US 12,081,518 B1
Selective inspection of network traffic associated with a plurality of network-connected smart devices using man-in-the-middle (MITM) gateway
Michael D. Melnick, Brighton, NY (US); and David L Knudsen, Saint Helena, CA (US)
Assigned to EVERYTHING SET INC., Oakland, CA (US)
Filed by EVERYTHING SET INC., Berkeley, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 22, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/677,235.
Int. Cl. H04L 9/40 (2022.01); H04L 43/0894 (2022.01)
CPC H04L 63/0209 (2013.01) [H04L 43/0894 (2013.01); H04L 63/1408 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for configuring a man-in-the-middle (MITM) gateway to selectively inspect network traffic associated with a plurality of network-connected smart devices for malicious network traffic, wherein the MITM gateway is connected to a router which allows for communication between the plurality of network-connected smart devices and one or more external sources via an electronic network, wherein the MITM gateway, the plurality of network-connected smart devices, and the router are in a computer network, the method comprising:
(a) configuring the MITM gateway to operate in a first mode or a second mode for each of the network-connected smart devices, wherein the first mode configures the MITM gateway to perform inspection of network traffic associated with the respective network-connected smart device, and the second mode configures the MITM gateway to not perform any inspection of network traffic associated with the respective network-connected smart device;
(b) automatically detecting, for each of the network-connected smart devices, when the MITM gateway operating in the first mode is adversely affecting the operation of a respective network-connected smart device; and
(c) changing the MITM gateway to operate in the second mode for a respective network-connected smart device when it is detected that the MITM gateway operating in the first mode is adversely affecting the operation of the respective network-connected smart device,
wherein a respective network-connected smart device is detected to be adversely affected by the MITM gateway when a performance metric of the respective network-connected smart device is detected as being below a predefined percentage or value.