Patent ID: 8856537

Claim:
A method for protecting a network, comprising: generating, by at least one secure router, a topology map of the network to determine intermediate routers which constitute an optimal pathway for routing information by sharing lists of links with the intermediary routers using a communications protocol, wherein the at least one secure router performs the steps of: calculating and then saving in a secure layer, when a first list of links is received, at least one reception fingerprint of the lists received, wherein changes to the first list of the links within a transmission layer of the at least one secure router is detected by the secure layer; calculating and then saving in the secure layer, when a second list of links is transmitted, at least one transmission fingerprint of the lists to be transmitted; wherein the calculation that determines the fingerprint of the lists is performed in the secure layer distinct from the transmission layer that performs the reception and transmission of packets in accordance with the communication protocol; and comparing the at least one reception fingerprint to the at least one transmission fingerprint in such a way that transmitting a list is inhibited when the at least one reception fingerprint is distinct from the at least one transmission fingerprint.