Wyoming Patent of the Month – January 2026

The Wyoming Patent of the Month

In the high-stakes arena of cybersecurity, where the equilibrium between offense and defense is perpetually shifting, the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 12,519,755 represents a defining moment for network transport security. Officially titled “Secure data routing and randomization in windows,” this patent was granted on January 6, 2026, following an application process that commenced on July 28, 2023. The intellectual property is assigned to SCATR Corp, a company increasingly recognized for its pioneering work in “Data Camouflage,” with inventorship credited to John G. Andrews, John P. Keyerleber, and Tomas H. McMonigal. In a rigorous evaluation process conducted by Swanson Reed, a leading R&D tax advisory firm, this specific invention was awarded the prestigious title of Wyoming Patent of the Month. This selection was not arbitrary; it was the result of a sophisticated analysis performed by Swanson Reed’s proprietary Artificial Intelligence technology, which screened approximately 1,000 potential patents within the region. The AI algorithms, designed to detect statistical outliers in novelty, claim breadth, and technical complexity, identified Patent 12,519,755 as the singular standout achievement of the period.

The decisive factor in this selection was the invention’s profound and demonstrable real-world impact. While many patents remain theoretical or incremental, the Swanson Reed AI assessment model prioritized this innovation because it addresses an urgent, existential vulnerability in global critical infrastructure: the predictability of data-in-motion. In an era where adversaries are harvesting encrypted data for future quantum decryption (a threat model known as “store-now-decrypt-later”), the ability to obfuscate the very existence of a communication channel is paramount. By introducing a mechanism for randomized data scattering within temporal or sequence “windows,” Patent 12,519,755 moves beyond traditional encryption-based security. It offers a solution that has immediate applications for warfighters operating in hostile electronic warfare environments, financial institutions guarding against quantum threats, and critical infrastructure operators shielding SCADA systems from state-sponsored espionage. The patent was chosen because it does not merely improve a process; it fundamentally alters the physics of data interception, rendering the cost of attack prohibitively high for even the most sophisticated actors.

Technical Superiority and Competitive Benchmarking

To fully appreciate the superiority of the technology described in Patent 12,519,755, it is necessary to conduct a deep comparative analysis against the current incumbents in the network security market. The prevailing paradigms—Standard VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) security overlays, and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)—all suffer from a common flaw: they rely on static, persistent connections that can be identified, tracked, and targeted.

The Core Innovation: Moving Target Defense (MTD) for Networks

The patent details a “scatter network device” that utilizes a non-transitory memory and a specific “scattering application”. Unlike standard TCP/IP routing, which seeks the most efficient path and maintains it, this system actively creates entropy. It intercepts data at the socket level and disperses it across multiple pathways (ports, protocols, or physical links) based on randomized “windows.” This effectively implements a Moving Target Defense (MTD) strategy at the transport layer.

Competitor Analysis

Competitor 1: Traditional VPNs (WireGuard, OpenVPN, IPsec)

• The Status Quo: Technologies like WireGuard and IPsec are the gold standard for confidentiality. They encapsulate data in a secure tunnel.
• The Weakness: The tunnel itself is a static target. A “man-in-the-middle” can see the tunnel’s entry and exit points. They can capture the encrypted stream, analyze the metadata (packet timing, size), or simply block the port.
• SCATR Superiority: Patent 12,519,755 eliminates the “tunnel” metaphor entirely. By scattering data packets across divergent paths and randomizing the transmission windows, the “stream” disappears. There is no persistent signature for an attacker to lock onto. To an observer, the traffic appears as uncorrelated background noise. This signature reduction capability is superior for covert operations and high-security transmission.

Competitor 2: The Onion Router (Tor)

• The Status Quo: Tor provides anonymity by bouncing traffic through multiple volunteer nodes.
• The Weakness: Tor is notoriously slow due to the latency of multiple hops. Furthermore, “exit nodes” are often monitored by intelligence agencies.
• SCATR Superiority: The patented technology focuses on routing randomization rather than just multi-hop anonymization. It is designed for high-throughput, low-latency performance suitable for enterprise and defense applications (“Born from warfighter requirements”). It offers the obfuscation benefits of Tor without the crippling performance penalty, making it viable for real-time video and voice communications.

