Agile Network Protocol For Secure Communications With Assured System Availability

• US 20110238993A1
• Filed: 06/06/2011
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: VirnetX Inc. (Virnetx Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: VirnetX Inc. (Virnetx Holding Corporation)
• Inventors: Munger, Edmund Colby, Schmidt, Douglas Charles, Gligor, Virgil D., Short, Robert Dunham III, Sabio, Vincent J.
• Application Number:
  US13/154,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20110238993A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/20 Hop count for routing purposes, e.g. TTL
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2539 Hiding addresses; Keeping addresses anonymous
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/30 Managing network names, e.g. use of aliases or nicknames name-to-address mapping H04L61/45
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5076 Update or notification mechanisms, e.g. DynDNS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5092 by self-assignment, e.g. picking addresses at random and testing if they are already in use
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/04 for providing a confidential data exchange among entities communicating through data packet networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0421 Anonymous communication, i.e. the party's identifiers are hidden from the other party or parties, e.g. using an anonymizer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0435 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply symmetric encryption, i.e. same key used for encryption and decryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for symmetric key encryption H04L9/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1441 Countermeasures against malicious traffic countermeasures against attacks on cryptographic mechanisms H04L9/002
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1491 using deception as countermeasure, e.g. honeypots, honeynets, decoys or entrapment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/065 Encryption by serially and continuously modifying data stream elements, e.g. stream cipher systems, RC4, SEAL or A5/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42008 Systems for anonymous communication between parties, e.g. by use of disposal contact identifiers

Abstract

A plurality of computer nodes communicates using seemingly random IP source and destination addresses and (optionally) a seemingly random discriminator field. Data packets matching criteria defined by a moving window of valid addresses are accepted for further processing, while those that do not meet the criteria are rejected. In addition to “hopping” of IP addresses and discriminator fields, hardware addresses such as Media Access Control addresses can be hopped. The hopped addresses are generated by random number generators having non-repeating sequence lengths that are easily determined a-priori, which can quickly jump ahead in sequence by an arbitrary number of random steps and which have the property that future random numbers are difficult to guess without knowing the random number generator'"'"'s parameters. Synchronization techniques can be used to re-establish synchronization between sending and receiving nodes.

Claims

1. A method of routing packets on a packet network, comprising the steps of:

block-encrypting, with a session key, message data to form payloads;

dividing an encrypted block resulting from the block-encrypting into at least two data payloads such that interleaving portions of data resulting from the block-encrypting step are among the at least two data payloads;

encrypting, with a link key, each of the at least two data payloads, together with destination data identifying a final destination for the packets;

combining, with a first payload resulting from the last step of encrypting, a first hop address indicating a first intermediate destination address and transmitting a first packet resulting thereby to the first intermediate destination address;

combining, with a second payload resulting from the last step of encrypting, a second hop address indicating a second intermediate destination address and transmitting a second packet resulting thereby to the second intermediate destination address.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of.

combining, in the first packet;

a first hop counter;

at a terminal coinciding with the first intermediate destination address, determining, responsively to the first hop counter, to send t first packet to the final destination address; and

at the terminal coinciding with the first intermediate destination address, decrypting with the link key the first payload to expose the final destination address and sending the first packet to the final destination address, responsively to the step of determining.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

combining, in the second packet, a second hop counter;

at a terminal coinciding with the second intermediate destination address, determining, responsively to the second hop counter, to send the first packet to the final destination address;

at the terminal coinciding with the second intermediate destination address, decrypting with the link key the second payload to expose the final destination address and sending the second packet to the final destination address, responsively to the last step of determining.