Patent ID: 8793491
Filing Date: 2014-07-29
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A network apparatus operable to communicate with one or more remote network devices which are associated with a group of users, the network apparatus comprising: a request transmitter operable to transmit over a network to a remote server a request for cryptographic keys for the group of users; a key receiver operable to receive cryptographic keys for the group of users and to store the received cryptographic keys in a cryptographic keys data store; and a registration controller operable to control a registration procedure for registering the network apparatus with the remote server, wherein the registration controller is operable to retrieve one or more transfer keys from the remote server and to store the transfer keys in a transfer key data store, wherein the key receiver is operable, in response to receiving an encrypted cryptographic key, to retrieve at least one transfer key for decrypting the encrypted cryptographic key from the transfer key data store, and to decrypt the encrypted cryptographic key using the retrieved transfer key to recover the cryptographic key, wherein the decryption using the transfer key employs a symmetric encryption algorithm, wherein the registration controller is operable to retrieve a master transfer key associated with the network apparatus and plural user transfer keys, each user transfer key being associated with a different user within the group of users, wherein the network apparatus has a network address and an associated electronic mail address, wherein the registration controller is operable to receive i) a signal sent to the network address for the network apparatus conveying a first part of the master transfer key, and ii) an electronic mail message sent to the associated electronic mail address for the network apparatus conveying a second part of the master transfer key, and the registration controller is further operable to recover the master transfer key using said first and second parts.