Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L9/00—Cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communications; Network security protocols
  • H04L9/14—Cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communications; Network security protocols using a plurality of keys or algorithms
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L63/00—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security
  • H04L63/06—Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security for supporting key management in a packet data network
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L9/00—Cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communications; Network security protocols
  • H04L9/08—Key distribution or management, e.g. generation, sharing or updating, of cryptographic keys or passwords
  • H04L9/0861—Generation of secret information including derivation or calculation of cryptographic keys or passwords
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
  • H04L2463/00—Additional details relating to network architectures or network communication protocols for network security covered by H04L63/00
  • H04L2463/061—Additional details relating to network architectures or network communication protocols for network security covered by H04L63/00 applying further key derivation, e.g. deriving traffic keys from a pair-wise master key
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
  • Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
  • Y04S40/00—Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them
  • Y04S40/20—Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of communication, and more particularly to a system and method of generating protocol-specific keys for use in a mixed communication network.
• devices and communication protocols have become more and more prevalent. For example, users often have multiple different devices supporting multiple different communication protocols.
• Devices may generally support a single communication protocol or a plurality of different communication protocols, such as Ethernet, 802.11, Bluetooth, powerline communication (PLC), multimedia over coaxial (MoCA), IEEE 1901 compliant protocols, etc.
• PLC powerline communication
• MoCA multimedia over coaxial
• new and improved communication protocols are constantly being developed.
• the communication mechanisms and protocol specifics e.g., device and topology discovery protocols, bridging protocols, etc.
• networking technology the terms "networking technology,” “access technology” and “communication protocol” may be used interchangeably to refer to the different protocols and technologies that may be used in a mixed communication network.
• a mixed communication network may also be referred to as a hybrid communication network.
• a protocol-specific key for use with a first network communication protocol of a mixed communication network is generated at a first device.
• the protocol-specific key is based upon a result of a hash operation that includes a network key associated with the mixed communication network and information corresponding to the first network communication protocol.
• the protocol-specific key is used to communicate with a second device in the mixed communication network via the first network communication protocol.
• a second protocol-specific key associated with a second network communication protocol of the mixed communication network is generated.
• the same network key may be used in the hash operation to generate a plurality of protocol-specific keys.
• the second protocol-specific key is based upon a result of a second hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the second network communication protocol.
• the protocol-specific key is used to communicate with a third device via the second network communication protocol.
• a method comprises generating, at a first device, a first protocol-specific key for use with a first network communication protocol of a mixed communication network, the first protocol-specific key based upon a result of a hash operation that includes a network key associated with the mixed communication network and information corresponding to the first network communication protocol; and communicating with a second device in the mixed communication network via the first network communication protocol using the first protocol-specific key.
• the first protocol-specific key is used for encryption of communications via the first network communication protocol.
• said generating the first protocol-specific key includes one of truncating the result of the hash operation to generate the first protocol-specific key, duplicating the result of the hash operation to generate the first protocol-specific key longer than the result of hash operation, or combining the result of the hash operation with a further value to generate the first protocol-specific key.
• said generating the first protocol-specific key includes truncating the result of the hash operation, such that the first protocol-specific key comprises the least significant n bits of the result of the hash operation.
• the method further comprises further generating a second protocol-specific key associated with a second network communication protocol of the mixed communication network, the second protocol-specific key based upon a result of a second hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the second network communication protocol; and communicating with a third device via the second network communication protocol using the second protocol-specific key.
• the method further comprises storing, at the first device, a plurality of protocol-specific keys corresponding to a plurality of network communication protocols, the plurality of protocol-specific keys including at least the first protocol-specific key and the second protocol-specific key.
• the first network communication protocol is one of wired or wireless Ethernet, multimedia over coax (MoCA), IEEE 1901, powerline communications, or wireless local area network (WLAN).
• MoCA multimedia over coax
• Wi-Fi wireless local area network
• the information corresponding to the first network communication protocol uniquely identifies the first network communication protocol from other network communication protocols.
