Methods and apparatus for scalable distributed management of wireless virtual private networks

• US 7,246,232 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Issued: 07/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: SRI International, Inc.
• Inventors: Dutertre, Bruno
• Primary Examiner(s): Moazzami, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): YALEW, FIKREMARIAM A
• Application Number:
  US10/186,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20030226013A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,845 Days
• Field of Search: 713/163, 713/201, 713/151, 726/15, 380/277
• US Class Current: 713/163
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0457 wherein the sending and receiving network entities apply dynamic encryption, e.g. stream encryption cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for stream encryption H04L9/065
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/033 of the user plane, e.g. user's traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/041 Key generation or derivation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/0433 Key management protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/069 using certificates or pre-shared keys
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

An application of intrusion tolerant concepts to a software infrastructure for supporting secure group applications. This application is suited for use with network layer protocols such as TBRPF and is particularly adapted for wireless networks, and more specifically mobile ad hoc networks.

Claims

1. A mobile communication system, comprising a plurality of leader nodes, each leader having logic contributing to management of a VPN having a plurality of group members, wherein communication between group members are encrypted using a VPN group key, each leader node comprising:

authentication logic authenticating VPN group members;

acceptance logic coordinating acceptance of group members with other leader nodes; and

logic verifying authentication of a mobile station seeking group membership when said mobile station is authenticated by f+1 leader nodes, wherein f is the maximum tolerable number of fault leader nodes and 3f+1 is less than or equal to the total number of leader nodes, and at least 2f+1 leaders received a request to authenticate said mobile station seeking group membership.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein each leader node further comprises:

a private key to sign communications and a corresponding public key, wherein each leader node knows the public key of each other leader node; and

a secret used to generate shares of group keys, for which every group member has a corresponding verification.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each pair of leader nodes and group members share a secret key.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein a leader, L, in response to a request by a mobile station A to become a group member, communicates with all other leaders after authentication of A, and, after receiving n−

f validations from distinct leaders, then L accepts A as a group member, where n is the total number of leaders and f is the maximum number of faulty leaders tolerable.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein in response to a group member leaving the group, each leader communicates to each other leader a message indicating that the group member has left the group.

6. the system of claim 1 wherein each leader nodes further comprises:

group key sharing logic, generating and distributing shares of the group key wherein each leader knows only a share of the group key, at least f+1 shares are required for a group member to reconstruct the group key, and new shares are generated and distributed by the leaders each time the group membership changes.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the new shares of the group key are generated online and without a dealer.