Competitor 3: Endpoint MTD (e.g., Morphisec)

• The Status Quo: Companies like Morphisec lead the market in Endpoint Moving Target Defense, utilizing memory randomization to prevent exploit injection.
• The Weakness: This protects the device (the laptop or server) but leaves the data in transit vulnerable to network-level interception.
• SCATR Superiority: SCATR complements endpoint MTD by extending the protection to the network. It fills the critical gap between the sender and the receiver. The patent’s focus on “routing and randomization” addresses the vulnerability of the pipe, not just the bucket.

Benchmarking Table

The following table benchmarks the specific technological advantages of Patent 12,519,755 against standard industry solutions.

Real-World Impact and Market Potential

The selection of this patent as the Wyoming Patent of the Month was heavily influenced by its applicability to immediate, high-value problems in the global economy and national defense. The “Data Camouflage” technology described is not merely a theoretical construct but a necessary evolution of network architecture.

Current Real-World Impact: National Defense & Intelligence

The patent explicitly references origins in “warfighter requirements”. In the current geopolitical climate, the electromagnetic spectrum is a contested domain.

• LPD/LPI Communications: Military units operate under the constant threat of electronic detection. A standard radio transmission is a beacon for enemy artillery. The technology in Patent 12,519,755 allows for Low Probability of Detection (LPD) and Low Probability of Interception (LPI) communications. By scattering data across broad frequency bands or multiple network links, the RF signature is diluted to the point of blending with the noise floor.
• Drone/UAV Security: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) rely on command links that are vulnerable to jamming and hijacking. This patent’s randomization technique creates a resilient control link that can “hop” around jamming attempts dynamically, ensuring mission continuity.

Critical Infrastructure Protection (SCADA/ICS)

The U.S. power grid and water systems rely on SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) devices that are often legacy systems with no inherent security.

• The “Invisible Overlay”: Implementing the SCATR patent technology allows operators to wrap these vulnerable assets in a layer of obfuscation. A “scatter network device” placed in front of a legacy PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) makes that PLC invisible to the public internet. It can only be addressed by a correct scattering sequence, effectively air-gapping the device from cyber threats without physically disconnecting it.

Future Potential: The Post-Quantum Economy

The looming threat of “Q-Day”—the moment a quantum computer can crack RSA and Elliptic Curve cryptography—casts a long shadow over the financial sector.

• Quantum-Proofing Data in Motion: While the world waits for NIST-approved Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms to be standardized and implemented (a process that will take decades), Patent 12,519,755 offers an immediate hedge. By relying on physics and statistics (scattering) rather than just mathematics (encryption), it provides a layer of defense that is agnostic to the computational power of the adversary. This positions SCATR Corp to become a fundamental infrastructure provider for the “Quantum-Safe” internet of the 2030s.

Integration with Blockchain and Web3

Snippet 13 and 2 hint at the broader ecosystem of “blockchain-backed systems” and secure distributed ledgers. As decentralized finance (DeFi) grows, the security of the nodes validating transactions becomes critical. The SCATR patent can protect the validator nodes from DDoS attacks and targeted takedowns by hiding their IP addresses and randomizing their traffic patterns, ensuring the stability of decentralized networks.

R&D Tax Credit Analysis: Navigating the 4-Part Test

For innovative companies like SCATR Corp, and indeed for any enterprise engaging in the development of complex software and cybersecurity solutions, the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit (IRC Section 41) is a vital source of capital. However, claiming this credit requires strict adherence to the statutory “Four-Part Test.”

A project utilizing the technology described in Patent 12,519,755—specifically the development of the “scattering application,” the kernel-level integration of TUN/TAP interfaces, and the randomization algorithms—serves as a textbook example of eligible R&D. Below is a detailed analysis of how such a project meets each prong of the test, and how Swanson Reed’s methodology facilitates the claim.

Part 1: Permitted Purpose

The Requirement: The activity must relate to a new or improved business component—defined as a product, process, computer software, technique, formula, or invention—held for sale, lease, or license, or used by the taxpayer in its trade or business. The purpose must be to improve function, performance, reliability, or quality.

Application to the Patent Project:

• Business Component: The “scatter network device” and the associated “scattering application” described in the patent abstract constitute a new product for sale (to defense contractors, enterprises) and a new software component.
• Functional Improvement: The research aims to improve the performance of data transmission (via link aggregation) and the reliability/quality of security (via randomization).
• Exclusion Check: The project is not focused on cosmetic changes (UI/UX) or seasonal updates. It is a fundamental engineering effort to enhance the capabilities of the network stack.

Part 2: Technological in Nature

The Requirement: The research must fundamentally rely on principles of the physical or biological sciences, engineering, or computer science. The process of experimentation must utilize these principles to resolve the uncertainty.

