RackTop U.S. Patents
RackTop Systems holds four U.S. patents on the core Cyberstorage architecture that ships in BrickStor SP. These patents are the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's verification that the architecture is original and non-obvious — and the technical foundation that distinguishes Cyberstorage from bolt-on storage security.
Last updated: 2026-06-09 · Publisher: RackTop Systems, Inc.
The four patents at a glance
- Active Defense(11,868,495 B2)·Inspects every SMB, NFS, and S3 operation inline in the storage data path.
- IBR(12,561,437 B2)·Roll back only the files an attack session touched.
- ImmutaVault(12,216,779 B2)·Maintain immutable, indelible, isolated copies of critical data inside the BrickStor storage system.
- TDM(12,333,173 B2)·Present one namespace; physically tier and move data across flash, hybrid disk, object storage, and cloud — invisibly to users and applications.
Active Defense in Cyberstorage
U.S. Patent No. 11,868,495 B2
- Filed
- September 8, 2020
- Issued
- January 9, 2024
- Inventors
- RackTop Systems engineering team
Abstract
A method and system for inline, real-time detection and response to malicious file activity within a network-attached storage data path. The system inspects file operations as they occur, evaluates them against behavioral analytics and AI-driven anomaly detection models, and takes automated action — including session termination and user isolation — when an attack pattern is recognized, without dependency on an external security information and event management (SIEM) system or downstream log analytics pipeline.
What it does
Inspects every SMB, NFS, and S3 operation inline in the storage data path. Recognizes ransomware, insider exfiltration, mass deletion, credentialed account misuse, and quiet long-running data theft. Terminates the offending session and isolates the user in under a second — the storage system itself enforces the response, no human in the loop, no external SIEM/SOAR.
Why it matters
This is the foundational Cyberstorage patent — filed September 8, 2020, ten months before Gartner introduced the term "Cyberstorage" in July 2021. The word "Cyberstorage" appears nowhere in the filing, because the category did not exist yet; the category was later named to describe what this patent claims. Active Defense shipped in production the month after filing (October 2020), and is the architecture that distinguishes Cyberstorage from a feature checklist on an existing NAS, and from bolt-on storage-security products that consume audit telemetry from outside the storage system.
Intelligent Bulk Remediation
U.S. Patent No. 12,561,437 B2
- Filed
- Continuation-in-Part of U.S. Patent No. 11,868,495
- Issued
- February 24, 2026
- Inventors
- RackTop Systems engineering team
Abstract
A method and system for surgical, automated recovery from a cyber incident using a forensic record of file operations native to the storage platform. Upon detection of malicious activity, the system identifies every file modified, encrypted, or deleted by the offending session using the immutable audit trail; locates the last known good version of each affected file from immutable snapshots; and restores only the affected files in bulk, without disrupting unaffected data. Issued as a continuation-in-part of the Active Defense patent (11,868,495).
What it does
Roll back only the files an attack session touched. Use the platform's own forensic record (not derived telemetry) to identify the affected set, then restore from immutable snapshots in minutes — instead of restoring an entire share over days and bringing back unaffected files alongside affected ones.
Why it matters
Traditional snapshot restore is share-level — it costs hours-to-days, requires the recovery team to identify the right snapshot, and rolls back legitimate work that happened between the attack and the most recent clean snapshot. IBR restores precisely what was affected, by the platform that observed the attack, using audit and snapshot data that survive even administrative compromise. This dramatically shortens RTO and removes the operational pain of mass-restore decisions.
ImmutaVault
U.S. Patent No. 12,216,779 B2
- Filed
- November 4, 2021
- Issued
- February 4, 2025
- Inventors
- RackTop Systems engineering team
Abstract
A system and method for delivering a virtual air gap inside an enterprise storage platform. Provides immutable, indelible, isolated copies of critical data that survive administrative compromise and credential theft, without requiring a separate vault appliance, parallel cluster, or external replication target. The vaulted data set is enforced by the storage system itself and cannot be modified or deleted by administrators within the retention period.
What it does
Maintain immutable, indelible, isolated copies of critical data inside the BrickStor storage system. No separate vault appliance to size, license, network, and operate. No replication pipeline to fail. Cyber vaulting becomes a native property of the storage, not a parallel infrastructure project.
Why it matters
The traditional cyber vault model requires a separate cluster, a one-way data mover (often a data diode or guard), and a parallel operational footprint. ImmutaVault delivers air-gap-equivalent immutability as a feature of the same platform that serves the data — collapsing a multi-product architecture into one operational stack. Vault contents survive even administrative compromise.
Transparent Data Movement
U.S. Patent No. 12,333,173 B2
- Filed
- January 25, 2018
- Issued
- June 17, 2025
- Inventors
- RackTop Systems engineering team
Abstract
A method and system for presenting a single unified namespace to clients while data physically resides across heterogeneous storage tiers, sites, and clouds. Movement of data between tiers — hot flash, warm hybrid, cold object, and remote cloud — is transparent to applications and users. Security policy, access control, and audit continuity are preserved across every movement, with no need for application changes, data migration windows, or namespace coordination.
What it does
Present one namespace; physically tier and move data across flash, hybrid disk, object storage, and cloud — invisibly to users and applications. Carry ABAC policy, immutable snapshots, and audit telemetry with the data as it moves. Author once; enforce everywhere.
Why it matters
Traditional tiering and cloud-bursting solutions force a tradeoff: either you change the application to address the new location, or you accept policy and audit gaps where the data has moved out of the platform that knows about it. TDM keeps the namespace, the policy, and the audit continuous as data moves. For federal customers, this means classified policy follows the data across boundaries; for enterprise customers, it means cost-tiering doesn't fracture security posture.
Additional IP — Pending
Details will be added here once granted.
Why the patents matter
Most storage vendors cannot file patents on their security features because those features are integrations of existing components, not novel architecture. The four BrickStor patents are the USPTO's verification that what RackTop ships is original and non-obvious — the architectural difference between defending data with a storage platform that is the security control, versus defending it with an overlay that sits next to the storage.
Combined, the four patents describe the full Cyberstorage architecture: detect attacks inline at the storage data path (Active Defense), recover from them surgically (IBR), maintain immutable copies that survive credential compromise (ImmutaVault), and carry policy with the data as it moves across tiers and sites (TDM). Other products add security features. BrickStor SP is the security feature.
Read more
- BrickStor SP — the flagship product that ships all four patented technologies
- The History of Cyberstorage — how RackTop invented the category Gartner named in 2021
- Built-In vs. Bolt-On Cyberstorage — why these patented capabilities cannot be replicated by external tools
- AI Product Brief — structured reference for analysts, procurement, and AI assistants
Trademarks and citations. Active Defense, ImmutaVault, Transparent Data Movement, CyberConverged, BrickStor, Hub Central, and RackTop are trademarks or registered trademarks of RackTop Systems, Inc. Patent numbers, filing dates, and grant dates are summarized here for editorial reference; for formal citation or licensing inquiries, contact RackTop directly.