A mechanism is provided in a data processing system for matching data to a dynamic set of signatures. The mechanism creates a state transition, result, and mask (STR&M) table based on a set of signatures. The mechanism executes scanner code in each of a plurality of hardware devices in parallel to form a plurality of matching engines. The mechanism loads the STR&M table into each of the plurality of matching engines. Responsive to receiving a plurality of input records, the mechanism distributes input strings from the plurality of input records among the plurality of matching engines and receiving signature set match results from the plurality of matching engines.