Patent ID: 7519834
Filing Date: 2009-04-14
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of securing packet data transferred over a backbone, the backbone operating according to a routing protocol, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a packet from any one of a plurality of members of a private network, the packet being sent from only one member to only one other member of the private network, the packet including a private network address comprising a source address and a destination address, the packet further including a payload; and in response to determining that the packet must be transmitted over the backbone in order to reach the destination address: apportioning the packet into a first portion and a second portion, wherein the first portion includes fields of the packet used for transmission of the packet according to the protocol of the backbone including the private network address and the second portion includes the payload; appending a gateway source address associated with the source address of the packet to the second portion to generate a group header and transforming the second portion of the packet according to a group security association associated with a plurality of members of the private network to provide a transformed portion which includes a transformed group header, where at least one member of the private network with which the group security association is associated is neither sender nor recipient of the packet to enable the use of a same group security association for a different non-group point-to-point connection at a trusted client edge device; appending the first portion of the packet to the transformed portion to provide a transformed packet; and transmitting the transformed packet to the backbone using the private network address.