Motorola Solutions, Inc.

Larry Murrill

Dipendra M Chowdhary

Thomas J Senese

Michael W Bright

Chris A Kruegel

Kenneth C Fuchs

Timothy Woodward

Stanley Knapczyk

Timothy G Woodward

Methods of automatically populating a secure group list in a key variable loader and of providing keys to a secure group are presented. After a user selects a secure group and encryption algorithm using inputs of the loader, the loader provides a group identifier and corresponding key for the group. The group identifier, encryption algorithm, and key are transmitted to a portable communication device over a physical connection between the two while a device identifier of the communication device is transmitted concurrently to the loader. The key variable loader automatically populates a stored list of subscribers of the group with the device identifier. When it is desired to transmit a new key to all of or fewer than all of the subscribers, one of the subscribers is connected with the loader and used to wirelessly transmit a new key to the remaining subscribers.

Method of automatically populating a list of managed secure communications group members

Disclosed is a method for encrypted communications. A first IPsec endpoint selects a security association (SA) from a security association database (SAD) by using a selector and then extracts an indexing parameter from SA. The indexing parameter is used to determine an active key location from a key storage database (KSD). Data packets are then encrypted using a key from the active key location. The first IPsec endpoint also forms a security parameter index (SPI) in a header of the data packet by using a keyID from the active key location and transmits the encrypted data packet with the header indicating the SPI to a second IPsec endpoint.

Method and apparatus for encrypted communications using IPsec keys

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Schaumburg, IL, United States of America

Larry Murrill