Abstract: A Machine Authentication PAC (Protected Access Credential) serves as machine credentials to obtain network access without requiring server storage and management of the additional set of credentials. The first time authentication is performed, user authentication is executed. After the supplicant and server have mutually authenticated each other and satisfied other validations, the supplicant requests a Machine Authentication PAC from the server. The Server randomly generates a cryptographic key (Device Key) and sends it to the supplicant along with an encrypted ticket, comprising the Device Key and other information and encrypted with a key only known to the Server. The supplicant caches the Machine Authentication PAC in its non-volatile memory for future use. When the machine needs to access certain network services before a user is available, the supplicant uses the Machine Authentication PAC to gain authorization for the machine to limited access on the network, without requiring user input.

Abstract: A system verifies configuration of a device within a network via an exchange of verification credentials, which are requested, received and authenticated. The verification credentials indicate that a configuration of the device was acceptable at the time of creation of the verification credentials for that device. The verification credentials of the device are obtained through a certifying process. During the certifying process, the credential certifier receives a current device configuration of the device in the network, and evaluates the current device configuration of a device with respect to its role within a network. The verification credentials are issued to the requesting device and stored within a database. The device submits its verification credentials if being requested by the other peer it's communicating with when it enters the network. It also monitors the current device configuration and if there are changes, it invalidates the existing certification credentials and requests new one.

Abstract: A method for policy-based revocation of network security credentials comprises receiving and storing one or more credential revocation rules, wherein each of the credential revocation rules specifies one or more first attributes and first values of the first attributes, associated with one or more credentials to be revoked; receiving and storing one or more network credentials, wherein each of the network credentials comprises one or more second attributes and second values of the second attributes; and when second values of one or more second attributes of a particular network credential among the one or more network credentials match first values of one or more first attributes of one of the credential revocation rules, determining that the particular network credential is invalid, and performing a responsive action.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for enabling stateless server-based pre-shared secrets. Based on a local key that is not known to a client, a server encrypts the client's state information. The client's state information may include, for example, the client's authentication credentials, the client's authorization characteristics, and a shared secret key that the client uses to derive session keys. By any of a variety of mechanisms, the encrypted client state information is provided to the client. The server may free memory that stored the client's state information. When the server needs the client's state information, the client sends, to the server, the encrypted state information that the client stored. The server decrypts the client state information using the local key. Because each client stores that client's own state information in encrypted form, the server does not need to store any client's state information permanently.

Abstract: System architecture and corresponding method for securing communication via a network (e.g. IEEE 802.11) is provided. In accordance with one embodiment, the present system and method protocol, may be suitably configured to achieve mutual authentication by using a shared secret to establish a tunnel used to protect weaker authentication methods (e.g. user names and passwords). The shared secret, referred to in this embodiment as the protected access credential may be advantageously used to mutually authenticate a server and a peer upon securing a tunnel for communication via a network. The present system and method disclosed and claimed herein, in one aspect thereof, comprises the steps of 1) providing a communication implementation between a first and a second party; 2) provisioning a secure credential between the first and the second party; and 3) establishing a secure tunnel between the first and the second party using the secure credential.

Abstract: A connection is established between a server and a web browser having access to a first, trusted public key. The server downloads a digitally signed archive to the browser, the archive including a second public key. The browser verifies the digitally signed archive using the first public key, and stores the second public key in response to the verification. The browser then uses the stored second public key to authenticate the server and establish a secure connection with the server. The second public key and its chain of trust need not be known by the browser beforehand, and the archive may include program fragments that store the key in an area where the browser (or an applet running under the browser) can access and use it. The archive may also include a program fragment that performs certificate validation for the client—enabling the client to handle certificate types it does not know about.