ELASTIC ASSET-BASED LICENSING MODEL FOR USE IN A VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

摘要

The disclosure generally relates to a vulnerability management system configured to implement an asset-based identification algorithm to identify, update, and otherwise reconcile assets in a network according to various identification attributes that are ordered on a spectrum from authoritative to speculative based on an ability that each identification attribute has to accurately link a host to a given asset. The identification algorithm may further enable an elastic asset-based licensing approach, wherein each asset that is scanned in a current licensing period consumes a single license and licenses are reclaimed from any old assets that are not scanned in a current licensing period (i.e., the old assets do not count towards a total licensed asset count. Furthermore, asset counts may be allowed to temporarily exceed the total licensed asset count without requiring license upsells, with true-up payments only required if and/or when asset counts reflect general expansion of a customer network.