The invention is a computer
system that provides
early detection alert and response to electronic threats (eThreats) in large
wide area networks, e.g. the network of an Internet Services Provider or a Network Services Provider. The
system of the invention accomplishes this by harnessing the
processing power of dedicated hardware,
software residing in specialized servers, distributed personal computers connected to the network, and the
human brain to provide multi-layered
early detection, alarm and response. The
layers comprise: a
Protection Layer, which detects and eliminates from the
network data stream eThreats known to the
system; a Detection Layer, which detects and creates signatures for new eThreats that are unknown to the system; an
Expert Analysis Layer, which comprises a group of human experts who receive information from various components of the system and analyze the information to confirm the identity of new eThreats; and a Collaborative Detection &
Protection Layer, which detects potential new eThreats by
processing information received from various system agents and users. A Dynamic Sandbox
Protection Layer associated with the distributed personal computers connected to the network. can optionally be part of the system of the invention.