Patent Document ID: 7735140
Application ID: 11148489
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of performing a network security audit based on information flows among network elements, comprising the machine-implemented steps of: obtaining a network inventory that identifies one or more network elements of a packet-switched network; obtaining a list of ports; determining, based at least in part on an examination of a running configuration of each of the one or more network elements, how information packets flow through each port in the list of ports for each of the one or more network elements; determining a first threat level for each port in the list of ports for each of the network elements based at least in part on: whether the running configuration indicates that the port is open or closed; whether the running configuration indicates that the port, if open, has been configured with restrictions; determining a second threat level for each of the one or more network elements based, at least in part, on the first threat levels associated with each port in the list of ports for that network element; determining a third threat level for the network as a whole; and providing a report of a network security audit based on the first, second and third threat levels; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.