Belarc, Inc.

Bellarc, Inc.

Richard M DeFuria

Gary H Newman

A security control verification and monitoring subsystem of a managed computer system performs security control verification operations regularly and for each security control verification operation determines the applicable security benchmark level for use by a given computer. The subsystem assigns security risk categories to groups of computers based, for example, on overall system or group administrator supplied potential impact settings and/or system type and business or information type selections. The subsystem further associates the security risk categories with security benchmark levels based on mapping information supplied by the overall system or group administrator. The subsystem then directs the computer to benchmark definition files based on the assigned security risk category, the associated security benchmark level and attributes of the computer. The subsystem performs the security control verification operations whenever the computer performs computer profile data update operations, and thus, monitors essentially continuously the security control compliance of the computer. The subsystem stores the results of the security verification operations and includes the results in reports for the system, group or computer.

Security control verification and monitoring subsystem for use in a computer information database system

A Computer Information Database System includes a software update and patch audit subsystem that manages computer profile data using system grouping and audit specification criteria. The subsystem thus selects a particular group of computers using the grouping criteria, and further selects from within the group the computers that pass or fail the applicable audit requirements. A given computer passes the requirements if the computer has installed thereon the specified software updates and patches that are applicable to the computer operating system platform. Otherwise, the computer fails. The audit subsystem may instead select particular computers using the audit specification criteria and then using the grouping criteria further select the subset of these computers that belong to a particular group. Further, the audit specification criteria may be set differently for the respective groups. Also, the grouping criteria and/or the security audit criteria may change without adversely impacting the operations of the subsystem. The audit system uses database tables and views that include value-to-match fields for either or both of the grouping and the audit specification criteria, and also software update or patch specific information and/or operating system specific information. One table includes group and operating system information for the respective computers, another table includes entries for the respective updates and patches that are installed on the respective computers, and another table includes entries that together specify the security audit specifications for the respective groups. Using the tables, the system produces views that relate, for example, to failing computers, what updates or patches the respective failing computers are missing, which or how many computers are failing within a particular group.

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Acton, MA, United States of America

Richard M DeFuria