Automatic Secure Client Access

• US 20120110320A1
• Filed: 10/29/2010
• Published: 05/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Aruba Networks Incorporated (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Kumar, Chetan R., Venkatraman, Charumathy, Maradani, Suman
• Granted Patent: US 8,560,833 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/151
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 above the transport layer

Abstract

Providing secure network access in a networked client device. A client device is provided with a secure connection adapter. In operation, the secure connection adapter detects the network environment of the client device and determines of the network environment is trusted or untrusted. If the client device is operating in an untrusted network environment, the secure connection adapter establishes a secure connection to an enterprise host using a secure tunnel such as IPSec, SSL, or other secure connection. Programs executing on the client device now operate in the secure network environment, with all network activity routed through the secure connection to the enterprise. Optionally, a split tunnel mechanism may be used to direct some network traffic directly to the Internet from the client device.

Claims

1. A method of providing secure client access to predefined network resources to a client device containing a secure client adapter, the method comprising:

the secure client adapter testing a connection to a predefined network resource,

the secure client adapter establishing a secure connection to the predefined network resources if the test fails, and

the secure client adapter providing access to the predefined network resources to the client device through the secure connection.

2. The method of claim 1 where the predefined network resources are a secured intranet.

3. The method of claim 2 where the step of testing a connection to a predefined network resource comprises attempting to connect to a resource at a predefined IP address.

4. The method of claim 3 where the predefined IP address is a non-routable address.

5. The method of claim 1 where the secure connection to the predefined network resources comprises establishing a secure connection.

6. The method of claim 5 where the secure connection is one or more of a VPN, IPSec tunnel, SSL connection, or other secure connection.

7. The method of claim 1 where the step of providing access to the predefined network resources to the client device through the secure connection further comprises routing all client device network requests through the secure client adapter and the secure connection.

8. A machine readable medium having a set of instructions stored in nonvolatile form therein, which when executed on a networked client device containing a secure client adapter causes a set of operations to be performed comprising:

testing a connection to a predefined network resource,

establishing a secure connection to the predefined network resources if the test fails, and

providing access to the predefined network resources to the client device through the secure connection.