Prior art — US Patent 11929896

I will now proceed to extract and analyze the prior art cited in US patent 11929896 from the Google Patents page, as the provided patent text does not contain a direct "Prior Art Citations" section.

Prior Art Cited in US11929896:

Based on the Google Patents entry for US11929896, the following prior art references are cited:

Prior Art Citations by Applicant:

US11126487B1
- Full Citation: US11126487B1, Maor et al., "Cloud security posture management", Published: 2021-09-21, Assignee: Orca Security Ltd.
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: 2021-09-21; Filing: 2020-03-31
- Brief Description: This patent describes systems and methods for cloud security posture management. It involves obtaining configuration information of cloud resources from a cloud environment, generating an in-memory graph representing the cloud resources and their relationships, identifying security risks using graph traversals and queries, and generating recommendations. It focuses on identifying misconfigurations and vulnerabilities by analyzing the relationships between cloud assets in a graph model.
- Potential Anticipated Claim(s) (35 U.S.C. § 102): US11126487B1 appears highly relevant to the core concepts of US11929896, particularly regarding the collection of network entity data (cloud resources/configuration information), generation of a graph model representing entities and their relations, and using graph analysis for security. Claims 1, 12, and 18 of US11929896, which cover collecting network entity data, generating a multi-dimensional network graph representing entities and relations, and storing the graph, could potentially be anticipated by US11126487B1. However, the distinct "genericizing" step in US11929896 (S220 of FIG. 2, and discussed in the detailed description as a way to unify dissimilar objects providing similar functionalities, e.g., Azure and AWS firewalls) is not explicitly detailed in the abstract or high-level description of US11126487B1, which could be a distinguishing feature.
US11710188B1
- Full Citation: US11710188B1, Maor et al., "Cloud risk analysis", Published: 2023-07-25, Assignee: Orca Security Ltd.
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: 2023-07-25; Filing: 2022-04-14
- Brief Description: This patent describes methods and systems for cloud risk analysis. It involves collecting configuration data of cloud resources, constructing a graph model of the cloud environment from this data, identifying paths between resources, and performing risk assessment based on these paths. It aims to visualize cloud asset interconnections and identify potential attack vectors.
- Potential Anticipated Claim(s) (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to US11126487B1, this patent focuses on collecting configuration data, building a graph model of cloud resources, and analyzing relationships. The collection of network entity data, generation of a graph, and storage of the graph in US11929896 (Claims 1, 12, 18) could be broadly anticipated by the concepts in US11710188B1. Again, the specific "genericizing" step for creating unified representations of dissimilar entities for common functionalities is a key differentiator that would need careful examination against the full disclosure of US11710188B1 to determine if it is implicitly or explicitly present.
US11336639B2
- Full Citation: US11336639B2, Moysi et al., "Cloud network topology mapping for identifying attack paths", Published: 2022-05-17, Assignee: Wiz Inc.
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: 2022-05-17; Filing: 2020-09-17
- Brief Description: This patent describes a system and method for mapping cloud network topology and identifying attack paths. It involves collecting configuration data from a cloud environment, constructing a multi-layered graph model representing infrastructure, network, and application layers, and performing graph traversals to identify potential attack paths.
- Potential Anticipated Claim(s) (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent, assigned to Wiz Inc. (the same assignee as US11929896), is highly relevant as it describes collecting configuration data and building a multi-layered graph model of a cloud network. The collection, graph generation, and storage steps of US11929896 (Claims 1, 12, 18) are clearly present. The focus on a "multi-layered graph model" might relate to aspects of "multi-dimensional data structure" in US11929896. The key "genericizing" step would again be the point of distinction for US11929896. Given the shared assignee and similar technical area, this patent represents a close prior art.