• the method further comprises before said generating storing, in memory of the first device, information corresponding to a plurality of network communication protocols that are used in the mixed communication network, the plurality of network communication protocols including at least the first network communication protocol.
• the method further comprises updating the information corresponding to the plurality of network communication protocols to support a new network communication protocol; for the new network communication protocol, generating a new protocol-specific key based upon a result of a hash operation that includes a network password and a new portion of the updated information corresponding to the new network communication protocol; and communicating with another device via the new network communication protocol using the new protocol-specific key.
• the method further comprises, before said generating receiving, at the first device, the network key associated with the mixed communication network; and storing the network key in memory.
• the network key is received via one of a user interface of the first device, a sensor of the first device, or a network interface of the first device configured for a different network communication protocol, different from the first network communication protocol.
• a device comprises a memory configured to store a network key associated with a mixed communication network; a key generator configured to generate a first protocol-specific key for use with a first network communication protocol, the first protocol-specific key based upon a result of a hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the first network communication protocol; and a first communication interface configured to communicate via the first network communication protocol using the first protocol-specific key.
• the key generator is further configured to generate the first protocol-specific key by truncating the result of the hash operation, duplicating the result of the hash operation, or combining the result of the hash operation with a further value.
• the key generator is further configured to truncate the result of the hash operation, such that the first protocol-specific key comprises the least significant n bits of the result of the hash operation.
• the key generator is further configured to generate a second protocol-specific key associated with a second network communication protocol of the mixed communication network, the second protocol-specific key based upon a result of a second hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the second network communication protocol, and the device further comprises a second communication interface configured to communicate with a third device via the second network communication protocol using the second protocol-specific key.
• the memory is further configured to store a plurality of protocol-specific keys corresponding to a plurality of network communication protocols, the plurality of protocol-specific keys including at least the first protocol-specific key and a second protocol-specific key.
• the memory is further configured to store information corresponding to a plurality of network communication protocols that are used in the mixed communication network, the plurality of network communication protocols including at least the first network communication protocol.
• the device further comprises a user interface component configured to receive the network key associated with the mixed communication network.
• the device further comprises a sensor configured to detect the network key associated with the mixed communication network.
• the device further comprises a second communication interface, different from the first communication interface, the second communication interface configured to receive the network key associated with the mixed communication network.
• the device is an access point of the mixed communication network.
• a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions executed by a processor of a first device cause the device to generate, at the first device, a first protocol-specific key for use with a first network communication protocol of a mixed communication network, the first protocol-specific key based upon a result of a hash operation that includes a network key associated with the mixed communication network and information corresponding to the first network communication protocol; and communicate with a second device in the mixed communication network via the first network communication protocol using the first protocol-specific key.
• the program instructions executed by the processor of the first device further cause the device to truncate the result of the hash operation, such that the first protocol-specific key comprises the least significant n bits of the result of the hash operation.
• the program instructions executed by the processor of the first device further cause the device to generate a second protocol-specific key associated with a second network communication protocol of the mixed communication network, the second protocol-specific key based upon a result of a second hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the second network communication protocol; and communicate with a third device via the second network communication protocol using the second protocol-specific key.
• the program instructions executed by the processor of the first device further cause the device to store a plurality of protocol-specific keys corresponding to a plurality of network communication protocols, the plurality of protocol-specific keys including at least the first protocol-specific key and the second protocol-specific key.
• the program instructions executed by the processor of the first device further cause the device to store information corresponding to a plurality of network communication protocols that are used in the mixed communication network, the plurality of network communication protocols including at least the first network communication protocol.
• Figure 1 is an example block diagram illustrating a communication network with a plurality of devices which may be configured to generate protocol-specific keys for use in an example mixed communication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• Figure 2 is an illustration of an example of a mixed communication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• Figure 3 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method of generating protocol-specific keys for use in a mixed communication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• Figure 4 is another illustration showing an example of a protocol-specific key for use in a mixed communication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• Figure 5 is a block diagram of one embodiment of an electronic device including a key generator to generate a protocol-specific key for use in a mixed communication network in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
• the communication network may be implemented in a home (e.g., as a convergent digital home network, "CDFTN") or business, as desired.
