Abstract: A system and method for providing access to an encrypted communication involves recording the session during which the communication is encrypted, replaying the session to recover data used to recover a session key, accessing a server to retrieve secret information also used to generate the session key, and recreating the session key using the recovered data and secret information. The system and method includes provision for authenticating parties to the key recovery, protecting communications required to retrieve the secret key, and establishing a record of the key recovery to serve as an audit trail.

Abstract: A virtual private network for communicating between a server and clients over an open network uses an applications level encryption and mutual authentication program and at least one shim positioned above either the socket, transport driver interface, or network interface layers of a client computer to intercept function calls, requests for service, or data packets in order to communicate with the server and authenticate the parties to a communication and enable the parties to the communication to establish a common session key. Where the parties to the communication are peer-to-peer applications, the intercepted function calls, requests for service, or data packets include the destination address of the peer application, which is supplied to the server so that the server can authenticate the peer and enable the peer to decrypt further direct peer-to-peer communications.

Abstract: A method and system allows encryption services can be added to an existing wireless two-way alphanumeric pager network by providing a pager proxy which is arranged to receive an encrypted message from a sending pager and re-packages it for re-transmission to the destination pager. The sending pager encrypts the message using a session key, and encrypts the session key so that it can only be recovered by a secret key of the pager proxy. The pager proxy, upon recovery of the session key, decrypts the message, generates a new session key, re-encrypts the message, and encrypts the new session key so that it can only be recovered by a secret key of the destination pager. Encryption of the session key can either be carried out by shared secret key encryption or encryption of the session key by a public key corresponding to a private key of the pager proxy or destination pager.

Abstract: A virtual private network for communicating between a server and clients over an open network uses an applications level encryption and mutual authentication program and at least one shim positioned above either the socket, transport driver interface, or network interface layers of a client computer to intercept function calls, requests for service, or data packets in order to communicate with the server and authenticate the parties to a communication and enable the parties to the communication to establish a common session key. Where the parties to the communication are peer-to-peer applications, the intercepted function calls, requests for service, or data packets include the destination address of the peer application, which is supplied to the server so that the server can authenticate the peer and enable the peer to decrypt further direct peer-to-peer communications.