Patent ID: 8582779
Filing Date: 2013-11-12
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for secure communications in a communication system, the method comprising: an infrastructure device performing: receiving at least one authentication key, from a key-management server, without receiving a corresponding encryption key; receiving a packet from a source device, wherein the packet is encrypted using the corresponding encryption key; authenticating the packet without cryptographically altering the packet, wherein the authenticating is performed using the at least one authentication key; and forwarding the authenticated packet to a destination device; wherein the at least one authentication key comprises a group authentication key and a source authentication key for the source device, and the packet comprises a source authentication tag, and wherein authenticating the packet comprises: performing source authentication on the packet using the source authentication key; removing the source authentication tag after performing the source authentication; and adding a group authentication tag to the packet using the group authentication key to generate the authenticated packet that is forwarded to the destination device.