Patent ID: 8656481

Claim:
A method of communicating between a first communication device and a second communication device, said method comprising: establishing a phase 1 security association between the first communication device and the second communication device, the phase 1 security association having a phase 1 security association timer corresponding to a time value of the phase 1 security association; and establishing a phase 2 security association between the first communication device and the second communication device, the phase 2 security association having a soft phase 2 security association timer and a hard phase 2 security association timer, the soft phase 2 security association timer corresponding to a time value of a soft phase 2 security association, the hard phase 2 security association timer corresponding to a time value of a hard phase 2 security association, wherein the time value of the soft phase 2 security association is less than the time value of the hard phase 2 security association, and wherein the time value of the phase 1 security association is derived from the time value of the soft phase 2 security association such that the time value of the phase 1 security association is an integer multiple of the time value of the soft phase 2 security association.