US Patent 10425430 Hierarchical scanning of internet connected assets

A system for hierarchical scanning includes an interface and a processor. The interface is to receive an indication to scan using a payload; provide the payload to a set of addresses on a set of ports; and receive a set of responses. Each response is associated with an address and a port. The processor is to: for each response of the set of responses: determine whether a follow-up probe exists associated with the response; and in the event the follow-up probe exists associated with the response: execute the follow-up probe on the address and the port associated with the response; and store the set of data received in response to the follow-up probe in a database.