System and method employing an agile network protocol for secure communications using secure domain names

• US 8,504,696 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2011
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: VirnetX Inc. (Virnetx Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: VirnetX Inc. (Virnetx Holding Corporation)
• Inventors: Larson, Victor, Short, Robert Dunham III, Munger, Edmond Colby, Williamson, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US13/337,757
• Publication Number:
  US 20120096541A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 709223-227
• US Class Current: 709/227
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/606 by securing the transmission between two devices or processes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/30 Types of network names
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/604 Address structures or formats
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/28 using route fault recovery
• 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 61/3015 Name registration, generation or assignment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• 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 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• 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 63/0478 : applying multiple layers of encryption, e.g. nested tunnels or encrypting the content with a first key and then with at least a second key cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements using a plurality of keys or algorithms H04L9/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0485 : Networking architectures for enhanced packet encryption processing, e.g. offloading of IPsec packet processing or efficient security association look-up
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 : for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 : based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/105 : Multiple levels of security
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 : by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1416 : Event detection, e.g. attack signature detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1458 : Denial of Service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1466 : Active attacks involving interception, injection, modification, spoofing of data unit addresses, e.g. hijacking, packet injection or TCP sequence number attacks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/164 : at the network layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/168 : above the transport layer
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 : Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/141 : Setup of application sessions admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70

Abstract

A system for connecting a first network device and a second network device includes one or more servers. The servers are configured to: (a) receive, from the first network device, a request to look up a network address of the second network device based on an identifier associated with the second network device; (b) determine, in response to the request, whether the second network device is available for a secure communications service; and (c) initiate a virtual private network communication link between the first network device and the second network device based on a determination that the second network device is available for the secure communications service, wherein the secure communications service uses the virtual private network communication link.

Claims

1. A system for connecting a first network device and a second network device, the system including one or more servers configured to:

intercept, from the first network device, a request to look up an internet protocol (IP) address of the second network device based on a domain name associated with the second network device;

determine, in response to the request, whether the second network device is available for a secure communications service; and

initiate a virtual private network communication link between the first network device and the second network device based on a determination that the second network device is available for the secure communications service, wherein the secure communications service uses the virtual private network communication link.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the secure communications service includes an audio-video conferencing service that communicates at least one of video data and audio data.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein data communicated by the audio-video conferencing service is encrypted over the virtual private network communication link.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the secure communications service includes a messaging service.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the messaging service includes an e-mail service.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the secure communications service includes a telephony service.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the telephony service uses modulation.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the modulation is based on one of frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), or code division multiple access (CDMA).

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first network device and the second network device is a mobile device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the mobile device is a notebook computer.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more servers are configured to intercept the request by receiving the request to determine whether the second network device is available for the secure communications service.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the virtual private network communication link is based on inserting into each data packet communicated over the virtual private network communication link one or more data values that vary according to a pseudo-random sequence.

13. The network device of claim 1, wherein the virtual private network communication link is based on a network address hopping regime that is used to pseudo-randomly change network addresses in packets transmitted between the network device and the second network device.

14. The network device of claim 1, wherein the determination that the second network device is available for the secure communications service is a function of the result of a domain name lookup.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more servers configured to intercept the request are separate from the first network device.

16. A method of connecting a first network device and a second network device, the method comprising:

intercepting, from the first network device, a request to look up an internet protocol (IP) address of the second network device based on a domain name associated with the second network device;

determining, in response to the request, whether the second network device is available for a secure communications service; and

initiating a virtual private network communication link between the first network device and the second network device based on a determination that the second network device is available for the secure communications service, wherein the secure communications service uses the virtual private network communication link.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the secure communications service is a video conferencing service that uses at least one of video data and audio data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein at least one of the video data and the audio data is encrypted over the virtual private network communication link.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the secure communications service is a messaging service.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the messaging service is an e-mail service.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the secure communications service is a telephony service.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the telephony service uses modulation.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the modulation is based on one of frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), or code division multiple access (CDMA).

24. The method of claim 16, wherein at least one of the first network device and the second network device is a mobile device.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the mobile device is a notebook computer.

26. The method of claim 16, wherein communicating with the second network device using the secure communications service via the secure communication link includes inserting into data packets communicated over the virtual private network communication link one or more data values that vary according to a pseudo-random sequence.

27. The method of claim 16, wherein communicating with the second network device using the secure communications service via the virtual private network communication link includes a network address hopping regime that is used to pseudo-randomly change network addresses in packets transmitted between the first network device and the second network device.

28. The method of claim 16, wherein determination that the second network device is available for a secure communications service is a function of a domain name lookup.

29. The method of claim 16, wherein intercepting the request consists of receiving the request to determine whether the second network device is available for the secure communications service.

30. The method of claim 16, wherein intercepting the request occurs within another network device that is separate from the first network device.