Communications system with minimum error cryptographic resynchronization

• US 7,620,181 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2005
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bicksler, David M., Rogers, William S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand, Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAIFER HARRIMAN, DANT B
• Application Number:
  US11/110,378
• Publication Number:
  US 20060239458A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,672 Days
• Field of Search: 380/221
• US Class Current: 380/221
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/34 Encoding or coding, e.g. Huffman coding or error correction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/80 Wireless network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/30 for supporting lawful interception, monitoring or retaining of communications or communication related information circuit switched telephony call monitoring H04M3/2281
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/12 Transmitting and receiving encryption devices synchronised or initially set up in a particular manner
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/242 Synchronization processes, e.g. processing of PCR [Program Clock References] arrangements for synchronising broadcast or distribution via plural systems in broadcast distribution systems H04H20/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

A synchronized communications system permits resynchronization in late-entry or fade-recovery conditions. A plurality of communications devices are operative for communicating in a synchronized, encrypted communications channel between each other. At least one of the communications devices is operative for continuously transmitting a resynchronization header that includes a start-of-message field that includes voice or data message information type, a message indicator field, a synchronization check field, a first error correction field computed over the start-of-message/message indicator/synchronization fields, a frame index field and a second error correction field computed on the frame index field. Receivers monitor the channel to decode these headers to perform late-entry or fade recovery.

Claims

1. A synchronized communications system that permits resynchronization in late-entry or fade-recovery conditions, which comprises:

a plurality of communications devices which are operative for communicating in a synchronized encrypted communications channel between each other, wherein at least one of said communications devices continuously transmits a resynchronization header comprising,

a start-of-message field that includes voice or data message infotype,

a message indicator field,

a synchronization check field,

a first error correction field computed over the start-of-message/message indicator/synchronization fields,

a frame index field, and

a second error correction field computed on the frame index field and wherein at least one communications device stores data of prior transmitted message indicator fields and synchronization check fields and determines late-entry and fade-recovery conditions using recently received and stored message indicator fields and synchronization check fields, and determines a late-entry condition when a received message indicator field and synchronization check field are different from the prior stored message indicator field and synchronization check field and determines a fade-recovery condition when a received message indicator field and synchronization check field are the same as the prior stored message indicator field and synchronization check field.

2. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said first error correction field comprises a cyclic redundancy check computed over the start-of-message/message indicator/synchronization fields.

3. A synchronized communications system according to claim 2, wherein said second error correction field comprises two copies of a cyclic redundancy check computed on the frame index field.

4. A synchronized communications system according to claim 3, wherein each cyclic redundancy check is 2 bytes.

5. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said frame index field comprises an integer indicating the number of transmitted headers.

6. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said start-of-message field is 4 bytes, said message indicator field is 12 bytes, said synchronization check field is 8 bytes, and said first error correction field is 2 bytes.

7. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said second error correction field is 4 bytes.

8. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said communications devices are operative for dummy encrypting through plaintext headers on a transmit side and dummy decrypting through plaintext resynchronization headers on a receive side.

9. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said communications devices are operative for forming the resynchronization header as an even multiple of a ciphertext block size.

10. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said communications devices are operative for majority voting a changing integer indicative of a frame index field, wherein a change function may be incrementing, decrementing, or any other mathematical function transforming a value into the next one in a series.

11. A synchronized communications system according to claim 10, wherein said communications devices are operative for incrementally computing a majority vote and error check to strengthen the data received over a noisy channel.

12. A synchronized communications system according to claim 1, wherein said communications devices are operative for incrementing an integer along with frame index error corrections to validate an integer within the frame index field.

13. A method of resynchronizing encrypted communications between communications devices in late-entry or fade-recovery conditions, which comprises:

continuously transmitting a resynchronization header from one of the communications devices to another communications device, wherein the resynchronization header comprises;

a start-of-message field that includes voice or data message infotype,

a message indicator field,

a synchronization check field,

a first error correction field computed over the start-of-message/message indicator/synchronization,

a frame index field, and

a second error correction field computed on the frame index; and

synchronizing communication between the communications devices based on a received resynchronization header by storing in at least one communications device data of prior transmitted message indicator fields and synchronization check fields and determining late-entry and fade-recovery conditions using recently received and stored message indicator fields and synchronization check fields, and further comprising determining a late-entry condition when a received message indicator field and synchronization check field are different from the prior stored message indicator field and synchronization check field and determining a fade-recovery condition when a received message indicator field and synchronization check field are the same as the prior stored message indicator field and synchronization check field.

14. A method according to claim 13, which further comprises dummy encrypting through plaintext headers on a transmit side and dummy decrypting through plaintext resynchronization headers on a receive side.

15. A method according to claim 13, which further comprises forming the resynchronization header as an even multiple of a ciphertext block size.

16. A method according to claim 13, which further comprises majority voting an integer indicative of a frame index field.

17. A method according to claim 13, which further comprises incrementally computing a majority vote and error check.

18. A method according to claim 13, which further comprises computing a cyclic redundancy check over the start-of-message/message indicator/synchronization check fields to form the first error correction field.

19. A method according to claim 18, which further comprises computing a cyclic redundancy check on the frame index field to form the second error correction field as two copies of the computed cyclic redundancy check.

20. A method according to claim 19, which further comprises forming each cyclic redundancy check as 2 bytes.

21. A method according to claim 13, which further comprises indicating the number of transmitted headers by the frame index field.

22. A method according to claim 13, which further comprises forming the start-of-message field as 4 bytes, the message indicator field as 12 bytes, the synchronization check field as 8 bytes, and the first error correction field as 2 bytes.

23. A method of communicating, which comprises generating at a communications device a communications signal that includes a cryptographic resynchronization header that permits resynchronization in late-entry or fade-recovery conditions, wherein the cryptographic resynchronization header includes:

a start-of-message field that includes voice or data message infotype;

a message indicator field;

a synchronization check field;

a first error correction field computed over the start-of-message/message indicator/synchronization field;

a frame index field; and

a second error correction field computed on the frame index, the method further comprising transmitting the communications signal to another communications device over a synchronized encrypted communications channel, and wherein at least one communications device stores data of prior transmitted message indicator fields and synchronization check fields and determines late-entry and fade-recovery conditions using recently received and stored message indicator fields and synchronization check fields, and determines a late-entry condition when a received message indicator field and synchronization check field are different from the prior stored message indicator field and synchronization check field and determines a fade-recovery condition when a received message indicator field and synchronization check field are the same as the prior stored message indicator field and synchronization check field.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein said first error correction field comprises a cyclic redundancy check computed over the start-of-message/message indicator/synchronization.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein said second error correction field comprises two of a cyclic redundancy check computed on the frame index field.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein each cyclic redundancy check is 2 bytes.

27. The method according to claim 23, wherein said frame index field comprises a changing integer indicating the number of transmitted headers.

28. The method according to claim 23, wherein said start-of-message field is 4 bytes, said message indicator field is 12 bytes, said synchronization check field is 8 bytes, and said first error correction field is 2 bytes.

29. The method according to claim 23, wherein said second error correction field is 4 bytes.