Secure Gateway Cryptographic Keys for Point-to-Point Privacy

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional Dynamic Group VPN (DGVPN) systems fail to provide point-to-point privacy in encrypted group network communications, as all secure gateways within a group can access and decipher data packets due to shared encryption keys, leading to a lack of privacy and increased overhead in maintaining individual links.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of Tate pairing as a cryptographic methodology using elliptic curves to generate unique encryption and decryption keys based on public and private identities, ensuring that only authorized secure gateways can access and decipher data packets, thereby maintaining point-to-point privacy without the need for separate keying connections between each secure gateway.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If shared encryption keys are distributed to all secure gateways in a group, then network scalability is improved and overhead of establishing individual links is reduced, but point-to-point privacy is lost and data packets can be accessed by any gateway in the group

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenetwork scalabilityVSAvoidpoint-to-point privacy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the single shared key into multiple individual key pairs (public key, private key) for each gateway. Instead of one key for all gateways, each gateway has its own key pair, allowing the system to maintain scalability while ensuring that only the intended recipient can decrypt messages. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by dividing the monolithic key management approach into distributed individual key management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies asymmetric cryptography (public-key cryptography) where each gateway has a public key and a private key. The public key can be shared openly while the private key remains secret. This asymmetry allows any gateway to encrypt messages for any other gateway using the recipient's public key, maintaining scalability, while only the intended recipient with the private key can decrypt, ensuring point-to-point privacy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

2Reliability

If individual links are established between each pair of secure gateways, then point-to-point privacy is maintained, but network overhead and complexity increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepoint-to-point privacyVSAvoidkey management complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent makes the public key universal - it can be used by any gateway in the group to encrypt messages intended for a specific gateway. Instead of requiring separate encryption mechanisms for each gateway pair, the public key serves multiple functions: it can be used by any sender in the group to securely communicate with the specific gateway that holds the corresponding private key. This universality reduces key management complexity while maintaining privacy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The public key acts as an intermediary that enables secure communication without requiring direct secret sharing between gateways. Instead of gateways needing to exchange secret keys directly (which would require individual link setup), the public key serves as a public intermediary that any gateway can use to encrypt messages for the target gateway, simplifying the key distribution and management process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Use of energy by moving object

If conventional symmetric encryption is used with shared keys, then encryption and decryption are computationally efficient, but security is compromised as all gateways can access all data packets

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecomputational efficiencyVSAvoiddata security

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical symmetric encryption system (where the same key is used for both encryption and decryption) with an asymmetric cryptographic system based on mathematical principles. Instead of relying on secret key distribution mechanisms, the system uses mathematical one-way functions and trapdoor mechanisms inherent in public-key cryptography, substituting the mechanical key exchange process with mathematical security guarantees.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS8160255B2System and method for encrypted group network communication with point-to-point privacy

Publication Date: 2012.04.17 CISCO TECHNOLOGY INC

AI summary

Various embodiments of the disclosed subject matter provide methods and systems for improved efficiency and security in secure gateway-to-secure gateway network communication. Embodiments provide systems and methods for generating a sender secure gateway private identity, obtaining a receiver secure gateway public identity, generating an encryption key using the sender secure gateway private identity and the receiver secure gateway public identity, encrypting a data packet using the encryption key, and sending the encrypted data packet to a receiver secure gateway. Embodiments also provide systems and methods for generating a receiver secure gateway private identity, obtaining a sender secure gateway public identity, generating a decryption key using the receiver secure gateway private identity and the sender secure gateway public identity, receiving an encrypted data packet from a sender secure gateway, and decrypting the data packet using the decryption key.