System for providing enhanced security for transactions transmitted through a distributed network

• US 6,122,743 A
• Filed: 03/31/1998
• Issued: 09/19/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens Information And Communication Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Shaffer, Shmuel, Beyda, William Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): HUA, LY
• Application Number:
  US09/052,812
• Time in Patent Office: 903 Days
• Field of Search: 713/201, 713/200, 370/235
• US Class Current: 726/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload

Abstract

Transactions sent from a source node to a destination node interconnected by a distributed network are protected from interception by a third party by passing the transaction data into several packets which are renumbered as a pseudo-random sequence and sent along different routes from the source node to the destination node.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting transaction data comprising a sequence of characters from a source node to a destination node through a distributed network, the method comprising:

a. distributing the sequence of characters among a plurality of packets;

b. assigning each packet of the plurality of packets a packet number according to a pseudo-random function such that the packet numbers form a pseudo-random sequence;

c. assigning a first packet of the pseudo-random sequence a random number as its packet number and for each subsequent packet number in the pseudo-random sequence, adding a random number to the packet number of the preceding packet to form an increasing sequence of random numbers or subtracting a random number from the packet number of the preceding packet to form a decreasing sequence of random numbers; and

d. transmitting the plurality of packets from the source node to the destination node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein distributing the sequence of characters among a plurality of packets comprises distributing into each packet of the plurality of packets, a single character of the sequence of characters.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

a. arranging, at the destination node, the plurality of packets according to the increasing or decreasing pseudo-random sequence such that the sequence of characters is reconstructed.

4. A method of transmitting transaction data comprising a sequence of characters from a source node to a destination node through a distributed network interconnecting a plurality of network nodes including the source node and the destination node, the method comprising:

a. distributing the sequence of characters among a plurality of packets;

b. assigning each packet of the plurality of packets a packet number; and

c. assigning to each of the plurality of packets a route from the source node to the destination node such that at least some of the plurality of packets are assigned different routes from others of the plurality of packets; and

d. transmitting the plurality of packets from the source node to the destination node via their assigned routes.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the plurality of packets are transmitted from the source node to the destination node by transmitting each packet of the plurality of packets along a different route from the source node to the destination node.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein a packet exists for each character of the sequence of characters, and distributing the sequence of characters among a plurality of packets comprises distributing into each packet of the plurality of packets, a single character of the sequence of characters.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising arranging, at the destination node, the plurality of packets such that the transaction data is reconstructed.

8. A method of transmitting transaction data comprising a sequence of characters from a source node to a destination node through a distributed network interconnecting a plurality of network nodes including the source node and the destination node, the method comprising:

a. distributing the sequence of characters among a plurality of packets;

b. assigning each packet of the plurality of packets a packet number according to a pseudo-random function such that the packet numbers form a pseudo-random sequence;

c. assigning to each of the plurality of packets a route from the source node to the destination node, such that at least some of the plurality of packets are assigned different routes from others of the plurality of packets; and

d. arranging, at the destination node, the plurality of packets according to the pseudo-random sequence of packet numbers such that the transaction data is reconstructed.

9. A method of transmitting transaction data comprising a sequence of characters from a source node to a destination node through a distributed network interconnecting a plurality of network nodes including the source node and the destination node, the method comprising:

a. encrypting the transaction data;

b. distributing the encrypted transaction data among a plurality of packets;

c. assigning each packet of the plurality of packets a packet number according to a pseudo-random function such that the packet numbers form a pseudo-random sequence;

d. assigning to each of the plurality of packets a route from the source node to the destination node, such that at least some of the plurality of packets are assigned different routes from others of the plurality of packets;

e. transmitting the plurality of packets from the source node to the destination node via their assigned routes; and

f. arranging, at the destination node, the plurality of packets according to the pseudo-random sequence of packet numbers such that the transaction data is reconstructed.

10. A method of transmitting transaction data comprising a sequence of characters from a source mode to a destination node through a distributed network, the method of comprising:

a. distributing the sequence of characters among a plurality of packets;

b. assigning each packet of the plurality of packets a packet number according to a pseudo-random function such that the packet numbers form an increasing or decreasing sequence; and

c. transmitting the plurality of packets from the source node to the destination node.