SECURE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMPRISING A LOCAL NETWORK SUCH AS ETHERNET, IN PARTICULAR ON BOARD AN AIRCRAFT

摘要

The invention concerns a secure communication system comprising a local network, such as for example of Ethernet type. The system comprises at least a local network and terminals connected to said network and exchanging data packets. Each terminal includes a table storing the addresses of groups of terminals with which they can communicate. A terminal which transmits a data packet on the network in multicast mode creates a multicast network address (43) whereof the bits, for example high-order bytes, have a given value (01 00 5E) and which comprises the address (43) of the group to which the data packet is addressed, each terminal comparing the address of the addressee group with the content of its table once the network address has been transmitted over the network. The invention is in particular applicable to multifunction communication systems where it is necessary to ensure high-level security in data transmission, as is the case for example for certain systems on board aircraft.