Method and apparatus for providing an adaptable security level in an electronic communication

摘要

A method of communicating in a secure communication system, comprises the steps of assembling a message at a sender, then determining a security level, and including an indication of the security level in a header of the message. The message is then sent to a recipient.

主权项

1. A method performed by a communication device, said method comprising:
said communication device preparing a plurality of frames, each frame having a header and data, wherein the preparing the plurality of frame comprises: on a frame-by-frame basis, for each individual frame:
determining a security level for the individual frame, the security level indicating whether to provide encryption for the individual frame and whether to provide integrity for the individual frame; andbased on said security level, including security control bits in the header of the individual frame; and said communication device communicating the plurality of frames to a recipient device, wherein the security control bits include one or more security mode bits and integrity level bits, wherein the one or more security mode bits are used to indicate whether encryption is on or off, wherein the integrity level bits indicate which of at least four integrity levels is utilized, the integrity levels corresponding to signing operations of a sender of increasing strength, and wherein said security control bits allow the recipient device to identify said security level for each individual frame and to reject an individual frame if said security level does not comply with a minimum security level required by the recipient device.