NTP) service, and a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein implementing the threat prevention procedure includes at least one of blocking a user associated with a network device from interacting with the permutation, preventing communications from the permutation, and blacklisting the permutation.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving the at least one permutation includes:

receiving a domain name of interest;

executing a function to generate a plurality of permutations of the received domain name of interest; and

generating a list of permutated domain names from the generated plurality of permutations.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the plurality of permutations are generated based on one or more machine learning procedures.

11. A system comprising:

a processor configured to execute instructions stored on a memory to:

receive, via an interface, at least one permutation of a domain name associated with a network threat, wherein the permutation is registered with a domain name registrar;

execute a scanning function on the at least one permutation of the domain name to determine open ports associated with the at least one permutation of the domain name and identify an active service on an open port associated with the at least one permutation of the domain name;

capture honeypot data using one or more honeypot devices associated with a network, wherein the one or more honeypot devices are implemented as virtual security appliances;

search the honeypot data to determine that the active service on the at least one permutation of the domain name has attempted contact with at least one of the one or more honeypot devices;

analyze network activity data regarding a network device on a network to determine that the network device has interacted with the active service, and in response:

implement a threat prevention procedure on the network device.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein to implement the threat prevention procedure, the processor is configured to:

cause the network device to be scanned for malware,

cause malware to be removed from the network device,

cause a user credential of a user associated with network device to be blocked from being used to access the network, or

cause the network device to be quarantined from other devices on the network.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the network device is an file transfer protocol (FPT) server associated with the network.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the network device is a user device in the network associated with a user.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the processor is further configured to execute a domain name resolution function to determine whether the at least one permutation resolves, wherein the threat prevention procedure is implemented upon identifying an active service on the at least one permutation resolves.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the processor is further configured to:

consult a database of a list of expected domain names; and

filter a permutation that matches an expected domain name.

17. The system of claim 11 wherein the active service is selected from the group consisting of a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) service, a Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) service, a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service, a Domain Name System (DNS) service, a Network Time Protocol (NTP) service, and a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) service.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein the threat prevention procedure includes at least one of blocking a user associated with a network device from interacting with the permutation, preventing communications from the permutation, and blacklisting the permutation.

19. The system of claim 11 wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a domain name of interest via the interface;

execute a function to generate a plurality of permutations of the received domain name of interest; and

generate a list of permutated domain names from the generated plurality of permutations.

20. The system of claim 11 wherein the processor is further configured to generate the plurality of permutations based on one or more machine learning procedures.

Assignments (4)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 26, 2025
From: RAPID7, INC.; RAPID7 LLC
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
Reel/Frame 071743/0537 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Dec 27, 2024
From: KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: RAPID7, INC.
Reel/Frame 069785/0328 →
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 24, 2020
From: RAPID7, INC.
To: KEYBANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 052489/0939 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 23, 2020
From: LIN, WAH-KWAN; DEARDORFF, PAUL
To: RAPID7, INC.
Reel/Frame 052190/0127 →
Cited By (1)
US 12,542,800