Patent ID: 7995546
Filing Date: 2011-08-09
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method to initiate a secure direct link between stations (STAs), comprising: setting up a robust security network association (RSNA) by an access point (AP) in a network with a first STA and a second STA; generating a master key for the first STA and the second STA; sending the master key to the first STA and the second STA; receiving a direct link setup (DLS) request from the first STA; wherein the DLS request comprises a media access control (MAC) address of the second STA, a MAC address of the first STA, and capability information of the first STA; receiving a DLS response from the second STA to establish a direct link between the first STA and the second STA; receiving a message from the second STA in response to a request from the first STA to deploy security measures between the first STA and the second STA, wherein the message comprises a first random number from the first STA, a second random number from the second STA and a MAC address of the first STA; generating a session key for the first STA and the second STA; securely transferring the session key, the second random number and the MAC address of the second STA to the first STA, and securely transferring the session key, the first random number and the MAC address of the first STA to the second STA, wherein a transient key is derived from the session key for a 4-Way Handshake between the first STA and the second STA, wherein the secure direct link is established using the 4-Way Handshake.