Patent ID: 7509491

Claim:
A method of secure communications within a group comprising: identifying a plurality of potential recipients as members of a group, the group denoted by a group identifier (ID); receiving security credentials for the group corresponding to the group identifier; associating the received security credentials with the group identifier indicative of potential recipients in the group; and employing the security credentials via the group identifier for a communication from a member of the group to at least one other member of the group; wherein: identifying the plurality of potential recipients as members of the group, the group denoted by the group identifier (ID) comprises identifying, by a data communications device, the plurality of potential recipients as members of the group by a virtual private network group identifier (VPN ID), the VPN ID associated with a group prefix indicative of an address subrange denoting group members; receiving security credentials for the group corresponding to the group identifier comprises receiving from a key management server by the data communications device a group key for the group associated with the VPN ID; associating the received security credentials with the group identifier indicative of potential recipients in the group comprises associating, by the data communications device, the group key with the VPN ID associated with the group prefix indicative of the address subrange denoting group members; and employing the security credentials via the group identifier for the communication from a member of the group to at least one other member of the group comprises: identifying, by the data communications device, a transmission as having a prefix indicative of an address subrange denoting group members, and employing, by the data communications device, the group key to one of encrypt or decrypt the transmission when the transmission has a prefix indicative of an address subrange denoting group members.