International Business Machines Corporation

Science Applications International Corporation

Virnetx, Incorporated

Vdg, Inc.

University System of Maryland

Virnetz, Inc.

Virgil Dorin Gligor

Robert Dunham Short, Iii

Edmund Colby Munger

Vincent J Sabio

Douglas Charles Schmidt

Pompiliu Donescu

Christoph Lingenfelder

Sarbari Gupta

Shiuh-Pyung W Shieh

Sven Lorenz

Klaus Deinhart

Laurent Eschenauer

A plurality of computer nodes communicates using seemingly random IP source and destination addresses and (optionally) a seemingly random discriminator field. Data packets matching criteria defined by a moving window of valid addresses are accepted for further processing, while those that do not meet the criteria are rejected. In addition to 'hopping' of IP addresses and discriminator fields, hardware addresses such as Media Access Control addresses can be hopped. The hopped addresses are generated by random number generators having non-repeating sequence lengths that are easily determined a-priori, which can quickly jump ahead in sequence by an arbitrary number of random steps and which have the property that future random numbers are difficult to guess without knowing the random number generator's parameters. Synchronization techniques can be used to re-establish synchronization between sending and receiving nodes.

Agile network protocol for secure communications with assured system availability

In a distributed sensor network, a method of key management is carried out in several phases, particularly key pre-distribution phase, shared key discovery phase, and as needed, a path key establishment phase. In the key pre-distribution phase, prior to DSN deployment, a ring of keys is distributed to each sensor node, each key ring consisting of randomly chosen keys from a large pool of keys which is generated off-line. A shared key exists between each two key rings with a predetermined probability. In the shared key discovery phase, which takes place upon deployment of the DSN, every sensor node discovers its neighbors in wireless communication range with which it shares keys, and the topology of the sensor array is established by forming secure communication links between respective sensor nodes. The path key establishment phase assigns a path key to selected pairs of sensor nodes in wireless communication range that do not share a key but are connected by two or more links at the end of the shared key discovery phase. The key management scheme also assumes a revocation phase for removal of the key ring of the compromised sensor node from the network. Also, re-keying phase is assumed for removal of those keys with the expired lifetime.

Method and apparatus for key management in distributed sensor networks

A plurality of computer nodes communicates using seemingly random IP source and destination addresses and (optionally) a seemingly random discriminator field. Data packets matching criteria defined by a moving window of valid addresses are accepted for further processing, while those that do not meet the criteria are rejected. In addition to 'hopping' of IP addresses and discriminator fields, hardware addresses such as Media Access Control addresses can be hopped. The hopped addresses are generated by random number generators having non-repeating sequence lengths that are easily determined a-priori, which can quickly jump ahead in sequence by an arbitrary number of random steps and which have the property that future random numbers are difficult to guess without knowing the random number generator's parameters. Synchronization techniques can be used to re-establish synchronization between sending and receiving nodes. These techniques include a self-synchronization technique in which a sync field is transmitted as part of each packet, and a 'checkpoint' scheme by which transmitting and receiving nodes can advance to a known point in their hopping schemes. A fast-packet reject technique based on the use of presence vectors is also described. A distributed transmission path embodiment incorporates randomly selected physical transmission paths.

An authentication method and schemes using a block cipher to protect data integrity (authenticity) during communication over insecure channels and during data storage on insecure media. The authentication method and schemes of this invention allow, in a further aspect, message and data signing and verification in parallel or pipelined manners, in addition to sequential operation, without requiring twice as many block enciphering operations as the number of input plaintext blocks. The present invention allows, in a yet further aspect, software and hardware implementations used in high-performance systems and networks where multiple processing units are available for block enciphering operations. In a yet further aspect, the authentication method and schemes of this invention allow incremental updates and out-of-order processing of authentication tags. In a yet further aspect, the authentication method and schemes of this invention are suitable for real-time applications where message length remains unknown until the entire message is received, and commencing message authentication cannot be deferred until the end of the message.