Application to the Patent Project:

• Core Sciences: The development of Patent 12,519,755 relies heavily on Computer Science (specifically network socket programming, kernel-level memory management, and distributed systems theory) and Mathematics (cryptography, probability theory for randomization distributions).
• Substantiation: To support this, Swanson Reed would identify the specific technical personnel (Network Engineers, Cryptographers, Kernel Developers) and map their activities to these hard sciences. “Soft” research, such as market analysis of the VPN sector, would be strictly excluded.

Part 3: Elimination of Uncertainty

The Requirement: At the outset of the project, the taxpayer must encounter uncertainty regarding the capability (can it be done?), the method (how do we do it?), or the appropriate design of the business component.

Application to the Patent Project:

• Capability Uncertainty: “Is it possible to scatter packets across high-latency (satellite) and low-latency (fiber) links simultaneously without causing TCP timeouts or jitter that renders the stream unusable?”
• Methodological Uncertainty: “How do we synchronize the ‘randomization windows’ between the sender and receiver without exchanging a static key that could be intercepted? What algorithm will ensure the randomization is truly non-deterministic to an observer but deterministic to the receiver?”
• Design Uncertainty: “Should the scattering engine operate in the User Space (for ease of deployment) or Kernel Space (for performance)? How do we handle packet fragmentation and reassembly at gigabit speeds?”
• Swanson Reed’s Role: The existence of the patent itself is strong evidence of uncertainty (if it were obvious, it wouldn’t be patentable). However, for tax purposes, Swanson Reed uses TaxTrex to document these technical challenges contemporaneously. They would log the specific “Blockers” and “Technical Hurdles” encountered by the engineering team during the development year.

Part 4: Process of Experimentation

The Requirement: Substantially all (at least 80%) of the research activities must constitute elements of a process of experimentation. This involves identifying one or more alternatives, and evaluating them through modeling, simulation, or systematic trial and error to resolve the uncertainty.

Application to the Patent Project:

• Alternative 1: The team may have first attempted a “Round Robin” scattering approach.
• Test/Simulation: They likely simulated this in a lab environment and found that it was too predictable (easy for an AI attacker to learn the pattern).
• Alternative 2: They then hypothesized a “Pseudo-Random” distribution based on atmospheric noise.
• Test/Simulation: They built a prototype and tested it against packet capture tools (Wireshark) to measure the “noise” signature.
• Refinement: They discovered that while secure, the reassembly overhead caused high CPU usage.
• Final Design: They iterated to the “Windowed” approach described in the patent, balancing security with performance.
• Documentation: This is the most critical phase for audit defense. Swanson Reed helps clients capture the iterations. It is not enough to show the final success; the tax credit rewards the journey of failure and refinement. Git commit logs, JIRA tickets labeled “Bug/Defect,” and engineering meeting minutes discussing “Trade-offs” are collected to prove this systematic process.

How Swanson Reed Helps Claim the Credit

The R&D tax credit is highly scrutinized by the IRS. Swanson Reed, as a specialist firm, provides a distinct advantage in claiming credits for complex patent-generating projects like this one.

1. AI-Driven Substantiation (TaxTrex): Swanson Reed utilizes TaxTrex, an AI methodology that integrates with the client’s workflow to identifying Qualified Research Expenses (QREs) in real-time. For SCATR Corp, TaxTrex would help distinguish between “routine software maintenance” (ineligible) and the “development of novel scattering algorithms” (eligible).
2. Nexus Creation: The firm’s methodology focuses on creating a clear “Nexus” between the financial data (wages, contractor costs, cloud computing supplies) and the technical project activities. This ensures that every dollar claimed is directly tied to a specific element of the 4-Part Test.
3. Audit Defense & Compliance: R&D claims involving software are often challenged on the “Internal Use Software” (IUS) rules. Swanson Reed’s experts (CPAs and Engineers) ensure that the claim meets the higher threshold of the “High Threshold of Innovation” test if applicable, and they provide audit representation to defend the technical merits of the claim.

In conclusion, U.S. Patent No. 12,519,755 is more than just a legal document; it is a blueprint for the future of secure communications. Its recognition as the Wyoming Patent of the Month underscores its technical brilliance and commercial viability. For the innovators behind such technology, the R&D Tax Credit serves as a critical mechanism to reinvest in the next generation of breakthroughs, provided the rigorous standards of the 4-Part Test are met with the precision and expertise that firms like Swanson Reed provide.