• the network may include a plurality of devices using a plurality of different communication protocols, and may therefore be a "mixed communication network".
• a mixed communication network such as a converged digital home network, or PI 905.1 compliant network, which may also be referred to as a hybrid communication network, or hybrid network
• a network may allow for the utilization and interfacing of heterogeneous networking technologies.
• IEEE PI 905.1 defines an abstraction layer for multiple home network technologies that provides a common interface to the several popular network technologies: IEEE 1901 over powerlines, Wi-Fi/IEEE 802.11 for wireless, Ethernet over twisted pair cable and MoCA 1.1 over coax.
• the devices may be any of a variety of devices, such as desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, smart phones, displays, audio video devices, gaming consoles, home appliances, controlling devices (e.g., for lights, air conditioning, alarm systems, etc.), etc.
• a security key is a privacy parameter associated with one of the underlying PI 905.1 network technologies.
• security keys commonly used in a mixed communication network may include (without limitation) a Wi-Fi WPA/WPA2 Passphrase, a 1901 Shared Key DSNA, a 1901 PSNA Pairwise Master Key (PMK), a 1901 RSNA Preshared Key (PSK), or a MoCA Privacy Password.
• the security key may be used for encryption of communications over the particular network communication protocol.
• each network communication protocol may be associated with a different security key so that a breach in security for a first network communication protocol does not compromise security for a second network communication protocol.
• a network key may be used to derive protocol- specific keys for more than one network communication protocol associated with the mixed communication network.
• the network key is used in combination with information corresponding to a particular network communication protocol to generate a protocol-specific key that are specific for the particular network communication protocol.
• the protocol-specific key may be made to the correct length for a particular access technology by concatenating or truncating operations.
• the same network key is used to generate different protocol- specific keys for each of a plurality of network communication protocols.
• a network key may be stored.
• the network key may be stored or received in response to user input, e.g., providing the network key.
• the network key may be received by a device that the user is currently using.
• the network key may be stored by another device, such as an access point to which various devices of the mixed communication network are coupled.
• the network key may be stored by any number of devices in the mixed communication network.
• Some information corresponding to the network communication protocol is used with the network key to generate a protocol-specific key (which may also be referred to as a protocol-specific security key) that is specific to the network communication protocol.
• a protocol-specific key which may also be referred to as a protocol-specific security key
• k bits from a network key is used with m bits from information about the network communication protocol (e.g. an ASCII field with text unique to each access technology, such as ⁇ "Wi-Fi", “MoCA”, "1901", .... ⁇ ) in the generation of the protocol-specific key.
• the network key (k bits) and the ASCII text m bits are used as inputs to a hash operation to generate a protocol-specific key of length n bits that is specific for the particular network communication protocol.
• the information corresponding to each of a plurality of communication protocols in the mixed communication network may be stored and may be the same information at multiple devices in the mixed communication network.
• the information may be stored in a format that enumerates each of the plurality of communication protocols (e.g., where text labels are provided in ASCII format for each communication protocol).
• a SHA-256 hash operation may result in a hash value having 256 bits.
• the result of the hash operation may be truncated (e.g. using x least significant bits) to generate a shorter protocol-specific key.
• more bits e.g., a greater number of bits are necessary for encryption than is generated from the hash operation
• two hashes may be generated and concatenated to the appropriate size.
• the particular network communication protocol may be identified by two or more text strings corresponding to the particular network communication protocol. Accordingly, the protocol-specific key may be created by concatenating the results of two hash operations generated from each of the two or more text strings.
• An access point or other hybrid network device may utilize the network key to generate a plurality of protocol-specific keys, one protocol-specific key for each network communication protocol supported by the mixed communication network.
• the new device may utilize the network key and information corresponding to one or more network communication protocols supported by the new device to generate the protocol-specific key(s) for each network communication protocol supported. Therefore, a user may only need to provide the network key for each device (or the network key may be generated or shared by other means), while the devices generate the appropriate protocol-specific keys to utilize for particular access technologies that each device supports.
