Patent ID: 8898464

Claim:
A method for secure workgroup communication, the method comprising: receiving, at a first workgroup client, an encrypted message from a workgroup key server, wherein the encrypted message comprises a workgroup key, a workgroup key version number, and a time to live (TTL) value for the workgroup key; and initiating a communication session with a second workgroup client, wherein initiating the communication session comprises: determining, at the first workgroup client, if the workgroup key is expired based, at least in part, on the TTL value for the workgroup key; in response to determining that the workgroup key is expired, checking the availability of a new workgroup key from the key server; in response to determining that the workgroup key is not expired, sending, to the second workgroup client, a plurality of share headers, wherein the share headers include the workgroup key and the workgroup key version number; and verifying, at the second workgroup client, that the second workgroup client's workgroup key version matches the first workgroup client's workgroup key version.