Agile network protocol for secure communications using secure domain names

• US 8,572,247 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2011
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: VirnetX Inc. (Virnetx Holding Corporation)
• Original Assignee: VirnetX Inc. (Virnetx Holding Corporation)
• Inventors: Larson, Victor, Short, Robert Dunham III, Munger, Edmund Colby, Williamson, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim, Krisna
• Application Number:
  US13/049,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20110167087A1
• Time in Patent Office: 958 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 709/221, 709/225, 709/229, 726/15
• US Class Current: 709/225
• 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 secure domain name service for a computer network is disclosed that includes a portal connected to a computer network, such as the Internet, and a domain name database connected to the computer network through the portal. The portal authenticates a query for a secure computer network address, and the domain name database stores secure computer network addresses for the computer network. Each secure computer network address is based on a non-standard top-level domain name, such as .scom, .sorg, .snet, .snet, .sedu, .smil and .sint.

Claims

1. A system for establishing a virtual private network (VPN) communication link, comprising:

a storage device having instructions stored thereon; and

one or more processors configured to execute the instructions and, on executing the instructions;

generate a Domain Name Service (DNS) request;

determine that the DNS request corresponds to one or more computers configured to communicate securely;

send, based on the determination, a request to establish a VPN communication link with a first computer of the one or more computers configured to communicate securely, the request including an identifier of a client device used for determining whether the client device is authorized to communicate with the first computer;

receive, in response to the request to establish a VPN communication link, a resource for establishing the VPN communication link; and

automatically establish the VPN communication link with the first computer using the received resource.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the resource is obtained from a second computer that is separate from the first computer.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the resource includes at least one random or pseudorandom value used to establish the VPN communication link.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the resource includes a set of pseudorandom IP addresses generated based on an IP address hopping regime, and the one or more processors are configured to transmit packets to the first computer using the pseudorandom IP addresses in the set.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the client device identifier is an IP address.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to communicate with the first computer using modulation.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the modulation is based on one of frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), and code division multiple access (CDMA).

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the client device includes a mobile device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

receive a message requesting proof that the client device is authorized to access the first computer; and

send the requested proof that the client device is authorized to access the first computer.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the message requesting proof is generated by a second computer that is separate from the first computer.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the requested evidence is sent to a second computer that is separate from the first computer to determine whether the client device is authorized to access the first computer.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the DNS request is a request for an Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a domain name.

13. A system for establishing a virtual private network (VPN) communication link, comprising:

storage configured to store client device identifiers; and

one or more processors configured to;

receive a request to communicate securely, the request including an identifier of a client device, the request having been sent in response to a determination that a DNS request from the client device corresponds to a first computer configured to communicate securely;

compare the received client device identifier to one or more of the stored client device identifiers;

determine, based on the comparison, whether the client device is authorized to communicate with the first computer; and

in response to determining that the client device is authorized to communicate with the first computer, make a resource available to the client device for automatically establishing the VPN communication link between the client device and the first computer.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the resource includes at least one random or pseudorandom value used to establish the VPN communication link.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the at least one random or pseudorandom value is an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein, to generate the resource, the one or more processors are configured to establish an IP address hopping regime that pseudorandomly changes IP addresses in packets transmitted between the client device and the first computer configured to communicate securely during a communications session.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the client device identifier is an IP address.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the VPN communication link uses modulation.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the modulation is based on one of frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), time-division multiplexing (TDM), and code division multiple access (CDMA).

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the client device includes a mobile device.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the mobile device is a notebook computer.

22. The system of claim 13, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to send a message to the client device requesting proof that the client device is authorized to access the first computer.