• the disclosure may allow for new networking communication protocols to be supported (e.g. including future network communication protocol that may be developed over time).
• the information corresponding to the plurality of network communication protocols may be updated to further include information corresponding to a new networking communication protocol (e.g., by adding a new portion corresponding to the new networking communication protocol to the information).
• a new protocol-specific key may be generated using the new portion of information (e.g. the portion of the information that corresponds to the new network communication protocol) and the same network key.
• Figure 1 is an example block diagram illustrating a mixed communication network with a plurality of devices which may be configured to generate protocol-specific keys.
• Figure 1 depicts a mixed communication network 100 comprising a first device 1 10, a second device 120, a third device 130, a fourth device 140, and a fifth device 150. It is noted, however, that in some examples one or more of the devices 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 may be hybrid network devices (such as second device 120) configured with more than one network interface and supporting multiple network communication protocols.
• the first device 1 10 includes a memory 106, a network interface 104, and a key generator 108.
• the memory 106, network interface 104, and key generator 108 may be implemented in one or more communication units of the first device 1 10 that implement protocols and functionality to enable communications via the mixed communication network 100.
• the second device 120 may also have corresponding components for memory (not shown), network interface (not shown), and key generator (not shown). It should be understood that each device of Figure 1 may include such corresponding component which are not illustrated in the figure in the interest of conciseness.
• the devices 110, 120, 130, 140, 150 can each be an electronic device, such as a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a smart appliance, a gaming console, a desktop computer, or another suitable electronic device.
• One or more of the devices 1 10, 120, 130, 140, 150 may be a network node, such as an access point, gateway device, or other such device configured to provide network connectivity between two or more network segments.
• first device 1 10 has a network connection 1 15 to second device 120.
• the second device 120 has a network connection 125 to the third device 130, a network connection 135 to the fourth device 140, and a network connection 145 to the fifth device 150.
• Each of the network connections 1 15, 125, 135, 145 may utilize different protocol-specific keys derived according to this disclosure because each of the network connections 1 15, 125, 135, 145 is configured to utilize different network communication protocols in the example illustrated in Figure 1.
• the network connection 1 15 is configured to use the network communication protocol for multimedia over coaxial (MoCA).
• the network connection 125 is configured to use the network communication protocol for IEEE 802.1 1 (also referred to as WLAN).
• the network connection 135 is configured to use the network communication protocol for wired local area network (also referred to as Ethernet).
• the network connection 145 is configured to use the network communication protocol for powerline communications (PLC).
• the first device 1 10 derives a security key for the MoCA network connection 115 based upon a network key.
• the network key may be stored in memory of the first device 110.
• the network key may be received at the first device via one of a user interface (not shown) of the first device, a sensor (not shown) of the first device, or a second network interface (not shown) of the first device.
• the network key stored at stage Al is the same network key used by second device 120 (as well as devices 130, 140, 150) to derive protocol-specific keys.
• the first device 1 10 generates a protocol-specific key for use with the MoCA network communication protocol.
• the protocol-specific key is based upon a result of a hash operation that includes the network key associated and information corresponding to the MoCA network communication protocol (e.g. an ASCII text field specifying "MoCA").
• the result of the hash operation may be longer than needed for the protocol-specific key (i.e. MoCA Privacy Password) corresponding to the MoCA network communication protocol.
• MoCA Privacy Password is a 17 decimal digit password.
• the result of the hash operation is truncated such that the 68 least significant bits are used.
• the 68 bits are converted to decimal digits (one digit for each 4 bits, converted from hexadecimal to decimal using a modulo function) to obtain the 17 decimal digits used as the protocol-specific key (i.e.
• the first device 110 may be configured to communicate with the second device 120 using a different network communication protocol (e.g., powerline communication, WLAN, Ethernet, etc.), and the first device 110 may generate a protocol-specific key having a length of bits associated with security keys of that particular network communication protocol in a similar manner (e.g., as will be further described below with reference to Figures 2-4).