Prior Art Citations by Examiner:

US10255375B2
- Full Citation: US10255375B2, Varma et al., "Network configuration analyzer", Published: 2019-04-09, Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: 2019-04-09; Filing: 2014-04-04
- Brief Description: This patent discloses a network configuration analyzer that creates a network graph based on network devices and their connections. It allows for analysis of network configurations and predicting behavior based on changes.
- Potential Anticipated Claim(s) (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent describes generating a network graph from network device configurations for analysis. The general steps of collecting data, generating a graph, and storing it (Claims 1, 12, 18 of US11929896) are conceptually similar. However, US10255375B2 appears to focus on traditional network configurations rather than the cloud environment and its varied, often "implicit" entities and the "genericizing" of heterogeneous cloud components highlighted in US11929896.
US20190102534A1
- Full Citation: US20190102534A1, Varma et al., "Network configuration analyzer", Published: 2019-04-04, Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc.
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: 2019-04-04; Filing: 2018-12-04
- Brief Description: This is a patent application corresponding to US10255375B2, disclosing similar subject matter related to network configuration analysis and graph generation.
- Potential Anticipated Claim(s) (35 U.S.C. § 102): As it describes similar content to US10255375B2, the same analysis applies. It covers collecting network configuration data and generating a network graph for analysis, which broadly relates to the core steps of US11929896 (Claims 1, 12, 18). The differentiation again lies in the explicit "genericizing" of disparate cloud entities and the unified graph model across varied cloud platforms and entity types as emphasized in US11929896.
US20180293309A1
- Full Citation: US20180293309A1, Gopinath et al., "Security analysis of a hybrid cloud environment", Published: 2018-10-11, Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: 2018-10-11; Filing: 2017-04-07
- Brief Description: This patent application describes a system and method for security analysis in a hybrid cloud environment. It involves collecting configuration data from both public and private clouds, creating a unified model of the hybrid cloud, and identifying security vulnerabilities. The "unified model" aspect is particularly relevant.
- Potential Anticipated Claim(s) (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference is significant due to its mention of a "unified model of the hybrid cloud" for security analysis, directly addressing disparate environments. This touches upon the "unified graph models for network entities" in US11929896. The steps of collecting data, generating a model (which could be a graph, though not explicitly stated as a "graph" in the abstract), and using it for analysis are present. The "genericizing" step for creating such a unified model from different cloud resource representations would be a crucial point of comparison to assess potential anticipation of Claims 1, 12, and 18.
US20130073570A1
- Full Citation: US20130073570A1, Shuster et al., "System and method for analyzing network topologies", Published: 2013-03-21, Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
- Publication/Filing Date: Publication: 2013-03-21; Filing: 2011-09-20
- Brief Description: This patent application describes analyzing network topologies by collecting network configuration data, building a topological model of the network, and querying it to understand network behavior.
- Potential Anticipated Claim(s) (35 U.S.C. § 102): This reference broadly addresses analyzing network topologies through data collection and model generation. The concepts of collecting network entity data, generating a representation of the network (a "topological model"), and querying it relate to the broad scope of Claims 1, 12, and 18 of US11929896. However, it predates the significant rise of multi-cloud environments and does not appear to teach the "genericizing" of disparate cloud entities to form a unified graph model as explicitly claimed and detailed in US11929896.

Summary of Relevance:

The most relevant prior art appears to be the patents assigned to Orca Security Ltd. (US11126487B1, US11710188B1) and Wiz Inc. (US11336639B2), as they directly address cloud environments, collection of cloud resource data, and the generation of graph models for security analysis or topology mapping. The examiner's citations, particularly US20180293309A1 (IBM), also show relevance in the concept of a "unified model" for hybrid cloud environments.

The distinguishing feature consistently highlighted in US11929896, and therefore the primary point of potential non-anticipation, is the explicit "genericizing" step (S220) where dissimilar network entities (e.g., native firewall objects in Azure and AWS) are converted into generic objects with standard properties to enable a unified graph model and subsequent unified queries. While the other patents discuss building graph models and unified views, the specific mechanism and emphasis on "genericizing" to abstract away vendor-specific differences for common functionalities is a critical element of US11929896's claims.