Authentication method and schemes for data integrity protection

A plurality of computer nodes communicates using seemingly random IP source and destination addresses and (optionally) a seemingly random discriminator field. Data packets matching criteria defined by a moving window of valid addresses are accepted for further processing, while those that do not meet the criteria are rejected. In addition to 'hopping' of IP addresses and discriminator fields, hardware addresses such as Media Access Control addresses can be hopped. The hopped addresses are generated by random number generators having non-repeating sequence lengths that are easily determined a-priori, which can quickly jump ahead in sequence by an arbitrary number of random steps and which have the property that future random numbers are difficult to guess without knowing the random number generator's parameters. Synchronization techniques can be used to re-establish synchronization between sending and receiving-nodes. These techniques include a self-synchronization technique in which a sync field is transmitted as part of each packet, and a 'checkpoint' scheme by which transmitting and receiving nodes can advance to a known point in their hopping schemes. A fast-packet reject technique based on the use of presence vectors is also described. A distributed transmission path embodiment incorporates randomly selected physical transmission paths.

A block encryption method and schemes (modes of operation) that provide both data confidentiality and integrity with a single cryptographic primitive and a single processing pass over the input plaintext string by using a non-cryptographic Manipulation Detection Code function for secure data communication over insecure channels and for secure data storage on insecure media. The present invention allows, in a further aspect, software and hardware implementations, and use in high-performance and low-power applications, and low-power, low-cost hardware devices. The block encryption method and schemes of this invention allow, in yet a further aspect, encryption and decryption in parallel or pipelined manners in addition to sequential operation. In a yet further aspect, the block encryption method and schemes of this invention are suitable for real-time applications.

Block encryption method and schemes for data confidentiality and integrity protection

A method and system for registration, authorization, and control of access rights in a computer system. Access rights of subjects on objects in a computer system are controlled using parameterized role types that can be instantiated into role instances equivalent to roles or groups. The required parameters are provided by the subject of the computer system, e.g. by a person, a job position, or an organization unit. Furthermore, relative resource sets are instantiated into concrete resource sets and individual resources by using the same parameter values as for instantiating the role types. Authorization and control of access rights include capability lists providing the access rights of the subjects on the objects of a computer system on a per subject basis. Furthermore, access control lists are derived from capability lists, so that access rights of the subjects on the respective objects are provided.

Method and system for advanced role-based access control in distributed

The present invention provides a penetration-analysis method, which (1) provides a systematic approach to penetration analysis, (2) enables the verification of penetration-resistance properties, and (3) is amenable to automation. An Automated Penetration Analysis (APA) tool is provided, to support the penetration analysis method. The penetration-analysis system and method is based on a theory of penetration-resistant computer systems, a model of penetration analysis, and a unified representation of penetration patterns. The theory consists of the Hypothesis of Penetration-Resistant Systems and a set of design properties that characterize resistance to penetration. The penetration-analysis model defines a set of states, a state-invariant for penetration resistance, and a set of rules that can be applied for analyzing the penetration vulnerability of a system. An interpretation of the Hypothesis of Penetration-Resistant Systems within a given system provides the Hypothesis of Penetration Patterns, which enables the present invention to define a unified representation for a large set of penetration instances as missing check patterns.

Automated penetration analysis system and method

The present invention provides a pattern-oriented intrusion detection system and method that defines patterns of intrusion based on object privilege and information flow in secure computer systems to detect actual intrusion occurrences. This approach has the advantage of detecting context-dependent intrusions such as those caused by inadvertent execution of foreign programs containing viruses or Trojan Horses and also those caused by unintended use of foreign input data. The present invention can track both information and privilege flows within a system, and has the ability to uniformly define various types of intrusion patterns. Operational security problems can lead to intrusion in secure computer systems. With this approach, explicitly defined types of intrusion patterns due to operational security problems can be detected.

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Chevy Chase, MD, United States of America

Virgil Dorin Gligor