Network security firm Xgate said on Monday it has filed a patent for AI-based next-generation security technology.

The company said the patented technology centres on recognising and deriving applications using AI-based techniques without decrypting encrypted traffic during network communications.

It said more than 90 percent of the traffic that firewall devices must process in network communications is encrypted. It said a traffic decryption process is needed to recognise and determine whether a site is harmful and to identify the exact type of an application.

The company said decryption and deciphering require high-performance CPUs and memory, and that there are environments where decryption is not possible due to privacy, legal issues or policy constraints. It stressed that the "AI library" installed in Xgate's next-generation firewall is free from such constraints.

The company said applications can be recognised without decrypting received traffic, and that AI technologies such as adaptive learning and patterns allow applications to be identified even by sending only part of the traffic.

A Xgate official said, "This patented technology fundamentally resolves the structural limitations of existing encrypted traffic analysis methods," adding, "Through this, we have secured core source technology for next-generation security equipment optimised for the era of encrypted traffic."