• a different network communication protocol e.g., powerline communication, WLAN, Ethernet, etc.
• first device communicates via the MoCA network communication protocol using the protocol-specific key generated at stage Bl .
• Communicating using the protocol- specific key may include performing authentication and/or encryption using the protocol-specific key.
• both the first device 1 10 and the second device 120 will derive the same protocol-specific key for the MoCA network communication protocol because they will utilize the same procedures and the same network key. Accordingly, at stages A2, B2, C2, the second device 120 generates the protocol-specific key for the MoCA network communication protocol in the same way as described for stages Al, Bl, and CI, respectively. Thus because the first device 110 and the second device 120 have derived the same protocol- specific key, they can communicate securely using the MoCA network communication protocol.
• the second device 120 may be a hybrid device and may have multiple network interfaces supporting multiple network communication protocols. At stages B3 and C3 (similar to stages B2 and C2, respectively), the second device 120 derives further protocol-specific keys for each of the network communication protocols as needed. For example, the second device 120 may derive a protocol-specific key for 802.1 1 to utilize for communications over the network connection 125 via the 802.11 network communication protocol.
• Figure 2 illustrates another example mixed communication network 200 according to one embodiment. As in Figure 1 , the example mixed communication network 200 comprises a first device 1 10, a second device 120, and a third device 130. The second device 120 has network connections 1 15, 125, 135, 145 as described in Figure 1.
• fourth device 240 in Figure 2 is a hybrid device and also supports powerline communication (PLC).
• fifth device 250 differs from the fifth device 150 in Figure 1 in that it may have multiple network interfaces.
• the topologies in Figure 2 are used to show the versatility of the protocol-specific keys derived from a common network key.
• the fifth device 250 has the PLC network connection 145 to the second device and also has a PLC network connection 255 to a sixth device 260.
• the fifth device 250 may be a bridging device in this example.
• the sixth device 260 does not have a direct connection to the second device 120 (acting as the access point), the sixth device may have the network key associated with the mixed communication network.
• both fifth device 250 and the sixth device 260 are able to generate a PLC protocol-specific key based upon a result of a hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the PLC network communication protocol.
• the fourth device 240 and the sixth device 260 may share two or more network connections 265, 267 between them. Even though network connections 265 and 267 may use different network communication protocol (PLC on network connection 265 and Ethernet on network connection 267), communications may be encrypted using protocol- specific keys derived from the same network key and information corresponding to each of the PLC network communication protocol and the Ethernet network communication protocol. Note that the above described communication protocols are exemplary only and further communication protocols may be supported, such as WiMax, USB, ThunderBolt, Bluetooth, CDMA, GSM, LTE, etc.
• Figure 3 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 300 of generating protocol-specific keys.
• the method shown in Figure 3 may be used in conjunction with any of the computer systems or devices shown in the above Figures, among other devices.
• some of the method elements shown may be performed concurrently, in a different order than shown, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as desired. As shown, this method may operate as follows.
• a network key may be received at a first device via one of a user interface of the first device, a sensor of the first device, or a second network interface of the first device.
• a user input may be received via a keyboard or touch screen interface.
• a camera sensor of the first device may obtain an image having the network key encoded.
• the network key may also be received via an NFC communication or a message received via a different network communication protocol than the one being configured (e.g., a message from a different network device).
• a detachable memory or temporary USB wired connection may be used to convey the network key to the first device.
• Many alternative ways for the first device to receive the network key may be conceived by persons of skill in the relevant art.
• the mechanisms used to convey the network key are themselves private or secure so as to protect the security of the mixed communication network.
• the network key may be stored in memory. It should be noted that the network key may be stored in temporary or transient memory only for a period of time needed for the first device to generate the protocol-specific key. Alternatively, the network key may be stored in long-term or persistent memory for subsequent use in generating further protocol- specific keys.
• information corresponding to a plurality of network communication protocols in the mixed network may be stored.
• the information may include portions for each of the plurality of communication protocols.
