Abstract: In one embodiment, an apparatus includes: a control circuit to receive a message authentication code (MAC) for an epoch comprising a plurality of flits; a calculation circuit to calculate a computed MAC for the epoch; a cryptographic circuit to receive the epoch via a link and decrypt the plurality of flits, prior to authentication of the epoch; and at least one memory to store messages of the decrypted plurality of flits, prior to the authentication of the epoch. Other embodiments are described and claimed.