Microsoft patents cloud tool that blocks risky code updates before launch
Microsoft has been granted a patent for a system that checks software updates for security flaws before they are installed in a cloud environment. It creates a map of the system's security status and compares it with the new code to spot potential risks or vulnerabilities. If a problem is found, the system can stop the update, report the issue, or automatically fix the code.
In the filing’s own words
This disclosure describes a proactive deployment impact system that detects and addresses the security impact of candidate code-based infrastructure changes before they are deployed in a production environment within a cloud computing system. The proactive deployment impact system implements a lightweight preemptive security framework, based on runtime resource information, to determine whether a requested candidate code-based infrastructure change would introduce new security risks, attack patterns, or breach vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the proactive deployment impact system can actively block the deployment of negatively impacting candidate changes, report potential security breaches, and/or automatically modify the candidate changes to eliminate security vulnerabilities.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer-implemented method for preventing resource breaches in a cloud computing system, comprising: receiving a cloud resource deployment request to deploy a candidate code-based infrastructure change in a cloud infrastructure environment; generating a security map of a target portion of the cloud infrastructure environment that indicates security information of nodes and edges within the target portion; based on determining that the cloud resource deployment request corresponds to the target portion, generating a candidate security map by merging security information from the candidate code-based infrastructure change into the security map; determining a security risk based on performing a security pattern analysis on one or more pattern-based data structures generated from the candidate security map; and based on determining the security risk: deploying changes from the candidate code-based infrastructure change to the cloud infrastructure environment; or preventing the cloud resource deployment request from deploying in the cloud infrastructure environment.
Facts
- Company
- Microsoft (Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC)
- Official title
- Proactively determining security risks and deployment impacts across cloud computing environments
- Patent number
- US12739282B2
- Application number
- 18930621
- Filed
- Oct 29, 2024
- Granted
- Sep 15, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
H04L 63/20 Electricity & electronicsMore from Microsoft in Security & privacy
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.