Patent ID: 7451488

Claim:
In a policy-based monitor system, a network security system for vulnerability assessment (VA) comprising: a VA client for requesting vulnerability scans, for processing returned results, and for storing relevant data coupled to said request; a VA server for receiving said VA client request for vulnerability scans, for performing said vulnerability scans, and for returning scan results to said VA client; a vulnerability scan result comprising: an IP address of a target host; a service being exercised; a type of vulnerability; and a security level of said vulnerability; wherein responsive to, and dependent on, an associated vulnerability state, at least one returned vulnerability scan result is mapped into a vulnerability network event, said vulnerability network event being accessible to an analyzing module coupled to a studio module and being accessible to an enterprise-level user interface, said vulnerability network event being maintained for the lifetime of said vulnerability; a module for removing all vulnerability events pertaining to a host that is unreachable for a time exceeding a specified time; and in response to a policy file being compiled, means for a pdx compiler computing a complete set of IP addresses to be scanned and for outputting said set of IP addresses to a file as input for said VA client.