Patent ID: 8281134
Filing Date: 2012-10-02
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method for providing security for control frames communicated between a first termination point and a second termination point in a wireless local area network, the method comprising: providing a shared secret to the first termination point and the second termination point; sending a discovery request to the second termination point; generating, at the second termination point, a first nonce, encrypting the first nonce using a master key derived from the shared secret, and transmitting the encrypted first nonce to the first termination point in a discovery response; decrypting the encrypted first nonce in the first termination point using the same master key derived from the shared secret; generating a second nonce at the first termination point; concatenating the first and second nonces and encrypting the result using an encryption algorithm and the master key to form an encrypted join request; sending the encrypted join request to the second termination point; decrypting the encrypted join request to determine a decrypted first nonce; if the first nonce is equal to the decrypted first nonce, sending a join response indicative of authentication; calculating a session key from at least one nonce; and entering a run state and sending the control frames in accordance with the session key.