• the information may be stored in a file that enumerates each of the plurality of communication protocols (e.g., where names are provided in ASCII format for each protocol). For protocols that require additional bits (e.g., more than 256 bits), more than one portion or name may be allocated for each communication protocol.
• information corresponding to the plurality of network communication protocols may be cached temporarily or may be programmatically reproduced when needed.
• the information corresponding to the plurality of network communication protocols is also the same used by other devices generating corresponding protocol-specific keys. Multiple vendors of devices for mixed communication networks may use common information corresponding to various network communication protocols.
• the first device generates a protocol-specific key for use with a particular network communication protocol, the protocol-specific key based upon a result of a hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the particular network communication protocol.
• a hash operation that includes the network key and information corresponding to the particular network communication protocol.
• the first device communicates with a second device via the particular network communication protocol using the protocol-specific key.
• steps 340, 350, and 360 may be repeated for each network communication protocol of a plurality of network communication protocols used in the mixed communication network.
• FIG 4 is another illustration 400 showing an example of a protocol-specific key for use in a mixed communication network. More specifically, as shown in Figure 4, a network key of k bits and an ASCII text corresponding to a particular network communication protocol of m bits may be used to generate a hash using a hashing function such as SHA-256 or any number of other commonly used hash algorithms.
• This ASCII text corresponding to the network communication protocol may be all or a portion of the information corresponding to the network communication protocol described above.
• the ASCII text may be from the set of ⁇ "Wi-Fi", “MoCA", "1901" ... ⁇ , for network communication protocols Wi-Fi, MoCA, 1901, etc.
• the ASCII text may simply be the name of the network communication protocol or a string indicative of the network communication protocol. Representations other than ASCII are also envisioned, as desired.
• the size of the resulting hash may be adjusted. For example, where a size less than 256 bits is required (e.g., according to the requirements of the specific network communication protocol), the hash may be truncated to the appropriate size (in this case n bits). Note that if a password larger than 256 bits is required, multiple hashes may be generated, e.g., using multiple ASCII representations, such as "protocoll", "protocol", etc. Accordingly, the resulting hashes may be concatenated and possibly truncated to generate an appropriately sized output. The final output may be used (e.g., as an encryption key or password) to perform communication using the network communication protocol. This process may be performed for each network communication protocol, as necessary. Note that the hash may be regenerated each time a communication session is established or the hash may be stored for each network communication protocol, as desired.
• Figures 1 - 4 are examples meant to aid in understanding embodiments and should not be used to limit embodiments or limit scope of the claims.
• Embodiments of each device described herein may comprise additional circuit components, different circuit components, and/or may perform additional operations, fewer operations, and operations in a different order, operations in parallel, and some operations differently. It should be understood that although examples refer to generating certain types of protocol-specific keys for certain network communication protocols, embodiments are not so limited.
• Embodiments of each device described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, a software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit,” “module” or “system.”
• embodiments of the inventive subject matter may take the form of a computer program product embodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer usable program code embodied in the medium.
• the described embodiments may be provided as a computer program product, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic device(s)) to perform a process according to embodiments, whether presently described or not, since every conceivable variation is not enumerated herein.
• a machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer).
• a machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable storage medium, or a machine-readable signal medium.
• a machine-readable storage medium may include, for example, but is not limited to, magnetic storage medium (e.g., floppy diskette); optical storage medium (e.g., CD-ROM); magneto-optical storage medium; read only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROM and EEPROM); flash memory; or other types of tangible medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.
• a machine-readable signal medium may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, an electrical, optical, acoustical, or other form of propagated signal (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). Program code embodied on a machine-readable signal medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including, but not limited to, wire line, wireless, optical fiber cable, RF, or other communications medium.
• Computer program code for carrying out operations of the embodiments of each device described herein may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages.
• the program code may execute entirely on a user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server.
• the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through various network topologies, including a local area network (LAN), a personal area network (PAN), or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider)
• LAN local area network
• PAN personal area network
• WAN wide area network
• Internet Service Provider an Internet Service Provider
• FIG. 5 is an example block diagram of one embodiment of a device (e.g. devices 1 10, 120, 130, 140, 150, 240, 250, 260) capable of generating protocol-specific key(s) in accordance with an embodiment of this disclosure.
