Security for a Connectionless Peer-to-Peer Link

Abstract

This article describes a protocol designed to secure a connectionless communication channel between a mobile computer and a server. Specifically, the protocol checks that all messages have been delivered in the correct order to the correct destination, and a received message is the message that was sent.

The protocol provides automatic authentication, integrity, and confidentiality on a communication link between two peers, specifically a mobile computer and a server. The protocol is simplified by the fact that key distribution is almost a null process because only two entities are involved, and those entities can at times communicate in a secure environment. A prototype is being built using a laptop PC with mobile phone as the mobile and a PC with modem as the server.

Naturally, the protocol is also applicable to connection-oriented channels.