Method and apparatus for encryption of communications over a network

• US 10,742,614 B2
• Filed: 08/10/2017
• Issued: 08/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gross, David, Lackey, Joshua, Levy, Donald E., Jover, Roger Piqueras, Ramachandran, Jayaraman, Serban, Cristina
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho, Dao Q
• Application Number:
  US15/674,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20170346794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,097 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/52 Systems for transmission between fixed stations via waveguides
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/56 Circuits for coupling, blocking, or by-passing of signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/006 involving public key infrastructure [PKI] trust models network architecture or network communication protocol for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/08 Access point devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/085 Access point devices with remote components

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, determining whether communications are encrypted, determining a communication type for the communications according to sensitivity criteria, encrypting the communications according to the communication type to generate encrypted communications, and transmitting to a second network device the encrypted communications. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A first waveguide system comprising:

a processing system including a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising;

receiving communications that comprise metadata;

determining whether the communications comply with an encryption requirement based on the metadata;

responsive to a determination that the communications do not comply with the encryption requirement, determining an encryption type;

encrypting the communications based on the encryption type to generate encrypted communications that comply with the encryption requirement, wherein the encrypting the communications comprises accessing an encryption database, wherein the encryption database includes public encryption keys and includes device information indicating a location and a device capability for network devices including the first waveguide system and a second waveguide system; and

transmitting electromagnetic waves to a physical interface of a transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves are directed to the second waveguide system coupled to the transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate without requiring an electrical return path,

wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves convey the encrypted communications,

wherein the determining whether the communications comply with the encryption requirement further comprises detecting one of a pattern or a lack of the pattern within the communications,

wherein the second waveguide system is an adjacent node in a wired network comprising power lines, and

wherein the electromagnetic waves are within a non-optical frequency range.

2. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the receiving the communications comprises receiving the communications from a communication device,

wherein the communications are encrypted;

and

wherein the first waveguide system is a closest network device to the communication device.

3. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the second waveguide system, second electromagnetic waves from the physical interface of the transmission medium that propagate without requiring the electrical return path, wherein the second electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium, wherein the second electromagnetic waves convey authentication information associated with the second waveguide system; and

authenticating the second waveguide system according to an authentication protocol based on the authentication information, wherein the transmitting of the electromagnetic waves to the second waveguide system is responsive to the authenticating.

4. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the communications that are received are unencrypted communications.

5. The first waveguide system of claim 4, wherein the unencrypted communications are received from an end user device.

6. The first waveguide system of claim 4, wherein a third waveguide system has access to the encryption database for decrypting the encrypted communications, and

wherein the third waveguide system is a closest network device to a recipient communication device of the communications.

7. The first waveguide system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

monitoring previous communications to identify sensitivity criteria,

wherein the previous communications are unencrypted,

wherein the encrypting of the communications is based on a communication type, and

wherein a determining of the communication type for the communications is according to the sensitivity criteria.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which when executed by a processing system including a processor of a first waveguide system facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:

receiving communications that comprise metadata;

determining whether the communications comply with an encryption requirement based on the metadata;

responsive to a determination that the communications do not comply with the encryption requirement, determining an encryption type;

encrypting the communications based on the encryption type to generate encrypted communications that comply with the encryption requirement, wherein the encrypting the communications comprises accessing an encryption database, wherein the encryption database includes public encryption keys and includes device information indicating a location and a device capability for network devices including the first waveguide system and a second waveguide system; and

transmitting electromagnetic waves to a physical interface of a transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves are directed to the second waveguide system coupled to the transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate without requiring an electrical return path,

wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves convey the encrypted communications,

wherein the determining whether the communications comply with the encryption requirement further comprises detecting one of a pattern or a lack of the pattern within the communications,

wherein the second waveguide system is an adjacent node in a wired network comprising power lines, and

wherein the electromagnetic waves are within a non-optical frequency range.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the receiving the communications comprises receiving the communications from a communication device,

wherein the communications are encrypted;

and

wherein the first waveguide system is a closest network device to the communication device.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving, from the second waveguide system, second electromagnetic waves from the physical interface of the transmission medium that propagate without requiring the electrical return path, wherein the second electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium,

wherein the second electromagnetic waves convey authentication information associated with the second waveguide system; and

authenticating the second waveguide system according to an authentication protocol based on the authentication information, wherein the transmitting of the electromagnetic waves to the second waveguide system is responsive to the authenticating.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the communications that are received are unencrypted communications.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the unencrypted communications are received from an end user device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein a third waveguide system has access to the encryption database for decrypting the encrypted communications, and

wherein the third waveguide system is a closest network device to a recipient communication device of the communications.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

monitoring previous communications to identify sensitivity criteria,

wherein the previous communications are unencrypted,

wherein the encrypting of the communications is based on a communication type, and

wherein a determining of the communication type for the communications is according to the sensitivity criteria.

15. A method comprising:

receiving, by a first waveguide system, communications that comprise metadata;

determining, by the first waveguide system, whether the communications comply with an encryption requirement based on the metadata;

responsive to a determination that the communications do not comply with the encryption requirement, determining, by the first waveguide system, an encryption type;

encrypting, by the first waveguide system, the communications based on the encryption type to generate encrypted communications that comply with the encryption requirement, wherein the encrypting the communications comprises accessing an encryption database, wherein the encryption database includes public encryption keys and includes device information indicating a location and a device capability for network devices including the first waveguide system and a second waveguide system; and

transmitting, by the first waveguide system, electromagnetic waves to a physical interface of a transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves are directed to the second waveguide system coupled to the transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves propagate without requiring an electrical return path,

wherein the electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium,

wherein the electromagnetic waves convey the encrypted communications,

wherein the determining whether the communications comply with the encryption requirement further comprises detecting one of a pattern or a lack of the pattern within the communications,

wherein the second waveguide system is an adjacent node in a wired network comprising power lines, and

wherein the electromagnetic waves are within a non-optical frequency range.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the receiving the communications comprises receiving the communications from a communication device,

wherein the communications are encrypted;

and

wherein the first waveguide system is a closest network device to the communication device.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving by the first waveguide system, from the second waveguide system, second electromagnetic waves from the physical interface of the transmission medium that propagate without requiring the electrical return path, wherein the second electromagnetic waves are guided by the transmission medium, wherein the second electromagnetic waves convey authentication information associated with the second waveguide system; and

authenticating, by the first waveguide system, the second waveguide system according to an authentication protocol based on the authentication information, wherein the transmitting of the electromagnetic waves to the second waveguide system is responsive to the authenticating.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the communications that are received are unencrypted communications.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the unencrypted communications are received from an end user device.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein a third waveguide system has access to the encryption database for decrypting the encrypted communications, and

wherein the third waveguide system is a closest network device to a recipient communication device of the communications.