Patent ID: 8448238

Claim:
A machine-implemented method to provide an end-to-end secure transaction over a software-defined network (SDN), comprising: opening either an in-band virtual secure channel (VSC) or an out-of-band VSC to an enclave device capable of creating an in-band VSC and an out-of-band VSC over the SDN; authenticating, through a control plane of a switch managing the SDN, a user of a resource over either the in-band VSC or the out-of-band VSC; authorizing the user, through the control plane, access to the resource over either the in-band VSC or the out-of-band VSC; and accounting for a transaction conducted by the user accessing the resource, through the control plane, over either the in-band VSC or the out-of-band VSC, wherein: the in-band VSC is opened over an in-band network and the out-of-band VSC is opened over an out-of-band network, the in-band network is either a wireless network established over a licensed radio frequency band or a wired network, and the out-of-band network is a wireless network established over an unlicensed radio frequency band.