• first device is an electronic device 500 and may be one of a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, a powerline communication device, a gaming console, or other electronic systems comprising functionality to communicate across multiple communication networks (which form the mixed communication network).
• the electronic device 500 includes a processor unit 502 (possibly including multiple processors, multiple cores, multiple nodes, and/or implementing multithreading, etc.).
• the electronic device 500 includes a memory unit 506.
• the memory unit 506 may be system memory (e.g., one or more of cache, SRAM, DRAM, zero capacitor RAM, Twin Transistor RAM, eDRAM, EDO RAM, DDR RAM, EEPROM, NRAM, RRAM, SONOS, PRAM, etc.) or any one or more of the above already described possible realizations of machine- readable media.
• system memory e.g., one or more of cache, SRAM, DRAM, zero capacitor RAM, Twin Transistor RAM, eDRAM, EDO RAM, DDR RAM, EEPROM, NRAM, RRAM, SONOS, PRAM, etc.
• the electronic device 500 also includes a bus 510 (e.g., PCI, ISA, PCI-Express, HyperTransport®, InfiniBand®, NuBus, AHB, AXI, etc.), and network interfaces 504 that include at least one of a wireless network interface (e.g., a WLAN interface, a Bluetooth® interface, a WiMAX interface, a ZigBee® interface, a Wireless USB interface, etc.) and a wired network interface (e.g., a powerline communication interface, an Ethernet interface, etc.).
• the electronic device 500 can comprise a plurality of network interfaces - each of which couples the electronic device 500 to a different communication network.
• the electronic device 500 can comprise a powerline communication interface and a WLAN interface that couple the electronic device 500 with a powerline communication network and a wireless local area network respectively.
• the electronic device 500 also includes a key generator 508 (similar to key generator 108 of figure 1).
• the key generator 508 implements functionality to generate one or more protocol-specific keys based upon a result of hash operation that includes a network key associated with the mixed communication network and information corresponding to a particular network communication protocol.
• the key generator may then send the protocol-specific key to the network interface 504 or processor 502 to be used for communications via the network communication protocol.
• the network interface 504, memory 506, and key generator 508 may comprises part of a communication unit to be used in a device or may be integrated into the device (as shown).
• the network interface 504, memory 506, and key generator 508 are manufactured as a component for use in an appliance, computer, or other electrical device that may be used with a mixed communication network.
• the electronic device 500 may also have a user interface, user input component, sensor (such as camera, microphone, etc.), or other input unit, which are shown as block 512. It should be noted that these features may or may not be present in various implementations of electronic device 500. If present, these features 512 may be usable by the electronic device 500 to receive the network key associated with the mixed communication network.
• any one of these functionalities may be partially (or entirely) implemented in hardware and/or on the processor unit 502.
• the functionality may be implemented with an application specific integrated circuit, in logic implemented in the processor unit 502, in a co-processor on a peripheral device or card, etc.
• realizations may include fewer or additional components not illustrated in Figure 5 (e.g., video cards, audio cards, additional network interfaces, peripheral devices, etc.).
• the processor unit 502, the memory unit 506, and the network interfaces 504 are coupled to the bus 510. Although illustrated as being coupled to the bus 510, the memory unit 506 may be coupled to the processor unit 502.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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• Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
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• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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• 2012
  • 2012-09-11 US US13/610,831 patent/US8819435B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2012-09-12 BR BR112014005284A patent/BR112014005284A2/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2012-09-12 JP JP2014529996A patent/JP5714776B2/ja not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2012-09-12 EP EP12783691.4A patent/EP2756649B1/en not_active Not-in-force
  • 2012-09-12 KR KR1020147009704A patent/KR101529115B1/ko not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2012-09-12 WO PCT/US2012/054949 patent/WO2013040098A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2012-09-12 CN CN201280043906.0A patent/CN103959734B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related

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