U.S. Patent 11050763 was awarded to UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (USAA) on June 29, 2021 and is entitled “Distributed ledger for network security management.” The first named inventor is Thomas Bret Buckingham of Fair Oaks Ranch, TX. The abstract contains an overview of the patent disclosure:

Techniques are described for managing a network through use of a security device that includes, or has access to, a blockchain node. The security device may manage a network of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices in a home or other environment. The security device may act as an intermediary to manage secure, trusted communications between the IoT device(s) and external service(s). The security device may also provide network security features such as a network firewall. In some implementations, the security device may run a blockchain node, and the blockchain could be used to establish a verifiable home identity. The security device may interact with external resources and/or services, such as utility services, e-commerce services, and so forth, through this secure mechanism. Link to Full Patent

This blockchain patent was originally filed on October 20, 2017  as U.S. Patent Application 15/789781 at the United Stated Patent and Trademark Office. The application was them awarded a patent grant and published as U.S. Patent 11050763. The primary examiner was Olabode Akintola.

UNITED SERVICES AUTOMOBILE ASSOCIATION (USAA), who is the original assignee of this patent, has at least 1657 total granted patents in the United States as of the date of this article. This blockchain patent has been cited 0 times by other U.S. patents according to our law firm research, and can be considered an innovative patent in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain.

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