Security in a communication network
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a method of establishing a secured peer-to-peer communication between two communications devices, each communications device having stored a respective set of previously established security associations with other communications devices. The method comprises determining whether the two communications devices have a common security association in their respective sets of established security associations; if the devices have determined a common security association, protecting the communications link between the two communications device based on the determined common security association; otherwise establishing a new security association between the two communications devices, and protecting the communications link based on the new security association; and extending the sets of previously established security associations of the two communications devices to the corresponding other exchanging corresponding key data.
79 Citations
30 Claims
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1-12. -12. (canceled)
- 13. A method of establishing a secured peer-to-peer communication between a first and a second communications device coupled via a communications link, comprising storing a respective set of previously established security associations between the first and the second communications devices and at least one other communications device.
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28. A communications device adapted to facilitate peer-to-peer communication with other communications devices- of a communications system, the communications device comprising:
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a storage means for storing a set of previously established security associations between the communications device and other corresponding communications devices;
communications means for communicating via a communications link with another communications device; and
processing means. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A communications device having a processing means in combination with software adapted to run thereon, comprising:
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a module for facilitating peer-to-peer communication with other communications devices of a communications system;
a storage module within the communications device adapted to store a set of previously established security associations between the communications device and other communications devices;
a communications module within the communications device for communicating via a communications link with at least one other communications device;
a processing module adapted to determine whether the communications device has a common security association in the set of established security associations, the common security association corresponding to a security association of at least one other communications device;
if the communications device has determined a common security association, the processing module adapted to protect the communications link based on the determined common security association;
otherwise the processing module adapted to establish a new security association with at least one other communications device, and protect the communications link based on the new security association; and
the processing module adapted to extend the set of previously established security associations to at least one other communications device by communicating corresponding key data via the protected communications link.
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Specification